Chapter 138: Silly child, why won’t you cry!

Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu

Zhang Fan’s work in gynecology and obstetrics helped him to understand how difficult it was for women to give birth. In modern day China, very few people would actually experience life-and-death situations. Yet, every woman who was a mother would have experienced such a life-and-death situation already. Only mothers would truly understand the difficulties involved!

Renovation was now completed on Zhang Fan’s new apartment home. However, the apartment still wasn’t ready for living in yet, because the smell of fresh paint was still too strong. The windows were being left open all day, every day to help dissipate the scent. Zhang Fan intended on having Shao Hua’s parents move in, as their apartment was rather old and small.

They were all parents, and there was no need to separate parents into yours or mine. Zhang Fan had previously told Shao Hua, “Your parents are just like my parents!” He was the type who would do what he said!

Still, he would need to first discuss this matter with Shao Hua, and then talk about it with Shao Hua’s mother, before finally telling Shao Hua’s father. Although Shao Hua’s mother was usually in charge of everything in the family, something major like this would still require Shao Hua’s father’s approval.

Ma Wentao had already begun renovations on his new hospital. He hired three retired department directors from the border province’s provincial capital. These three doctors had been the directors of endocrinology, Chinese medicine, and respiratory departments. Ma Wentao had also made arrangements already with the gastrointestinal department director of Chasu City Hospital to come work for him after retiring from Chasu City Hospital.

Ma Wentao just lacked a surgeon. Since Ma Wentao was just starting his hospital, he didn’t plan on having a complete set of all hospital departments. For surgery, he felt it would be fine to simply have a hand and foot surgery department. His goal was to recruit Zhang Fan. He figured that it would be quite simple to hire Zhang Fan, as it would only be a matter of money and giving him some stock option ownership in the hospital. He felt that a regular doctor like Zhang Fan could at most make only 10,000 yuan per month at a public hospital.

Ma Wentao’s main expenditures were on the hospital’s renovations and purchasing medical equipment. The doctors and nurses’ salaries would be paid once per month, and all their salaries combined wasn’t much to Ma Wentao, just a bit over 100,000 yuan per month. He felt that the hospital shouldn’t be renovated to look extravagant. Many private hospitals would have incredibly extravagant renovations, but actually, the great majority of patients at any hospital would be ordinary people. An extravagant hospital would mean that ordinary commoners wouldn’t even think about coming there to get treated. Ma Wentao thus felt that the hospital simply had to look professional. For this, he even asked the superintendent of the next door Chasu City Women and Children’s Hospital to help him design the hospital blueprints. Of course, he gave her a good consultant’s fee, as Ma Wentao was quite skilled at keeping others happy with him!

Zhang Fan really hated working in obstetrics. He had to listen to pregnant women screaming every day. He always felt as if he was the one giving birth! But, he had no choice since he was the one who chose to remain as a rotation doctor! He could only bear things and continue working!

Later that night, Shao Hong brought some dinner for Zhang Fan. The dinner was Naren horsemeat, which meant horsemeat, noodles, onions, green peppers, and so on all mixed together. The taste was quite good.

“Have some extra. There’s several women who are about to give birth soon. We’ll probably be up all night again,” Shao Hong told Zhang Fan as she ate.

“Okay, thanks!”

“A few days ago, were you the primary surgeon who saved a teenaged girl who had major bleeding from ectopic pregnancy?”

“Yeah, after my previous night shift, I was about to leave the department, but then I was dragged to help out in the operating rooms that day!”

“Vice Director Rouziguli is praising you to the heavens. She’s even telling Director Cheng to request that you be permanently assigned to gynecology and obstetrics! Director Cheng told me about this yesterday, and wanted to ask for your opinion! We in gynecology and obstetrics really lack male doctors like you. Our department also has a really good income. Just look, our patient rooms are completely full every single day!”

“Oh! Doctor Shao, I’m sorry. I truly don’t think I’m fit for gynecology and obstetrics. I feel like I’ve been completely exhausted from the past month working here. I think I would get depression if I really was permanently assigned to gynecology!” In other departments, Zhang Fan had given vague refusals out of politeness, but he didn’t dare to be vague with gynecology, as he truly didn’t want to work here permanently.

“Oh! Director Cheng and I both guessed that you wouldn’t be willing to join our gynecology department. That’s why the director didn’t personally ask you, and had me ask instead. It’s very rare for men to willingly come to gynecology. Not to mention, you’re quite an excellent doctor. Actually, this department is quite nice. There’s quite a sense of accomplishment from seeing new lives being born every day.” Shao Hong continued to try and convince Zhang Fan to join this department.

Zhang Fan made up his mind that he absolutely wouldn’t come to the gynecology and obstetrics department, no matter how much he was praised.

Well, there wasn’t anything that Shao Hong could do since Zhang Fan was unwilling to join the gynecology department. Zhang Fan was quite excellent, and there would surely be many departments wanting to recruit him. In such a situation, it wouldn’t be up to the department. It would depend on Zhang Fan’s own intentions. This was a two-way street, as the departments could choose recruits, and recruits could also choose their own departments!

It was now 11 p.m., and the unborn babies in the pregnant patients’ bellies all started rebelling, wanting to come out at the same time. There weren’t enough nurse midwives to deal with all the pending childbirths, so Shao Hong also went over to deliver a child.

Just as Shao Hong’s patient was going through cervical dilation and was about to giver birth, a nurse midwife assisting in another childbirth shouted, “Doctor Shao, hurry over! There’s something wrong with this child!” However, Shao Hong had no free time to go over at all, as her patient’s child was already coming through the birth canal. “Zhang Fan! Hurry and go check things out!”

Zhang Fan ran over to see a newborn with the umbilical cord already cut. The nurse hurriedly told him, “There’s a heartbeat, but no signs of breathing.” Zhang Fan didn’t say anything as he instantly ran over while taking off the surgical mask on his face. He put the newborn flat on its back, and used his finger to clear out the newborn’s mouth. This would be necessary in order to remove all foreign objects from the newborn’s mouth.

Zhang Fan didn’t have the time to care about the vernix caseosa, meconium, or amniotic fluid as he instantly opened his mouth, covering the newborn’s nose and mouth! Zhang Fan performed artificial respiration on the baby!

The baby’s mother was lying on the obstetric table and crying soundlessly. She didn’t dare to make a sound for fear that it would distract the doctor! She had worked so hard on giving birth to this baby, but the baby wasn’t breathing at birth! The mother felt as if knives were stabbing at her heart with how much this hurt.

“My baby! I still haven’t even seen you yet! You must hold on! Mommy is willing to exchange her life for yours! You must hold on!” The mother didn’t dare to open her eyes. Her tears were now streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the obstetric table which was already covered in sweat!

It took at most one minute for the baby to be able to breathe on its own. Zhang Fan had successfully saved the baby’s life! Zhang Fan didn’t even have the time to rinse out the bitter taste in his mouth as he picked up the baby and slapped it on the butt.

Finally! The baby started crying! “Wahh! Wahh! Wahh!” This loud sound of crying caused Zhang Fan and the nurse to heave sighs of relief. They had been so tense during the resuscitation for the baby. When Zhang Fan picked up the baby to slap it on the butt, he felt like his heart was in his throat. If the baby didn’t cry, that would mean the baby was dead, with no more chances left!

The child’s mother opened her eyes, and struggled to raise her head to see her own child. “Crying! My baby is crying! My baby has been saved!” The mother who had forcefully stopped herself from making any sounds now started crying for real. Although she was crying, her expression was blissful!

“Stop crying! You can’t allow yourself to be overly emotional right now. Here! Hurry and look at your child. Your baby is really healthy, and gave us such a good scare!” The nurse held the child while standing next to the young mother.

It was as if a light switch had been flipped. The mother instantly stopped crying. She opened her eyes which were bleary with tears, and smiled at her baby! “Baby! I’m your mommy!”

Maybe mother and child would always have an invisible connection. The baby pursed its lips and searched for its mother’s scent upon hearing her voice!

“Okay, now you’ve seen for yourself that your baby is safe! You can’t allow yourself to become emotional. Relax yourself and cooperate with the treatment. Take a deep breath!” The nurse had been so nervous that she was drenched in sweat. However, the nurse still couldn’t rest. She had to console the patient who just gave birth, perform checkups on the baby, and prepare for suturing the incision from episiotomy.

“After the checkups are finished, take the baby to the neonatal ICU!” Zhang Fan told this to the nurse while sticking out his tongue.

There was such a bitter taste in his mouth now. At the time, the situation had been too urgent, so Zhang Fan hadn’t thought about anything, but now that everything was fine, he felt so bad in his mouth. There had been as well as meconium on the baby’s face. Not only did Zhang Fan feel a bitter taste, it also felt quite oily, as if he had bitten off a candle.

The temperature in his mouth wasn’t at the level that would be inside the mother’s womb, so the vernix caseosa wouldn’t melt. He had to wash his mouth out with hot water! Zhang Fan rinsed his mouth several times, but still felt a strange taste!

Zhang Fan went back to the delivery room that Shao Hong was in. He told her, “I succeeded in saving the baby. The baby’s already been sent to neonatal ICU.”

“That’s good. I just finished here as well. Wait for me to finish with the sutures. Little Li, come over and wipe the patient for me. I didn’t notice just now, but she excreted a little near the anus!”

When Zhang Fan heard this, he took a look and saw that Shao Hong’s patient had actually excreted some feces while using her strength to push out her baby.

The nurse on duty in this delivery room wiped away the feces and commented, “Sigh, I was listening to Zhang Fan saving the baby next door, and didn’t notice these feces. I wonder if any feces got on the child’s body!”

This comment caused Zhang Fan to vomit! He instantly vomited all of the Naren horsemeat he ate earlier!

The nurse was quite perplexed by this! What was with this young doctor? He couldn’t even handle some ordinary feces?