Ye Wushu couldn't very well tell her senior fellow apprentice that she was worried his advisor might be mentally controlling him, eventually driving him insane and turning him into a "masochist"—what if the teacher turned out to be a kindly old man after all?
Ye Wushu: [I've heard that the pressure of completing a PhD is immense. I hope Senior Fellow Apprentice can graduate smoothly. You've been working hard on clinical rotations lately—make sure to relax and not put too much psychological pressure on yourself.]
What is psychological pressure? Lu Junran thought hard about it. Compared to his junior fellow apprentice, his attitude toward clinical work could be described as "phoning it in."
In the end, Lu Junran could only interpret this as his junior fellow apprentice caring deeply about him, and a feeling of joy inevitably welled up in his heart.
Early the next morning, Ye Wushu, thinking about the patient named Ge Yun, wanted to take a look before the shift handover—but unexpectedly, she saw a bed already covered with a disposable transparent film by the nurses.
Ye Wushu vaguely realized what had happened and asked the nurse in charge of the ward at the door in disbelief: "What about the severely ill obstetric patient who came in last night?"
The nurse said: "Her heart stopped suddenly during the night…"
The nurse was busy writing the shift handover record and had no time to say more.
So when Lu Junran saw his junior fellow apprentice, she looked utterly distraught, which startled him: "Ye Wushu?"
Ye Wushu seemed to snap back to reality, then sank back into deep dejection.
Doctors who have just started clinical work tend to empathize easily, especially with patients who are in situations similar to their own or who remind them of their families.
For example, a middle-aged attending physician empathizes with late-stage cancer patients who have elderly parents and young children, understanding their financial constraints and trying to recommend more cost-effective treatment options.
For example, a doctor from a rural background receives a couple of farmer workers. The old woman unwraps layer after layer of clothing and, trembling, takes out coins and bills of various denominations from the innermost waist pouch, saying this is all the money she has and she doesn't know if it's enough… The doctor would think of her own parents back home, who had saved up her tuition money just like that. Last time they managed to visit Haidu City, they only stayed for a day before leaving, saying her work was hard and they didn't want to cause her trouble.
For Ye Wushu, as a fellow woman, she empathized with Ge Yun staking everything on childbirth. Childbirth was originally a gift given to women by heaven, but in Ge Yun's case, it had become a curse.
An innocent man bears no guilt, yet the possession of jade is the crime.
If she hadn't had this child, Ge Yun's disease wouldn't have progressed so quickly. Moreover, Ye Wushu also wanted to ask—would a child born at such a cost truly live a happy and safe life?
Not to mention that systemic lupus erythematosus has a hereditary component—the child lost its mother at birth, the biological father remarried, and how much love could be left for this premature child?
Ye Wushu looked at her senior fellow apprentice's concerned gaze, not knowing how to express what she felt inside, so she averted her eyes and said: "It's nothing."
Now it was Lu Junran's turn to let his imagination run wild. Wasn't she in a good mood last night when he walked her downstairs? Why did she look so lost first thing in the morning? Could it be…
Lu Junran's heart tightened—could his junior fellow apprentice have been dumped?
Could Zhao Hongxi have said something to her?
What Lu Junran didn't know was that his junior fellow apprentice hadn't even started a relationship yet.
During the morning meeting, the on-duty doctor from last night, Wu Yue, was giving the handover report. When she mentioned Ge Yun, Ye Wushu perked up. Her medical knowledge was shallow, but she always felt that Ge Yun could hold on until the day of her heart-lung transplant. For her to pass away so suddenly, it must have something to do with her family.
Wu Yue said: "This patient suffered sudden cardiac arrest at 23:10 last night, heart rate 0 beats/min. CPR was initiated immediately, with 1 ampule of epinephrine, 1 ampule of atropine, and 1 ampule of isoproterenol administered intravenously. Pulse rechecked at 168 beats/min, BP 120/40 mmHg, blood oxygen 80%. Anesthesia department was called for emergency endotracheal intubation, completed at 23:15, CPR continued.
At 23:20, CPR continued, with 1 ampule of epinephrine, 1 ampule of atropine, and 1 ampule of isoproterenol administered intravenously. Pulse 170 beats/min, BP 70/30 mmHg, blood oxygen 80%, pupillary light reflex absent.
At 23:30, CPR continued, with 5% sodium bicarbonate administered via IV drip.
At 23:32, CPR continued, with 1 ampule of epinephrine, 1 ampule of atropine, and 1 ampule of isoproterenol administered intravenously. Pulse 150 beats/min, BP 110/35 mmHg, blood oxygen 90%.
…
At 23:55, spontaneous cardiac rhythm returned, pulse 120 beats/min, BP 90/35 mmHg, blood oxygen 85%…"
Huh? The patient survived?
Ye Wushu perked up, hoping to hear even better news.
Wu Yue said: "At the time, we suggested to the family that it would be best to put her on ECMO, but the family firmly refused. Later, the patient was transferred to the cardiac surgery ICU."
All the senior doctors present let out a collective sigh of relief.
After the meeting adjourned, Ye Wushu hurried over to Wu Yue's side: "Teacher Wu, Teacher Wu…"
Wu Yue stopped: "What's the matter?"
Ye Wushu asked in a low voice: "Which floor was Ge Yun transferred to? How is she doing?"
Wu Yue took a moment to react—they usually referred to patients by their bed numbers, and rarely used names when discussing cases privately.
Wu Yue seemed to notice Ye Wushu's sympathy for the patient and smiled: "The cardiac surgery ICU is in the new surgical building, 8th floor. I forgot the bed number. Why? You want to go see her?"
Ye Wushu felt a little embarrassed but didn't deny it. She then asked Teacher Wu about the detailed events of last night.
Because Ge Yun was a new mother who had just given birth, quite a few people came when her heart stopped—the director of the ICU, the director of anesthesiology, and the director of cardiac surgery.
According to Wu Yue's account, Director Zhong from cardiac surgery was furious when he heard the family refused ECMO. If Director Song from anesthesiology hadn't held him back, he would have nearly gone up and gotten into a physical fight with the family.
Ye Wushu couldn't help but admire Director Zhong's forthrightness, but on second thought, the family's attitude was infuriating. She chimed in: "Someone ought to teach that family a lesson. If it were me, I'd go at them too."
Wu Yue glanced at her small frame: "No, no, no, impulsiveness won't do. And even if you were strong, your title isn't strong. Best not to get into direct conflict with patients and their families. Director Zhong is the top cardiac surgeon in our hospital—he was poached from a thoracic hospital with a hefty offer back in the day. Not someone like us little minions can compare to."
Wu Yue summarized, "In short, the patient has been transferred to the cardiac surgery ICU, but she hasn't been put on ECMO yet because the family refuses to sign the consent form. The cardiac surgery team is now trying to contact her maternal relatives to see if anyone can sign. Otherwise, the transplant can't proceed."
Lu Junran watched his junior colleague perk back up after chatting with Wu Yue for a while. He was curious but too embarrassed to eavesdrop, so he waited until Wu Yue had walked away before approaching her and asking casually, "Junior colleague, what were you discussing with Dr. Wu just now?"
Ye Wushu answered truthfully, "I was asking where the woman who gave birth yesterday was transferred to and what the next step in her treatment plan is."
"Oh, so that's why you were upset this morning?"
"Is it that obvious?" Ye Wushu felt a little embarrassed, but also touched—her senior colleague cared about her so much!
Ye Wushu thought for a moment and said, "I just think it's a pity that she lost her life so pointlessly."
Lu Junran disagreed. "The moment she decided to get pregnant, she should have known it was a high-risk, life-threatening endeavor." He also felt that his junior colleague had too much sympathy at times.
"For a patient like this, and her family, no surgeon should risk anything for them."
If the family wouldn't even agree to ECMO, how could they possibly consent to a heart-lung transplant? Even if they agreed under pressure, if anything went wrong post-surgery, they would definitely blame the department.
A senior colleague, many years older than Lu Junran, had once warned him that a successful surgeon must have the ability to anticipate the likelihood of doctor-patient disputes.
"In our line of work, we're essentially fighting the Grim Reaper for lives, but not everyone is worth risking ourselves for. Some families are already hesitant—what's the point of pushing them? They might agree temporarily, but after they've used you, won't they regret it? Won't they come looking for trouble?"
"Only patients and families who trust you unconditionally, who put their lives in your hands—those are the ones worth gambling on."
"But then again…" the senior colleague had said, "From my experience, no one is worth that kind of risk except your own parents. There are too many stories of the farmer and the snake. For many people, it's better to just let nature take its course."
Lu Junran genuinely agreed with his senior colleague's words.
A surgeon who performs enough operations will inevitably face disputes and medical lawsuits. Anyone who claims otherwise simply hasn't done enough surgeries.
But a single medical lawsuit could destroy a young surgeon whose career is just taking off, or it could ruin a renowned old professor, tarnishing his reputation in his final years.
His junior colleague seemed upset.
Lu Junran stopped talking in time. Although he didn't know what was wrong with what he'd said, he knew it wasn't wise to continue.
After rounds, Lu Junran sat in the office area and quietly asked DeepSeek, recounting his conversation with his junior colleague to Mr. D.
[The patient is a woman, and his junior colleague is also a woman. They both face societal and familial expectations—childbearing. On the surface, they have the right to bear children, but in reality, they often have no choice. The toll of childbirth is always downplayed by the public, and the inequality of biological structures means women bear more suffering in marriage.]
【Perhaps you should try to see things from her perspective, understand her sympathy for this unfortunate woman, and comprehend her fear. I know it's difficult, but you should give it a try.】
So Lu Junran asked again: 【Then how should I win over my junior sister?】
【Wait… did you say win over? Is she really just your junior sister?】