Chapter 376: Give me a betel nut so I can stop his diarrhea
The next day at noon, we returned to Bohol Island.
Before taking the laxative, Cruz and I spent half an hour discussing the various symptoms that would occur after a patient took the laxative, as recorded in Mr. Dong's notes, with Tang Man translating them for him.
Cruz, a medical professor after all, had regained some of his verbal ability. He expressed the following: Clearing out the contents of the intestines causes diarrhea, which leaves the body weak and frail. He also doesn't want to eat.
After Tang Man translated it for me, I gave him a thumbs-up: "Professor, this is exactly what you described. However, the difference between Chinese medicine and Western medicine is:
Western medicine might use intravenous drips to maintain the body's fluid and electrolyte balance and ensure the necessary nutrients. However, Traditional Chinese Medicine emphasizes eating. It requires food to be digested, thereby producing more intestinal waste. Therefore, even if you don't feel like eating, you still have to eat.
"What do you mean by 'thing'?"
After Tang Man translated it, I said, "In the current context, 'something' refers to food. You should translate it as - even if you don't want to eat food, you still have to eat - now translate it back."
After translating, Tang Man gave me a knowing smile and said, "The contexts of Chinese and Western languages are different. We use "something" to refer to everything, but they are not used to it and prefer to be specific."
I said, "This is a common problem for people who grew up in a Chinese cultural background."
After listening to Tang Man's translation, Cruz nodded and said:
"DrwanDoasyoudo."
Tang Man translated for me: "Doctor Wan, do as you say."
"What? He called me Doctor Wan?"
"Yes. Drwan, that's Doctor Wan."
I said to Tang Man, "Let's boil the medicine now."
Back in the living room, Tang Man had gone to make some medicine. Crook wasn't home either, only Phil was busy coming and going. I sat there, feeling a little excited.
Cruz, who used to call me "Mr. Wan," called me "Doctor Wan" for the first time today. He acknowledged from the bottom of his heart that I was a doctor.
Laxatives cannot be boiled for a long time. The heat must be turned off as soon as the water boils.
I sat there, listening to the water. When it boiled, I said to Tang Man, "It's done."
After giving Cruz the laxative, I said to Phil, "Please arrange lunch. I can't leave at noon. Cruz's room must be kept at all times. Someone must be on duty. If anything happens, call me."
After Tang Man translated, Phil nodded and immediately went to make arrangements.
"Teacher Wan, what did you talk about with Mr. Liu yesterday?" Tang Man asked.
"I have no idea where to go. You know, I'm on a language island, and I really want to chat with Chinese people."
"You can also talk to me. Don't I spend every day with you?"
"No, it's two completely different things."
"Two different things?"
"We smoked and laughed whenever we wanted, without worrying about our appearance. We talked as long as we wanted, without worrying about the length of time."
She said, "Then you must have had a pleasant chat."
"Very pleasant."
We were chatting casually when the maid and nurse came out and said Cruz was in pain. Tang Man and I went in immediately.
Through Tang Man's translation, I understood that Cruz had abdominal distension and couldn't defecate.
I said to Tang Man, "Make another batch of medicine."
Ten minutes later, Tang Man brought over a cup. I asked the maid to feed me half of it first and then tell me if anything happened.
This time, I didn't go back to the living room, but sat outside the bed to rest.
I didn't want to talk, just watched Cruz's next reaction.
Seeing that I didn't say anything, Tang Man looked at her phone alone.
This process is very long.
After a while, Phil came in and invited us to dinner.
I shook my head and said, "I don't want to eat. Just give me some fruit."
Tang Man followed Phil out, and after a while, a servant brought in fruits, desserts, and a large drink.
I wolfed down my food, as I'm a bit of a germaphobe. I can't eat anything if I see shit or urine, but I had to see what color his shit was so I could prescribe the right solution.
Tang Man seemed to be swallowing it whole. She was also worried that I would be alone here, without anyone to translate if something happened. This was in stark contrast to him going straight home yesterday.
I joked, "Why did you go home so quickly yesterday?"
She blushed and said, "I forgot you have to meet Mr. Liu tonight."
At this time, the maid came out and said something. Tang Man said to me, "Cruz is going to go to the bathroom."
"Tell her not to throw the feces away, but to show it to me later and let me smell it."
After Tang Man finished translating this sentence, she pointed at her nose and pointed at the maid. The maid brought two masks.
A moment later, the maid brought over the feces container. A foul odor hit me. I thought Tang Man would walk away. But she didn't. It showed she was a qualified medical worker.
I looked at the stool; it was loose, dark, and streaked with blood. I waved to the maid, and she left with the toilet box.
Walk into the living room and talk to Phil.
I said, "He's doing well right now, and this is normal detoxification. You must persuade him to eat more. There's no need to boil the medicine in the afternoon, and I won't be here in the afternoon. If anything happens, feel free to call Tang Man."
After listening to the translation, Phil nodded and walked us to the door.
Tang Man and I studied English all the way back to the hotel. I said, "I want to get some sleep. If anything happens, call me right away."
I was so tired because I had been on the plane and I didn't rest for a minute after getting off the plane. I went straight to treat Cruz.
I don't know how long I slept when the bedside phone rang. I immediately picked it up and heard Tang Man's urgent voice: "Hurry, hurry, they're calling us over, the car is at the door."
I quickly put on my trousers. At the door, I ran into Tang Man, who was running towards me. We got into the car, and neither of us exchanged a word. We got out and ran into the living room, and Phil trotted us into the ward.
Cruz was suffering from persistent diarrhea.
I frowned and thought to myself, I prescribed the medicine in the same dosage as Mr. Dong's notes, and I also read some medical books. How could this happen?
Suddenly, my eyes fell on the cup on the bedside.
"Did you feed him the remaining half cup of medicine after we left?"
After Tang Man translated, Phil asked the two maids.
One of them admitted that she did feed the rest, thinking it was her job.
Of course, I'm the primary person responsible for this. I told Tang Man to pour half the glass, but she didn't pour out the remaining half. I said, "This can't be blamed on the nurse; it was my negligence."
After that, I sat down by the bed and took Cruz's pulse. Sure enough, it was fast, but not life-threatening. Just a little exhausted.
I said to Phil, “Are there any betel nuts?”
"have."
I went to the living room and asked her for a pair of tweezers. I turned on the gas stove and roasted the betel nuts until they were almost like charcoal. I let them cool and ground them into powder. I asked Phil to boil a pot of water. (They usually drink cold water.)
Hot water is poured into the cup of water with betel nut powder, making a sizzling sound.
Tang Man asked, "Teacher Wan, what is this...?"
"Home remedies for diarrhea."
When I offered Cruz the dark water, he instinctively refused. I asked Tang Man to explain it three or four times, but he still refused.
I had no choice but to ask for a paper cup, pour out a little, and drink it myself. Then he drank it.
That night, I stayed in Cruz's ward and set up a makeshift bed. The betel nut water was really effective. Cruz didn't have diarrhea anymore.
If I say it was an accidental drink, the extra half cup of medicine scared me half to death, but a few days later, I really have to thank that maid. It was because of her ignorance that Cruz started the detoxification process for the first time.
No one dared to prescribe such a strong dose of medicine, but due to her ignorance, it had an unexpected effect.
Cruz's illness, on the contrary, recovered quickly.
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