"I..." Li Chu didn't know what to say. In that situation just now, would he dare to dodge? If he didn't let her vent her anger, wouldn't he be in even more trouble?
"I'm sorry, I won't pinch you anymore." Ding Qiunan saw that her man was not speaking and thought he was angry.
"Hey, honey, why are you apologizing like that?" Li Chu reached out and ruffled his wife's hair. "You're exaggerating. I know you're just joking with me."
"Hmph~ Li Chu, why don't they call me Mom? It's because I stayed up all night every day to breastfeed them!"
"Don't worry, honey, they'll definitely learn to call it gradually. They're in the learning stage." Li Chu sat down on the sofa and hugged her.
Ding Qiunan rested her head on his shoulder and pouted, saying, "Starting tomorrow, I'm going to keep teaching them to call me 'Mommy'."
"Okay, I'll teach them to call me 'Mom' too. Honey, go wash up and get some rest."
Ding Qiunan sat up straight and glanced at Li Chu sideways: "What's wrong with you? Don't you know what you're supposed to be doing? Do I have to remind you?"
Li Chu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what his wife meant. He stood up and picked her up, saying, "How could I not know? Here she comes. I won't stop tonight if you don't beg for mercy." He walked towards the bathroom as he spoke.
Ding Qiunan wrapped her arms around his neck, looking at her man with seductive eyes.
The next morning at the hospital.
Li Chu was reading a book in the consultation room when the patient with kidney failure came back for a follow-up visit.
Looking at the patient's face, Li Chu's heart sank lower and lower.
After taking the patient's pulse, he finally realized that his previous feeling that the condition was under control was just an illusion. The patient's condition had indeed worsened, and according to Western medicine, his condition had now entered a new stage.
If his judgment is correct, it should be early-stage uremia.
But the effect is the same whether it is late-stage kidney failure or early-stage uremia.
The damage to the kidneys has been irreversible, to the point that the damaged kidneys are no longer able to eliminate metabolic waste.
Li Chu didn't know how to talk to this patient, so he hesitated for a while before saying, "Comrade, the condition is under control for the time being. You still need to cooperate with the treatment. I'll give you a referral for tests. Go to the outpatient hall and get a few done."
He decided to keep it a secret for now, because if he told the patient the truth, the patient probably wouldn't be able to accept it.
I took out the lab report and ordered a complete blood count and a urine test. After thinking for a moment, I also ordered an abdominal ultrasound. Now, the ultrasound should be able to show that the patient's kidneys are atrophied.
Looking at the prescription he had written, Li Chu found it a little funny. When did traditional Chinese medicine start needing to rely on these instruments for examinations?
However, given the current trajectory of this disease, there is no way to find evidence-based medicine to support traditional Chinese medicine treatment.
If we were to compare the concept of "xúláo" (虚劳) in Traditional Chinese Medicine with that in Western medicine, it could be considered an early stage of kidney failure. If treated early, the progression of the disease can be controlled and the symptoms can be alleviated.
According to his estimate, it wasn't that no one had uremia in the past, but rather that people might not have survived to that stage before passing away.
"Sister Wang, please take this patient to get some tests done." Li Chu handed the completed lab form to Nurse Wang and asked her to take the patient.
Then he said to the patient's family member, "Miss, please wait a moment. I'll explain some precautions for him to take his medication in the future."
After Nurse Wang left with the patient, Li Chu asked the patient's family to sit down, and then pondered for a while before speaking.
"Comrade, are you and the patient a couple?"
The patient's family looked at Li Chu without saying anything, only nodding.
"What is your surname, comrade?"
“My surname is Zhang, Li Zao Zhang, and my husband’s surname is also Zhang, he is Gong Chang Zhang,” the patient’s family member said softly, his voice somewhat low.
"Comrade Zhang, I won't beat around the bush about your wife's illness. His condition is quite bad, and I hope you can prepare yourself mentally in advance."
These words caused the patient's family member's expression to change drastically, their eyes quickly reddening, and their hands tightly gripping the straps of their bag.
"Didn't they say... that it was under control?"
Li Chu didn't speak, but instead picked up a pen and paper and drew a kidney on it, even blacking out part of it.
Then, pointing to the diagram he had drawn, he said to the patient's family, "This is like your spouse's kidney. The part that's been blacked out is the damaged part."
"This part is already damaged and cannot be restored."
Looking up at the patient's family members who were listening attentively, he continued, "The main functions of the kidneys are metabolism, excretion of excess water from the body, and regulation of the balance of certain substances in the body."
He paused here, looked at her, and continued only when she seemed to understand: "Now most of your husband's kidneys are no longer functioning properly."
Li Chu pointed to the black part he had drawn: "If only such a small part is left to function normally, it is impossible to properly excrete all the harmful substances that need to be excreted every day. So many harmful substances accumulating in the body will inevitably damage other organs and cause other complications."
He stopped there, feeling he had made himself clear.
The patient's family member pointed to the blackened part of the kidney he had drawn and asked, "Doctor, are you saying that this part is already rotten and can't be cured?"
Li Chu nodded: "Yes, this is irreversible. Once it's broken, it's broken. Giving him medicine or enemas now is all to help alleviate his condition and try to prolong his survival time."
After hearing his words, the family fell silent, tears streaming down their faces: "Is there really no way to help him? He's only forty years old!"
"I'm sorry, we haven't found any effective methods yet."
Seeing that she was still crying, Li Chu advised, "Comrade Zhang, I hope you can control your emotions. The reason I didn't say it in front of your husband is that I didn't want to put pressure on him and to help him cooperate with our hospital's treatment. If he finds out..."
The patient's family member nodded, took out a handkerchief from their pocket, and wiped away their tears: "Doctor, thank you."
Li Chu shook his head and said, "You're welcome. I will do my best. Also, I should remind you that your wife should try to use less salt in her meals in the future."
"Okay, I understand."
Li Chu didn't mention any other dietary restrictions, so it's likely that even if you wanted to eat them, you wouldn't be able to.
"Doctor, if there's nothing else, I'll go to the outpatient clinic and accompany him for his check-up."
"Go ahead, but try to control your emotions."
Looking at the somber figures of the patient's family members, Li Chu sighed deeply. This feeling of helplessness was truly awful.
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