468 Recovery (1/2)
As Chen Tong gazed at the pine trees downstairs, he placed his hand on his waist without realizing.
His waist did not hurt. His back did not hurt either. As for his neck… Hmm, the pain was still as strong as ever… It seemed to hurt even more now.
'Don't tell me that it's because the pillow I slept on during the surgery was shitty?'
Chen Tong fell into contemplation as he stared at the pine trees downstairs.
”Hey, Old Chen, you're up.” Wang Cheng, his next-bed neighbor, greeted him while he supported his waist with his hand.
”Yeah, I am.” Chen Tong did not even bother turning his neck. He continued staring at the pine trees downstairs.
The needle-shaped leaves of the pine trees were kind of clustered together, and when a person looked at them from above, it was as if the pine trees were covered with a thick layer of dust. They looked a little dirty.
Chen Tong could not help but chuckle internally. 'How can the pine trees in the city be compared to the pure and clean ones in the countryside…'
'Your recovery is going better than mine.” Wang Cheng looked at Chen Tong while feeling a little envious. He asked, ”It's not hurting anymore?”
”No,” Chen Tong said.
Wang Cheng sighed a few times and said, ”My waist is still hurting, and the pain is pretty intense. I don't even know if the surgery was carried out properly.”
”Dad, Doctor Ling said that your surgery was a success, didn't he? Didn't Doctor Jin say the same thing?” Wang Cheng's daughter quickly said as she was worried that Wang Cheng would be in a bad mood.
Wang Cheng snorted a few times. ”A successful surgery is only the first step. Doctor Ling only said that the surgery was a success. He didn't say anything about what will happen after the surgery.”
”Didn't Doctor Jin say that the recovery is going quite well?”
”What Doctor Jin said doesn't count.” Wang Cheng pursed his lips and said, ”You need to get the chief surgeon's opinions when it comes to this kind of thing, you know?”
Chen Tong turned and glanced at Wang Cheng. He said, ”My surgery was a day before yours.”
”But you seem like you were already doing pretty well two days ago.” Wang Cheng was still dissatisfied as he compared their recovery progress.
Chen Tong smiled. ”There's no point in having a fast recovery. At the end of the day, a complete recovery is more important.”
Wang Cheng shook his head. ”I used to say what you just said a lot. I only found out later that you wouldn't be able to catch up with those who were fast from the start, even if you spend the rest of your life doing so.”
Chen Tong could not help but laugh. He let out a few soft coughs and placed his hand on his waist without being aware of it.
The pain he expected did not come.
Chen Tong raised his head in astonishment and said, ”You know, I didn't even feel this good after my appendectomy years ago.”
”Did a monkey carry out your appendectomy?” Wang Cheng said before laughing at his own joke. He then sucked in a sharp breath because of the pain. ”Motherf*cker, didn't the same doctor operate on us? Why am I feeling so much pain?”
Chen Tong glanced at Wang Cheng before shifting his gaze back to the pine trees he loved so much. ”It's probably because you're older than me.”
Wang Cheng spaced out for a moment before coughing. He then sucked in a sharp breath because of the pain again.
During the late afternoon, the ward area on the first floor became quiet.
Everyone, regardless of whether they were the patients' family members or the nurses who were walking around, became gentle in their movements.
With a nurse's help, Chen Tong covered himself with his blanket and dozed off.
The following day, the doctors will start making ward rounds at four in the morning. The early birds might even start as early as three in the morning. All the patients really wanted to listen to the doctors' input, so they were really looking forward to it.
These patients had specifically travelled to the Second People's Hospital of Wuxin City to receive surgery. Some of them received an invitation from Doctor Jin, and some sought Doctor Jin out through connections. Some also came under Doctor Jin's recommendation because their conditions corresponded to the criteria Ling Ran was looking for.
But regardless of the means, they used to come here, all of them shared the same identity after arriving at the Second People's Hospital of Wuxin City—a patient.
All patients hoped that they would become healthy once again. With this thought in mind, they did not mind being roused from sleep at four, or even three in the morning during ward rounds.
Truth be told, for a very long time, most of them had been in so much pain that they were not even able to sleep at night. For some of the more serious cases, not even painkillers could suppress their symptoms.
Among diseases that were prevalent among ordinary people, hepatolithiasis was one of the more painful ones.
Now that they had gone through surgery, they gave waking up early in the morning no thought at all. All of them were more concerned about their health.
Even though a few of the patients came over because Doctor Jin extended them an invitation, the doctors merely checked on them after they were done with the other patients. This was so that those patients could get a little more sleep. The more demanding patients would not have agreed to head to the Second People's Hospital of Wuxin City with the other people.
Besides, if a patient's hepatolithiasis had progressed to a point where he needed hepatectomy, it meant that he had been suffering from it for quite a while. They already had an idea when it came to their condition and how much a doctor could be of help.
And Ling Ran's performance obviously exceeded those patients' expectations.
It at least exceeded most patients' expectations.
Because of this, Ling Ran enjoyed an enormous boost in reputation on the first floor of the Second People's Hospital of Wuxin City.
During three in the morning, some of the patients who did not sleep well had gotten out of bed and washed up. They also chatted with each other.
”Have you seen Doctor Ling yet?”
”Where did you come from just now?”
”You look like you're in the pink of health.”
”You look pretty great too.”
Both the patients and their family members had smiles on their faces as they greeted one another.
Chen Tong, too, slowly placed a foot on the floor.
He slipped on a pair of slippers. Without calling a nurse for help, he supported himself with his walking stick, and with his hand against the wall, he slowly inched towards the bathroom. He washed up briefly before opening the door and entering the corridor.
It was only a little over three in the morning, but the corridor on the first floor bustled with noise as if there was a fire drill going on there.
”Hi, Teacher Chen, you're awake.” A patient who was sitting in a wheelchair looked like he just saw his future, healthier self when he was Chen Tong. He greeted Chen Tong enthusiastically, ”You can even walk now! It seems that your recovery is going pretty well.”
”It's pretty good. I still feel a little bit of discomfort.” Chen Yong shifted his weight in discomfort as he held his walking stick and grabbed the railing beside the wall with his other hand. He panted a few times and said, ”My incision is still a little itchy. It's probably healing soon.”
”I wonder when I'll be able to start walking.” The patient sitting on the wheelchair smiled. He then looked at Chen Tong and said, ”My waist is still hurting a little, and they can't figure out what's going on after they looked at the scans either. Sigh, I'm just afraid that there might be complications, or perhaps they didn't take out enough stones.”
”No matter how horrifying complications are, they wouldn't be scarier than hepatectomy.” Chen Tong sighed emotionally. He then extended his hand and toyed with the money plant and spider plant at the corner. He then tied their leaves together while he was at it. He did it the same way he knotted ropes for rock-climbing back when he was still part of a scientific expedition team. He could make a beautiful knot using only one hand.