Chapter 24 Step by Step
Lin Xili left the small room and returned to the longan tree.
With several hours to go before the iodine uptake test at 2 p.m., the fasting wait felt exceptionally long.
The patients and their families around them were either chatting quietly or scrolling through their phones to pass the time.
Lin Xili disliked this feeling of idleness, and even more so, she disliked wasting time on meaningless anxiety and phone screens.
She took out a thick book, "Frontiers of Forensic Science: Theory and Practice," from her canvas bag, turned to the page with the bookmark, and began to read it intently.
Her action drew several curious glances.
In a rural health center like this, in an era where mobile phones are ubiquitous, it's the first time I've ever seen someone passing the time by reading instead of using a mobile phone.
Lin Xili didn't care about those things.
Her world was temporarily occupied by the information in the book about trace evidence analysis and new DNA testing technologies, which made her feel fulfilled and safe.
It was almost 1 p.m. when the hunger pangs from an empty stomach became very strong. She closed her book and prepared to go to the same small restaurant she had visited last time.
Just then, the screen of her phone, which was next to her book, lit up and emitted a WeChat notification sound.
She thought it was a notification from Wen Qing or some app, so she picked it up and opened it casually.
It's Huo Nanchen.
Huo Nanchen: [Let's have lunch together at 1 PM.]
Lin Xili stared at the message for a moment, stunned.
He asked her out for lunch?
At the health center? In what capacity?
Extra care from doctors for their patients?
Or is it just a routine thing for the husband to do for his wife?
She paused for a moment on the screen, then replied: 【Okay.】
She packed her things and got up to walk towards the health center's canteen.
Huo Nanchen was already waiting there. When he saw her coming, he didn't say anything, but turned around and walked into the cafeteria first.
The canteen at the health center is small and the dishes are simple, after all, it is the canteen of a health center.
Huo Nanchen had already prepared two meals and placed them in a relatively quiet corner.
It's a menu for hospital patients.
The two sat down facing each other and began to eat in silence.
After fasting for several hours, even unappetizing food tastes exceptionally delicious.
When she had almost finished eating, she looked up at Huo Nanchen, who was quietly eating across from her, and asked:
"Dr. Huo, after the test at 2 PM, will we know the results? Will we be able to do iodine-131 treatment?"
Huo Nanchen paused in his act of picking up food, then looked up at her: "No."
He put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and explained, "The iodine uptake rate measured at 2 PM was the 3-hour iodine uptake rate, which is only a preliminary assessment."
"Tomorrow morning, we will need to test the 24-hour iodine uptake rate again. Only when your thyroid iodine uptake rate is higher than 60%, indicating that your thyroid tissue has sufficient absorption capacity for iodine-131, can we accurately calculate and prepare the final dosage of the treatment solution based on this specific absorption rate."
Lin Xili listened attentively, her brows furrowing slightly.
Huo Nanchen paused, then added, "After the medicine is prepared, a full-body CT scan is required before taking it to confirm that there are no other contraindications. Only if everything is qualified can the therapeutic dose of iodine-131 be taken."
Lin Xili's eyes widened slightly; she hadn't expected the process to be so complicated.
"Moreover, even after taking the treatment medicine, it's not immediately clear whether you're cured. Usually, you need to wait until three months later to have your thyroid function checked again to finally determine whether the treatment was successful and whether your thyroid function has returned to normal."
Actually, the doctor would mention these things when measuring iodine uptake in the afternoon, but Lin Xili asked in advance, so he answered first.
This series of rigorous and tedious steps gradually calmed Lin Xili's initially anxious mood.
It turns out that every step of the road to recovery requires such patience and precise waiting and assessment.
Huo Nanchen, observing the subtle changes in her expression, reassured her, "Don't be nervous, take it one step at a time. You're a forensic pathologist, you should know the basic principles behind what you just drank, right?"
He tried to alleviate her sense of unfamiliarity and anxiety by using areas she was familiar with.
Lin Xili shook his head, somewhat embarrassed: "I know what it is, but I haven't paid attention to the specific dosage calculations, iodine uptake assessments, etc. After all, it's not within my area of expertise."
Forensic medicine and clinical medicine are worlds apart.
Upon hearing this, a faint smile seemed to flash across Huo Nanchen's eyes, so fleeting as to be almost imperceptible.
He nodded, indicating his understanding: "Yes, everyone has their own area of expertise."
Five simple words, conveying mutual respect for each other's professions, instantly dispelled Lin Xili's slight embarrassment.
After finishing her meal, Lin Xili checked the time; there was still half an hour until 2 PM.
Remembering that Huo Nanchen had offered her a ride in his car when they arrived, she said, "It's hard to get a taxi here. After the inspection this afternoon, I'll wait for you under the longan tree down here. I'll just read a book down there."
She didn't want to disturb his work, and she also found herself a quiet place to stay.
Huo Nanchen had no objection and nodded: "Okay. We usually get off work at 4 pm."
"good."
The conversation ended, and the two stood up.
Huo Nanchen returned to his consultation room, while Lin Xili went back to the longan tree and took out that thick professional book again.
Sunlight, tree shadows, book pages, waiting.
At 2 p.m., the patients waiting under the longan tree began to get up one after another and walk towards the second floor of the old building.
Lin Xili wrote a letter, temporarily setting aside the tranquility that belonged to his professional field, and re-integrated into the flow of people seeking medical treatment.
The line stretched out in a small iodine testing room inside the clinic.
There seemed to be fewer people in the afternoon compared to the morning.
Lin Xili stood quietly in the queue, watching the people in front of her go in one by one and come out one by one, their faces showing either anticipation or confusion.
When it was her turn, Dr. Zhang was sitting inside; the small room was cramped.
Against the wall was a rather old-looking instrument connected to a computer screen.
The front of the instrument has an arc-shaped structure similar to a bracket.
"Come, sit here." Dr. Zhang gestured for her to sit in the chair in front of the instrument. "Stretch your neck out as far as possible, get close to this detector, and keep it still for about two minutes."
Lin Xili did as instructed, tilting her head back slightly to expose her neck to the cold, curved detector.
She tried to relax her body, maintain a fixed posture, and stare at the white wall opposite her, silently counting the time in her mind.
The instrument emitted an extremely faint hum, and the curves and data on the computer screen fluctuated continuously.
Dr. Zhang looked at the data on the screen and said, "All done."
Lin Xili immediately relaxed, stretched her stiff neck, and couldn't help but ask, "Dr. Zhang, how is it?"
Looking at the report, Zhang Jie calmly explained, "Your iodine uptake rate over 3 hours is 58%, which is a good number. Your thyroid gland has the ability to absorb iodine."
58%?
Lin Xili's heart skipped a beat. She remembered that Huo Nanchen had said that it needed to be higher than 60%.
Zhang Jie seemed to sense her hesitation and then explained, "However, this is only a preliminary reference. Ultimately, we'll need to look at the 24-hour iodine uptake rate tomorrow morning. That value is more stable and accurate. Just come over tomorrow morning and have me take your temperature."
I see.
Lin Xili breathed a slight sigh of relief; as long as there was still hope, that was good.
"Thank you, Dr. Zhang," she said, then got up and left the small room.
As she walked out of the iodine testing room, she subconsciously glanced at Huo Nanchen's examination station.
He had a patient over there; a haggard-looking middle-aged woman was sitting opposite him, speaking in a low voice.
"...Dr. Huo, I just feel pain all over my body, but I can't pinpoint exactly where it hurts. I just feel weak and have no energy to do anything. Otherwise, there's nothing else particularly unusual..."
Lin Xili paused involuntarily.
Feeling pain and weakness all over your body?
The typical symptoms of hyperthyroidism that she learned about include palpitations, hand tremors, heat intolerance, excessive sweating, and irritability.
I've never heard of a condition where the main symptom is pain all over the body.
The fact that people can accurately diagnose his thyroid condition based on this symptom shows that the villagers here have a lot of trust in his medical skills.
She stood not far away, not deliberately getting closer, and could hear Huo Nanchen's cool and patient voice.
He was systematically explaining to the woman the two main treatment options for hyperthyroidism: long-term drug therapy and one-time iodine-131 treatment.
He explained it very clearly, analyzed the pros and cons thoroughly, without deliberately favoring any particular option, and completely gave the choice to the patient.
"Doctor, I choose iodine-131!"
A loud-voiced woman made the decision almost immediately.
“I’ve been taking medicine for five years, and it’s been going on and off. I’m so tired of it. There’s a woman in my village who used to have hyperthyroidism. She had iodine-131 done here, and now she’s cured. She even gave birth to a healthy baby boy last year. I believe in this!”
Several patients behind him began to chime in.
"Yes, yes, I've also heard that this place is good for watching this!"
"A short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one, so I also choose iodine-131!"
"Taking medicine is too tedious, I want to do something disposable too!"
Lin Xili listened quietly, deeply moved.
She recalled her initial hesitation and fear, and then looked at these fellow patients who had resolutely chosen the shortcut.
Suddenly, I realized that with the proven efficacy and positive word-of-mouth, the 2% risk became bearable.
Huo Nanchen simply nodded calmly and then explained the precautions to everyone in detail.
Discontinue medication, avoid iodine, and wait for iodine uptake testing...
Lin Xili didn't linger any longer. He turned and left the clinic, went downstairs, and returned to the longan tree.
The 3-hour iodine uptake rate of 58% will be determined by the figure 24 hours from tomorrow.
She looked up and glanced at the door of the clinic on the second floor of the old building.
The man is inside right now, fulfilling his duties as a doctor.
As his patient and his legal wife, all she could do at that moment was wait and trust.
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