Prison visits

Shen Bining began her day with repeated self-affirmations. She turned on her computer and started working diligently and earnestly for over an hour before being interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Dr. Chen, a patient is looking for you," the nurse said with a smile, peeking out her head.

Because of the special nature of her work, which differs from other departments in the hospital, Shen Bining's registration process is also different from the traditional registration method, and is more diversified and humanized.

For example, this visitor came directly to the hospital to see Shen Bining.

“Please let him in,” Shen Bining said.

The nurse agreed and turned to bring a man in.

Upon meeting him, Shen Bining was taken aback, because the man was wearing a police uniform and was clearly looking for her during working hours.

After leading the man to the back, the nurse went off to attend to other matters. Shen Bining politely said to the man, "Please sit down."

The man, who was about forty years old, thanked her and sat down opposite Shen Bining.

"Hello Dr. Chen, my surname is Xie, and my name is Xie Feng," the man introduced himself first.

"Hello Mr. Xie, how can I help you?" Shen Bining asked politely.

Xie Feng seemed a little awkward, as this was probably his first time working in the field of end-of-life care. He rubbed his hands together and said, "It's like this, I'd like to ask Dr. Shen to help a patient, and it might require your help."

Shen Bining nodded in understanding. The patients they deal with in their line of work are all on their deathbeds, many of whom can only lie in hospital beds. For them, taking a dump is just a daily occurrence.

“That’s no problem. May I ask, what is the patient’s condition, and what is your relationship with him/her…” Shen Bining asked.

Xie Feng sighed, pointed to his uniform, and said, "Dr. Shen should be able to tell that I am a police officer. To be precise, I am a prison guard, the kind of police officer who specifically guards prisoners."

Just as Shen Bining was about to write the medical record, she suddenly looked up at the person who had come in. Her eyes widened in shock, and she asked incredulously, "Don't tell me that this patient is your prisoner."

“Dr. Shen is right.” Xie Feng himself seemed to think it was a bit unreasonable, and gave a wry smile. “The patient is a man in his fifties who has terminal liver cancer. The doctor said he has at most three to six months to live.”

Shen Bining was both amused and exasperated, and teased, "Officer Xie, your prison really has humane services, even prisoners can enjoy dignified end-of-life care. Alright, it's a human life after all, I'll help him out..."

As she spoke, Shen Bining turned on her computer and searched for something, muttering to herself, "End-stage liver cancer, that patient must be in a lot of pain. Does he need painkillers like morphine and pethidine? I'll try to apply for some from the hospital for him, but these kinds of people need frequent injections, especially end-stage patients, who almost need injections every day to relieve the pain."

Shen Bining seemed to have thought of something, frowned, looked up at Xie Feng, and said apologetically, "I almost forgot, these kinds of drugs are not allowed to leave the hospital. Once they leave the hospital, they are considered drugs. Terminal cancer patients can only come to the hospital for injections every day, but this patient is a prisoner. Can he leave the prison every day to come to the hospital for injections? If he can leave, I will try to help him apply for one. If not, I can recommend some painkillers that are allowed to be purchased. Although they are not as effective as morphine and pethidine, they are better than nothing."

Xie Feng quickly interrupted Shen Bining's incessant chatter, saying, "Dr. Shen, you've misunderstood. That patient doesn't need painkillers; he wants to ask you for a favor, to help him fulfill a wish."

Shen Bining's eyes widened again, she gasped, and exclaimed, "Are you kidding me?"

Xie Feng was amused and joked, "How idle must I be to come to the hospital and make fun of a little girl?"

The two stared at each other for a while, until Shen Bining was sure Xie Feng wasn't joking. Then, deflated, she sighed, "Officer Xie, I remember learning in middle school politics that prisoners are deprived of many rights while incarcerated. They have the right to see a doctor and take medicine when they're sick, but they also have the right to receive end-of-life care, especially since I have to help them fulfill their wishes. His prison sentence is far too luxurious; he can even fulfill his wishes before he dies? Is he even in prison?"

Xie Feng wasn't surprised by Shen Bining's reaction. He waited for her to finish complaining before speaking, "I know it's a bit unreasonable and illogical. But that patient behaved very well twenty years ago when he was in prison. Now he has an incurable disease and would rather suffer excruciating pain every day than apply for painkillers. His only wish is to see a hospice doctor. He's traded his only benefit for seeing a hospice doctor, so he must have some unfulfilled wish. I discussed it with a few other prison guards, and we decided to give it a try and help him as much as possible."

Shen Bining was even more shocked after hearing this. He had already served twenty years in prison. What kind of crime must he have committed to deserve so many years in prison? Although she was not a law student, she vaguely remembered that usually, those who served more than twenty years were sentenced to life imprisonment.

So, this prison guard came to seek end-of-life care for an inmate sentenced to life imprisonment?

"Officer Xie, may I ask what your relationship is with that prisoner? Are you a relative or a former friend?" Shen Bining asked hesitantly.

She couldn't think of any other reason besides relatives or friends.

Xie Feng was taken aback for a moment, then understood what Shen Bining meant. He shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I have no personal relationship with him, and coming to you for help is not my personal decision. It is the result of a joint discussion among several prison guards. We all hope to fulfill the patient's last request, so we came to you."

The result of a joint discussion among several prison guards? Shen Bining raised an eyebrow. She also noticed that Xie Feng kept using the term "patient" to describe the person in the prison, rather than "prisoner."

She suddenly became very interested in what kind of person he was that so many prison guards would give him special treatment, and even come to ask a hospice doctor to fulfill his last wish.

Shen Bining's softened expression and the intense interest in her eyes naturally did not escape Xie Feng's notice, who had been a policeman for half his life. He immediately said, "I sincerely request that Dr. Shen come to the prison to see this patient and listen to his wishes. If Dr. Shen feels it is inappropriate, she may refuse to serve him."

It has to be said that Xie Feng's words directly hit the nail on the head regarding Shen Bining's "heart"—visiting prisoners in jail. She had never been to a prison in her life, and heaven knows what a huge temptation this was for someone as curious and fond of pursuing new experiences as her.

So Shen Bining immediately said, "When shall we go? I can leave anytime."

Twenty minutes later, the two cars drove away from the hospital one after the other. The one in front was Xie Feng's police car, and the one behind was Shen Bining's car.

Driven by curiosity about prison, Shen Bining agreed to visit the cancer patient. Little did she know that this impulsive act would bring her extraordinary adventures in the future.

*

Prisons are usually located on the outskirts of a city. Shen Bining drove with Xie Feng's car for almost two hours before arriving near the prison.

After parking the car, Shen Bining excitedly got out, only to be immediately stunned by the scene before her. This was a prison, high walls and iron fences confining people's freedom; the overall atmosphere was a cold gray, and just looking at it evoked a profound sense of despair.

At this moment, all prison scenes in movies and TV shows pale in comparison. Indeed, many places in this world can only be truly appreciated by experiencing them firsthand.

It was lunchtime, and Xie Feng said to Shen Bining with some guilt, "I've kept Dr. Shen from having lunch in the middle of the day. If you don't mind, you can come and eat with us in the cafeteria. But we just serve communal meals. How about I treat you to something else? The nearest restaurant is a bit far, though, and you know how desolate this area is."

As he spoke, Xie Feng was about to get back into the car and take Shen Bining to a restaurant for dinner.

Shen Bining naturally refused, waving her hand and saying casually, "It's okay, I'll just eat with you at the communal restaurant. I'm not that delicate. Actually, our hospital cafeteria is pretty much the same as other places, so I'll just eat whatever you eat."

"Alright then, Dr. Shen, please come with me." Xie Feng laughed heartily and led the way, taking Shen Bining to the cafeteria for lunch.

When Xie Feng led Shen Bining to the canteen, they happened to find a group of prison guards enjoying their meal. Naturally, the canteen for prisoners was separate from that for the guards, and Shen Bining was not allowed to go in.

The prison guards were mostly rough men. When Xie Feng brought in a young and beautiful girl, many of his acquaintances started to jeer. They only quieted down after Xie Feng introduced Shen Bining's identity.

"Dr. Shen, we didn't know you were a hospice doctor. We were just joking. Please don't take it to heart."

"That's right, that's right. We really didn't expect such a young and beautiful doctor to come. We couldn't keep our mouths shut for a moment, so we apologize to you here."

The few people who had been egging her on were afraid that Shen Bining would be angry, so they quickly apologized. Shen Bining wasn't angry, and just smiled and said a few words, and that was it.

Although Officer Xie was worried that Shen Bining might not be used to the cafeteria food and might neglect Dr. Shen, Shen Bining actually thought the food was quite good when she saw it.

Perhaps because the prison guards had heavy workloads, their meals were quite good, and since Shen Bining wasn't a picky eater, she ate with relish.

After Shen Bining finished eating, the prisoners at the prison had also finished their lunch break, so it was a good time to arrange for Shen Bining to meet with the patient.

After going through a series of complicated procedures, Xie Feng, accompanied by Shen Bining, finally met the legendary "murderer".