Chapter 428: Chapter 428 - Chapter 428: Chapter 428: The Cycle of Love and Responsibility

Chapter 428: Chapter 428: The Cycle of Love and Responsibility

Less than 20 minutes passed, and all the patient’s physiological and biochemical results were out!

Blood ketone bodies had increased!

Combining the patient’s symptoms, it was now possible to make a definitive diagnosis:

Primary diagnosis: Hyperkalemia

Secondary diagnosis: Diabetic ketoacidosis.

Chen Cang began contacting the endocrinology department.

The patient’s hyperkalemia was also caused by diabetic ketoacidosis.

Chen Cang turned around and saw Xu Dongdong with a pen in hand, recording something in a notebook, and said, “Dongdong, let the family members come in.”

Upon hearing Chen Cang call her, Xu Dongdong quickly put away her notebook and nodded: “Okay!”

At this time, the woman had been praying at the door for quite a while!

But as time passed!

Although she did not understand medicine, she knew that the longer it took, the more serious the problem was!

The more this was the case, the more restless she became!

Xu Dongdong opened the door to see the woman standing there anxiously, her eyes filled with expectation and hope, staring at the doorway.

Seeing Xu Dongdong come out, the woman hurriedly ran over!

“Doctor! Doctor! How’s my mother?”

Xu Dongdong smiled: “Don’t be nervous, Dr. Chen is letting you in.”

Xu Dongdong did not mention whether the patient was stable or not, saying only that Dr. Chen was letting her in.

Hearing this, the woman quickly entered.

“Dr. Chen, how is my mom… how is she doing?”

Chen Cang said, “The elderly woman is basically stable now, but I recommend that she be hospitalized in the endocrinology department for treatment. She currently has diabetic ketoacidosis, and this acidosis has caused her blood potassium to increase. It looks like this situation has been going on for more than a day or two!”

“So, I suggest that you visit the endocrinology department, so we can correct her diabetes, and simply treat the hyperkalemia accordingly. Don’t worry too much.”

After hearing this, the woman finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But Chen Cang turned around and addressed the elderly woman: “Madam, you need to be more mindful of your blood sugar from now on! You can’t eat whatever you want, you know. It was almost dangerous just now! Listen to your daughter more, could she possibly harm you?”

The elderly woman had also come around by this time, taking a long breath: “Ah… Doctor, thank you!”

Being addressed as “you” by the elderly woman was still something Chen Cang wasn’t quite used to.

Seeing her mother getting better, the daughter hurried over, knelt beside the bed, and held her mother’s emaciated hands, which were somewhat cold—a result of the poor microcirculation from long-term diabetes.

But the woman did not mind at all, kneeling there, caressing her mother’s hand against her face, tears dripping steadily down.

“Mom, you scared me to death!”

With red cheeks, the elderly woman didn’t know what to say, so she could only stroke her daughter’s face with her hand.

She used to caress her like this when she was a child, and now… she had grown up so much.

It was herself who had gotten old!

The daughter, clearly frightened, said: “Mom, did I nag at you too much, and you got upset? I won’t say it anymore, okay? But… you have to take your medicine on time. Don’t try to save it for me, what’s there to save? If you’re well, I’m happy no matter what…”

Tears welled up in the elderly woman’s eyes as she was moved.

At this time, Chen Cang picked up the phone to contact the endocrinology department.

It wasn’t long before the endocrinology on-call doctor, Yan Dongxue, came down in a hurry, and upon seeing Chen Cang, she smiled and greeted him: “Little Chen!”

Chen Cang smiled, Yan Dongxue was the son-in-law of the emergency department, Zhang Shu’s husband, and currently also the deputy director of endocrinology, forty years old, in the prime of his life!

“Teacher Yan, the patient is inside,” Chen Cang said, leading Yan Dongxue in.

After looking at the lab reports and ECG, Yan Dongxue was immediately startled, “This… is a life-threatening situation!”

Chen Cang nodded, “Yes.”

Yan Dongxue turned to the woman, “The elderly’s diabetes will need monitoring for a while, plus the insulin injections…”

The woman was very cooperative, “Okay! Doctor, I’ll follow your instructions.”

Yan Dongxue glanced at the patient and then proceeded.

Meanwhile, the elderly person sat up and, with the daughter’s support, was about to go to the endocrinology department to handle the hospital admission procedures.

Seeing how tired the woman was, Chen Cang suddenly said, “Should we use a wheelchair?”

The woman smiled, “No need, I’m used to it.”

After saying that, the two of them helped the elderly person away.

Occasionally, one could still hear the woman’s “sharp and caustic” nagging and the elderly’s “submissive agreements.”

From a distance, Chen Cang shook his head; perhaps this was love!

It seemed like the two had been arguing their whole lives, the mother nagging when they were young, and now the daughter nagging as the parents grew older; there was always endless worry and unceasing chatter…

It’s a cycle of life.

A cycle about love and responsibility.

Only… this seemingly ordinary scene, for some reason, became somewhat moving, blurring one’s eyes with emotion.

Xiaolin, as before, tended to cry easily.

With a sour nose, tears would flow.

Even Chang Lina, who was usually eloquent, took a deep breath and muttered to herself, “Just like with me and my mom, she chattered incessantly when I was young, and I couldn’t stand it. Now that she’s old, I nag her, and she must be just as annoyed…”

Maybe only with one’s own daughter can it be like this?

Chen Cang might not understand daughters, but… this affection, regardless of gender, could be empathetically felt.

…

…

Many students had just witnessed a seemingly straightforward but subtly complex resuscitation!

If it had really been just ordinary diarrhea, treating it as such could have cost the elderly person their life.

But Chen Cang was able to discern the cause amidst these complex factors and start treatment directly, which made this group of resident trainees feel inspired and admiring!

The bolder ones directly asked,

“Professor Chen! How did you know that the patient had hyperkalemia? At first, I thought it was hypokalemia caused by diarrhea. If it had been rehydration… the patient would have been gone!”

Chen Cang looked at the students, their eyes full of curiosity, and couldn’t help saying, “The principle of emergency medicine is: save lives first, then treat illness.”

“If the elderly simply had ordinary diarrhea, it could have led to an electrolyte disturbance, and you’re right to consider hypokalemia.”

“But!”

“When diagnosing diseases, we must not only judge based on the patient’s current symptoms but also take into account their medical history to make a comprehensive assessment!”

“The patient fell ill due to diarrhea from eating cold noodles, with a long history of diabetes. At this point, you have to consider whether diabetes could cause diarrhea and then combine signs, manifestations, and symptoms to make a judgment!”

“The patient had abnormal reactions in the digestive system, which you all saw just now, accompanied by cardiac rhythm abnormalities, followed immediately by respiratory system disorder, accompanied by fatigue and weakness all over! Heart rate dropped, at this point, you must think of a life-threatening condition: hyperkalemia!”

At that moment, Xu Dongdong couldn’t help asking, “Then… how did you know that the blood potassium was over eight, Professor Chen?”