Practicing Medical Skills in a Small Clinic

"For instance, if you ate any unusual food before the onset of symptoms or came into contact with something specific, it could help with my diagnosis."

Li Jingsheng is not a miracle worker. Faced with such bizarre symptoms and very limited conditions, he can only try his best to diagnose.

"Honey, you didn’t eat anything unusual before the symptoms appeared, did you?"

"Just the usual food!"

His wife shook her head blankly.

"Let me listen to your heart and lungs."

Li Jingsheng handed her the stethoscope probe, showing her how to place it under her clothes, pressing it on the heart and lung areas.

The rash on her chest was large and seemed to be spreading towards her neck.

After listening, Li Jingsheng frowned even more.

"The heart rate is significantly accelerated, but there are no sounds in the lungs. It feels somewhat like symptoms of sepsis or bacteremia."

Li Jingsheng muttered to himself.

"Have you been scratched by anything recently?"

"I got pinched on the foot by a crab at the seafood market. Does that count?"

The female patient provided a very critical piece of information.

"Let me take a look."

Li Jingsheng asked her to take off her stockings, and sure enough, he saw a small wound on the back of the big toe of her right foot, which was still red and swollen.

"It hurt a lot at the time, but the skin was barely broken. I was there with a friend to buy seafood, and the owner gave us a 20-yuan discount and apologized, so I didn’t cause trouble for him."

The female patient spoke of the incident with a sullen expression.

Normally, crabs are tightly bound, yet somehow she was pinched.

"I suggest you go immediately to the People’s Hospital, a large hospital, to check for Vibrio vulnificus. Blood tests and stool tests can detect it. Tell the doctor about your symptoms and the injury history, and he will know what to do. Be sure to go to the emergency department; don’t delay."

Li Jingsheng initially wondered why the symptoms felt like sepsis.

Now, after hearing that the woman was pinched by a crab, it suddenly dawned on him.

This is unlikely just a cold; it could very well be a Vibrio vulnificus infection. This bacterium resides in the sea, and people are prone to it when eating seafood or getting pricked by it.

Therefore, always wear gloves and take proper precautions when handling seafood.

Eat thoroughly cooked seafood.

People from the Chaoshan region love eating raw seafood, but they have experience and their seafood is marinated. Ordinary people are advised not to imitate.

"I must demand compensation from the seafood shop owner!" The female patient said regretfully.

"Is this illness severe?"

The woman’s husband was more concerned about his wife’s safety.

"Extremely serious. Some people with strong resistance might not face severe consequences, but others can rapidly deteriorate into a severe condition and eventually lose their lives. It’s been delayed a day; you need to hurry."

Li Jingsheng spoke very seriously to the patient and her family.

"Thank you, Dr. Li!"

The man helped his wife up.

"Let’s quickly catch a cab to the People’s Hospital. Luckily, we came to the Sunshine Clinic; otherwise, continuing with injections at the Quick Recovery Clinic could be lethal."

The husband was quite fearful.

"We have to make the seafood shop owner cover this expense. If we don’t approach him now, what if he denies it later?" The female patient was distressed about the money.

Indeed, no one wants to pay for something unjust.

"Oh, we’re close to losing lives, why worry about such things?! Let’s get to the hospital first. Don’t worry, once you’re safe, I’ll find him then." The husband helped his wife out the door.

Li Jingsheng watched the couple leave, hoping the female patient’s condition hadn’t progressed to an extremely serious stage.

Based on his earlier diagnosis, the condition should be considered quite severe.

However, her life should be saved.

This illness, what’s most feared are misdiagnosis and mistreatment, or delays while at home.

He continued to treat other patients afterward.

Occasionally encountering issues he couldn’t resolve, Li Jingsheng could only advise them to go to a hospital.

Near noon, a young couple brought in a boy about four years old.

The boy’s walking posture was slightly strange.

He seemed a bit wooden.

His back was slightly hunched.

"Dr. Li, we’ve heard of your excellent medical skills, could you take a look at our daughter?"

The young father greeted with a smile.

"Is your child feeling unwell?"

"She has a large birthmark on her back, and it’s been growing."

As he spoke, he lifted his son’s shirt to reveal a large dark brown ’birthmark’ on his back.

Li Jingsheng examined it closely.

The size was comparable to an adult’s palm, spreading in clusters. It looked like a monster, still rapidly expanding over the surrounding skin.

However, its borders were distinct.

"This doesn’t feel like a birthmark; it seems more like clustered neurofibromas. It’s a benign tumor. Are you sure you want treatment for your child?"

After examining, Li Jingsheng gave an initial diagnosis.

"When she was born, it was only about the size of an egg, and now it’s grown this big—terrifying! We’re worried it will affect her marriage prospects and employment in the future. What if it keeps expanding and reaches her face or hands?"

The child’s mother said from the side.

"For treatment, surgery is required. Why haven’t you gone to a hospital for treatment?"

Li Jingsheng noticed that the child’s parents were young, probably around twenty-five or younger.

Possibly even younger.

He himself hasn’t married, yet their child is so old. Quite envious.

However, he’s somewhat of a life winner now.

His career has seen some success, and his girlfriend, a rich beauty, treats him very well.

"We can’t afford it! I’ve been at home raising the child, and only recently let him enter kindergarten; I found a job, earning just over two thousand a month. The child’s father’s income isn’t high either. We asked around and were told treatment at a hospital would cost several tens of thousands."

The woman showed a desperate and helpless expression when talking about the high cost.

To a young couple with low income, this is an astronomical figure.

"Have you visited a hospital?"

"When he was born, we consulted a doctor, who advised us to book a tumor department appointment. Given our poor financial situation, the matter has been delayed."

"I can perform the surgery here, though it won’t be cheap. The skin tumor area is too extensive, requiring skin grafting. Thankfully, it’s on the back. If it were on the face, the costs could be higher."

Li Jingsheng hasn’t performed this kind of surgery yet.

But he’s confident in completing it.

After all, his incision, suturing skills, and separation technique are outstanding now.

Merely excising the superficial clustered neurofibroma, then grafting skin should be within his ability range.

The only hassle is the skin grafting.

Since the area is somewhat large.

"How much would it cost?"

When asking, the child’s father instinctively pinched his pockets.