Chapter 244 Acute Meningitis
Xiang Ermei's heart skipped a beat. She touched her little daughter's head and found it burning hot. She was so scared that she quickly picked up her little daughter and ran to the infirmary.
"I'll take you there."
Luo Xinxin pushed the cart over, and Xiang Ermei didn't bother to be polite with her. She jumped into the car with the child in her arms. There was a medical room in the military district, and family members could see a doctor for free, but they could only treat some common illnesses. If the illness was serious, they had to go to the military district hospital.
The doctor took his temperature and said unhappily, "Why did you wait so long to bring him in? It's already 40 degrees."
"It's all my fault. I wasn't paying attention."
Xiang Ermei felt very guilty. Her little daughter hadn't eaten much since last night. She was busy with other things and didn't pay much attention. She didn't expect that her little daughter would be so delayed in one night.
"Let's hang up the water first and see if we can suppress it."
When the doctor went to prepare the medicine for the IV drip, the little girl suddenly vomited and vomited all over her second sister.
Luo Xinxin's face changed. She had a high fever and was vomiting. She didn't feel well.
The doctor's expression changed. She took out her stethoscope and listened again. She then turned over the child's eyelids to check. Still unsure, she said, "Hurry and take the child to the military hospital. See Dr. Xu in the pediatric department. I suspect the child has meningitis. Don't delay."
"Doctor, what is meningitis? Is it serious?"
Xiang Ermei was panicked. She didn't know what meningitis was, but she could tell from the doctor's expression that it must be very serious.
"Don't panic, everything will be fine with timely treatment!" The doctor comforted her and wiped the vomit off her body with toilet paper.
"Thank you, doctor."
Xiang Ermei was a little confused, but she remembered what the doctor said, that she had to go to the military hospital.
She hurriedly wiped her clothes, picked up her unconscious little daughter and ran out.
"Sister-in-law Xiang, I'll take you there."
Luo Xinxin chased after him. Saving people was more important, so it was okay to be late for work.
The military hospital was a half-hour bike ride away. On the way, Luo Xinxin kept comforting him, "Don't panic. Meningitis can be cured."
In fact, she was not sure. Even sixty years later, meningitis would still be a fatal disease. If it was delayed too long, even if the patient was saved, there might be sequelae. Meningitis in the sixties was definitely a terrible disease.
[The author doesn't quite understand the medical knowledge here. I looked it up and found that meningitis and pneumonia were very serious diseases in the 1960s and 1970s, requiring imported antibiotics for treatment, which were expensive.]
Luo Xinxin pedaled very fast all the way and arrived at the military hospital in just twenty minutes. As soon as the car stopped, Xiang Ermei quickly jumped out of the car holding her little daughter and rushed into the hospital.
"Comrade, where is Doctor Xu? Doctor Xu from the pediatric department?"
At this time, Xiang Ermei was completely confused, her mind was blank. The only thing she remembered was what the doctor said, asking her to see Dr. Xu, a pediatrician.
There were people coming and going in the hall, all of them were strangers. Xiang Ermei was illiterate, and in a hurry she asked everyone she saw, while holding her unconscious little daughter in her arms.
"Don't worry, comrade. I'll take you to see Doctor Xu."
A female doctor came over, took a look at the child in her arms, her expression became serious, and she took Xiang Ermei and her daughter to see Dr. Xu.
He kept thanking his second sister and followed the female doctor.
Luo Xinxin chased after them. She didn't even have time to lock the car. Seeing a doctor leading Xiang Ermei, she said, "Sister-in-law Xiang, give me the household registration booklet. I'll go register and see you later."
He took out the household registration booklet from his pocket and handed it to her: "Sister, thank you!"
"You're so polite!"
Luo Xinxin smiled, took the household registration booklet and went to queue up for registration. Since her second sister and her daughter were military dependents, they could see a doctor for free, but they had to pay five cents for the registration.
After she registered, she found the pediatric department, where Dr. Xu was examining the child.
"Acute meningitis. Must be hospitalized."
Doctor Xu had a serious expression on his face. He immediately wrote out a hospital admission form and asked Xiang Ermei to go through the hospitalization procedures.
"Doctor, can the child be cured?"
I asked my second sister, trying hard to hold back my tears.
"You brought the patient here on time, so there's a high probability that there will be no problem." Doctor Xu spoke in a low and slow voice, which was very soothing.
"Thank you, doctor. I'll go and handle the formalities right away."
Xiang Ermei felt relieved, wiped her tears vigorously, and prepared to go through the hospitalization procedures.
"Sister-in-law, please look after the child. I'll go and handle the paperwork."
Luo Xinxin was quicker than her and rushed to handle the formalities.
Xiang Ermei was not polite. She really needed help now. She couldn't handle it alone. She said to Doctor Xu, "Doctor, please give my child the best medicine, okay?"
"Imported medicine is very expensive and not reimbursed. Are you sure you want to use it?"
Doctor Xu noticed that Xiang Ermei and her daughter were not well off and her clothes were patched, so he was worried that she could not afford imported medicine.
He comforted her again: "Ordinary medicine is also effective, don't worry."
"Doctor, are imported medicines better than ordinary medicines?" I asked my second sister.
"It's true that imported medicines are more effective, but you have to pay for it yourself, about five or six yuan." Doctor Xu said truthfully.
"Use imported medicine, I'll pay for it."
Xiang Ermei did not hesitate. She did not dare to gamble. Even if she had to eat pickles every day for the next month, she had to give her youngest daughter imported medicine.
"Okay, I'll prescribe imported medicine for you."
Doctor Xu is actually willing to use imported drugs, which have a higher chance of cure, but many patients' families cannot afford the medicine costs and can only use ordinary drugs, which are indeed less effective.
Luo Xinxin completed the hospitalization procedures and went to the ward to find Xiang Ermei and her daughter. The little girl was already on an IV drip and her complexion looked better than before.
"Sister, today is all thanks to you."
I kept thanking my second sister.
"Don't be polite with me. What did the doctor say?"
Luo Xinxin was not used to being polite, so she turned the topic to the children.
"I asked Doctor Xu to use the best imported medicine. It should be fine. Sister, you should go back to work. I'm fine here."
She didn't mention to her second sister that she had to pay for the imported medicine herself. She planned to call the military primary school later and borrow money from Yuan Xiaojie, and then pay it back after Peng Shuangcheng gave her living expenses.
"Do I have to pay for imported medicines myself? How much will it cost?" Luo Xinxin asked.
At this time, the West was very strict and imported drugs were very expensive, so they definitely could not be reimbursed.
"It's more than five dollars. I'm rich." He smiled at the second sister.
"Sister-in-law, you always say that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Don't be too polite to me. Take this money and use it first. There is no rush to pay it back."
Luo Xinxin didn't believe it at all. The child couldn't even afford to buy homework books in the morning, so how could he have money to buy imported medicine now? She took out a big unity banknote from her pocket and forcefully stuffed it into Xiang Ermei's pocket.
"It won't take that much. Five dollars will be enough."
Xiang Ermei was startled and wanted to return it.
"Use the remaining money to buy nutritional supplements for the child. His immune system is too weak and he's prone to illness. Sister-in-law, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but Comrade Peng's salary is not low. Your family really doesn't need to live so frugally. It's better for the child to eat more meat and eggs than to go to the hospital."
Luo Xinxin was not polite at all. She cooked for her second sister in the corridor and was reluctant to use more oil. She only put a drop of oil when stir-frying the shredded potatoes. It was really just a drop. It was more like boiling the shredded potatoes than stir-frying.
When Peng Shuangcheng was at home, Xiang Ermei would cook something delicious, but not much, just a small plate.
If it were just them, mother and daughter, there would be no meat to be found. It would either be boiled cabbage or boiled shredded potatoes. Pigs sixty years later would eat better than them.
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