Chapter 789: Drawing lots, leave it to luck (2/2)

The medical skills competition had a deadline of 10 days. After that, the judging panel would examine the patient’s condition and compare it to the doctor’s analysis and treatment to give them a score. It’d be impossible for Department Head Ouyang to find a cure within 10 days for his case. Moreover, current medical technology lacked IVs or feeding tubes to sustain the patient.

Han Yunxi had once seen a patient who was born unable to eat in a case of Type II congenital disorder of glycosylation. Due to various factors within the body, the infant would vomit any food it took in. But this was the first time she’d seen a case in a patient so old.

“It’s no wonder these are the medical academy’s most difficult cases…” Han Yunxi grew even more uneasy. As expected, luck played a big part in the draw. Who knew what Gu Beiyue got?

For now, the judging panel had announced Department Head Lin’s results.

“The patient is a 30 year old female with a severe case of memory loss that has lasted over 10 years.”

As the crowd quieted down, everyone wore strange looks. Amnesia was a tricky problem. Sometimes it’d recover on its own, while other times even Hua Tuo would be hard-pressed to find a cure. But compared to Department Head Huo and Department Head Ouyang, Department Head Lin had really lucked out! At least he could suggest some probable cures, while the other two men still needed to figure out the status of their illness cases.

None of the trio expressed their opinions on the results, but their hearts were already surging with emotional waves. For now, Department Head Lin had gained the upper hand. Meanwhile, the crowd focused its gaze on Gu Beiyue’s paper strip.

What did he get?

Han Yunxi gripped her hands while Gu Qishao began to bite his nails. Both of them were waiting for the judging panel to announce the results. Every member on the panel had a chance to read the strip before odd expressions popped up on their faces. They had even bigger reactions to the paper than any of the ones before.

Suddenly, Clan Head Ren laughed out loud. “Heheh, interesting. Interesting!”

Tension gripped the crowd, and Gu Qishao shouted out impatiently, “What does that mean? What’re you dawdling for?”

Clan Head Ren’s eyes flashed with displeasure before he finally proclaimed, “Doctor Gu’s case is dystocia, also known as obstructed labor. The mother was sent to the delivery room yesterday noon, but her water hasn’t broken yet…”

More silence greeted his words, before the crowd erupted into laughter! A man like Gu Beiyue was stuck with a case like this? How could he endure it? No wonder Clan Head Ren thought it was interesting. Even the other three department heads had to laugh. Is Gu Beiyue going to be a midwife now?

Gu Qishao had been pressing his lips into a thin line, but in the end he chortled twice as well. Han Yunxi couldn’t laugh at all. In a low voice, she muttered, “Little Qi, Gu Beiyue’s in a lot of danger right now, even more than Department Head Ouyang.”

“Isn’t it just childbirth? After two or three days’ worth of pain, the babies will come out eventually, right?” Gu Qishao didn’t understand anything about the subject, though he’d heard about it from his days at the medical academy.

“If it was just an ordinary case of obstructed labor, then why would it qualify as a top difficulty case?” Han Yunxi was sitting too far to see Gu Beiyue’s current expression.

Before Gu Qishao could reply, Clan Head Ren moved onto other announcements. “The stomach of the patient is extremely large, so the midwife expects...expects that it’ll be multiple births. Thus, they sent her to medical academy before daybreak today.”

Han Yunxi’s hands relaxed--not because she’d stopped worrying, but because they’d grown listless.

Multiple births!

In modern times, doctors would propose Ceasarean section for mothers pregnant with twins in case the second child experienced fetal distress or lack of oxygen. It was also to help the mother in case she ran out of energy to keep pushing. Much mothers had successfully given birth to twins in the past too, but mortality rates were high. It was normal to lose the second child or kill both baby and mother from excessive blood loss.

Twins were already difficult to birth, to say nothing more more babies. Most people only knew childbirth as a painful process, but it could also be a matter of life and death. Moreover, the current mother had been suffering labor pains for over a day, but her water still hadn’t broken. This would exhaust her energy. They had no way to determine exactly how many babies she had in her womb either, much less their respective positions. Even if the mother had enough energy to push them all out, even one fetus in the wrong position could cause a death!

Department Head Ouyang’s patient could at least last for around seven days without water, but Gu Beiyue’s obstructed labor mother might die within the next three days!

Han Yunxi watched Gu Beiyue from a distance as Clan Head Ren’s voice filled her ears.

“The medical skills competition will last for 10 days. May all doctors hurry to the examination rooms now to begin treatment. Good luck!”