Sports Medicine Master System

"Do you have the results from the amniocentesis and genetic screening?"

Chen Yu flipped through the papers but didn’t find the genetic screening report.

Teresa nodded and said it was in there, but it wasn’t. Enke, flustered, rummaged through the bag again before finally finding it.

He repeatedly apologized to his wife, then looked at Chen Yu uneasily, his eyes filled with anxiety and self-blame.

Chen Yu looked over the report. As he expected, the genetic screening showed a problem.

Teresa carried a recessive gene, giving her a high probability of passing on the disease.

This meant that even if they were lucky, terminated this pregnancy, and retained the ability to conceive, their next child would still have a high probability of having a congenital heart defect.

This was likely the main reason Teresa was unwilling to give up on this child.

If she gave up now, she might never have another chance.

Sighing quietly, Chen Yu said, "Frankly, the aortic stenosis is more troublesome than the ventricular septal defect. I imagine that’s the main reason the doctors advised you to terminate the pregnancy."

A ventricular septal defect is arguably the most common congenital heart disease. Medical science has advanced so much over the years that treatment methods are very mature. Special occluders were developed back in the ’90s, and the second generation of related products came out a couple of years ago. Using minimally invasive interventional procedures for the surgery is quite common in cardiology.

A child born with this condition can grow up healthy after the corresponding occlusion surgery.

Chen Yu had read in medical journals that they were even developing fully absorbable and biodegradable occluders, which would make things even more convenient in the future.

But Teresa’s situation was different. Her child also had aortic stenosis. Due to the genetic issue, the entire left side of the heart had developmental problems.

While the fetus is in the womb, the placenta can handle part of the heart’s blood supply, so it isn’t a major issue. But once the baby is born, without the placenta’s support, the aortic stenosis will quickly cause life-threatening problems. Therefore, the baby would need immediate surgery for aortic valve dilation right after birth.

Otherwise, the child would surely die.

But to face surgery the moment it entered the world... it was just too cruel.

Sighing again, Chen Yu put down the medical records and said, "Robert, I sympathize with you both, but I’m sorry. I don’t have a better solution either. We can only wait for the child to be born and then perform surgery."

After a pause, Chen Yu added, "If you trust me, you can have me perform the surgery when the time comes. My success rate will be a bit higher."

Minimally invasive surgery was Chen Yu’s specialty.

With the aid of the Eye of All-Seeing, Chen Yu could almost guarantee a 100% successful surgery.

"Or, you could terminate the pregnancy. After all, there’s still hope for the future."

In truth, the most rational course of action was to terminate the pregnancy.

It would be better for the child, and for the two of them.

Otherwise, if the child was born, it would have to undergo multiple surgeries throughout its life. Combined with congenital deafness, it would be difficult for the child to grow up like a normal kid.

Not to mention the suffering the child would endure, there were also the exorbitant medical costs.

Although Enke was a goalkeeper, and their careers tend to last longer, he was already playing in a second-division league. He might be out of the sport altogether soon.

Without the high income of a professional athlete, he probably couldn’t even afford the child’s medical expenses.

Teresa broke down instantly, crying uncontrollably.

Enke quickly embraced his wife. The formidable, nearly 1.9-meter-tall man was now crying like a child.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. He just held his wife tightly, letting his tears stream down in silence.

Chen Yu felt a stifling tightness in his chest, as if it were stuffed with straw.

Enke had clearly consulted many doctors in Europe, and only as a last resort, clinging to a faint sliver of hope, did he seek out Chen Yu, who wasn’t even a specialist in this field.

Now that Chen Yu had given them the same diagnosis, he couldn’t even imagine how devastated the couple must be.

"I’m sorry."

"I’m sorry" was all Chen Yu could say.

"No."

Enke quickly shook his head. He gave his wife a trembling kiss and comforted her, "There’s still hope. Dr. Chen said we can have him perform the surgery after the baby is born. The success rate will be very high."

As he spoke, he hastily stood up, bowed to Chen Yu in gratitude, and tried his best to remain calm as he asked about the surgical plan and details.

It was obvious his mind was in turmoil; he wasn’t really absorbing any of it.

"Let’s wait a little longer. It’s only been about twenty weeks. Maybe as she develops further, the situation might improve. You haven’t given up on her, so I don’t think Lala will give up on you either."

Chen Yu glanced at Lala in the womb and sighed internally again.

’They probably won’t ask me to do the surgery anyway. The cost of treatment in the United States is just too high.’

"Thank you."

The couple thanked him repeatedly and prepared to leave.

But just as they were about to walk out the door, Enke suddenly stopped and said urgently, "Dr. Chen, the test results are from last week. Why don’t we do another check-up? Maybe the situation has changed, and you’ll be able to think of a solution."

Chen Yu shook his head inwardly but simply smiled. "Robert, trust me. Everything will be all right."

Enke’s lips trembled. He bowed one last time in thanks and left with his arm around his wife.

Chen Yu could feel that the man was on the verge of a breakdown.

He was only forcing himself to stay composed for his wife’s sake.

Recalling their conversation, Chen Yu remembered Enke’s leg twitching unnaturally, his nail-biting, and his unfocused gaze.

These were all clear symptoms of anxiety, brought on by immense stress.

Thinking about it, Enke’s life wasn’t easy. He had been loaned out from Barça, only to be sent back, and was now playing in a second-division league. On top of that, he was facing his child’s illness and massive medical bills. One could only imagine the pressure he was under.

The mention of pressure suddenly brought another name to Chen Yu’s mind.

Desler.

The month before last, Bayern’s head coach, Heathfield, had called Chen Yu to consult him about Desler.

First, Desler had injured a back muscle. Second, Heathfield felt that Desler was under a lot of pressure and might be showing signs of depression.

This was because last summer, a year after he joined Bayern, some reporter had dug up an old story from god-knows-where, revealing that Desler had secretly accepted a 20 million Mark signing bonus when he transferred to Bayern.

Although the reporter had some evidence, the incident was already a year old. All Desler had to do was deny it vehemently, and it would have blown over with time.

But what did Desler do? He actually went and returned the signing bonus.

That was practically an admission of guilt, and it caused a huge uproar.

Because of this incident, he was under immense pressure, which had affected his performance this season.

According to Heathfield, Desler, who never used to drink, had now started turning to alcohol.

For a professional athlete, the damage from alcohol is immense. So many talented players have been ruined by alcoholism.

The kid had a pretty tragic life.

He grew up poor, and his parents’ marriage had fractured early on. They stayed together in a loveless union without divorcing. Later, because of his slow development, he was short and was ostracized by his peers.

These experiences shaped his anxious and introverted personality.

Most importantly, he had arrived at Bayern with the title of Germany’s "once-in-a-century genius" but had failed to deliver a performance to match.

The fans’ expectations were too high. They thought he would be a Jordan, but he was merely an Iverson. This disparity naturally sparked criticism, putting him under even greater pressure.

But they didn’t realize that becoming an Iverson was already a one-in-a-million achievement.

It was mid-season, so there was little Chen Yu could do. He had simply arranged with Heathfield for Desler to come to the United States in the summer to treat his injuries, hoping to use the opportunity to provide some counseling.

’The young man is a good kid, really.’

In comparison, Enke was handling things well enough. At least he was trying to face the problem proactively.

But reality was too cruel. All Chen Yu could do was pray for a good outcome for him.

After staying in Spain for two days and watching the second-leg match between Real Madrid and Bayern, Chen Yu returned to the United States with Ronaldo.

Real Madrid eliminated their old rival, Bayern, with a 1-0 victory.

The substitute, Guti, scored the decisive goal off an assist from Zidane, a goal worth its weight in gold.

Advancing to the quarter-finals and securing their spot in the Champions League, Ronaldo could now go to the United States for treatment with peace of mind.

After returning to Phoenix, Chen Yu spent most of his time grinding through surgeries.

But in the moments between operations, the look in Enke’s eyes as he left lingered in Chen Yu’s mind, refusing to fade.

Honestly, they didn’t know each other. They weren’t even acquaintances.

Enke’s situation was certainly pitiable, but the world was full of pitiable people.

Even with his System, Chen Yu couldn’t save everyone.

But Chen Yu had a persistent feeling that he should do something for Enke, or he would regret it.

Two days before Jackson’s "Rebirth" concert, Chen Yu boarded a plane and flew to Cleveland.

At the world-renowned Cleveland Medical Center, Chen Yu met with Professor James Parriott, the Director of Cardiac Surgery.

"James, long time no see."

Chen Yu smiled and embraced him.

The Cleveland Medical Center was arguably the best place in the world for heart treatment.

And James Parriott was an authority in the medical world, a top-tier expert.

The two had met once at a medical conference.

He was also the one who had performed Eddie Curry’s heart surgery.

He was in his fifties and still performing surgeries, with incredibly rich experience in both research and clinical practice.

After some simple pleasantries, Chen Yu brought up Enke’s situation.

"Here are the medical records."

Chen Yu showed the downloaded records to Parriott.

"Chen, are you really planning to enter the field of cardiac surgery?" Parriott joked.

Chen Yu laughed. "I can’t help it. Everyone knows cardiology is where the money is."

"Your orthopedics department is just as profitable, you know," Parriott chuckled. In the United States, an orthopedist like Chen Yu who exclusively served professional athletes and superstars was likely at the very top of the pay scale for doctors.

"By the way, if you’re serious about starting a cardiology department at your own clinic, would you be interested in taking a couple of my attending physicians? They could also learn a thing or two from you about minimally invasive surgery. In that area, you’re this."

He gave a thumbs-up.

Chen Yu had performed a vast number of minimally invasive surgeries, many of which were groundbreaking for the field of orthopedics.

"Sure, as long as you’re not afraid of me stealing your business, I’d welcome them," Chen Yu said. He really was planning to expand his clinic’s scope of services.

’Good doctors are hard to find, and doctors from Cleveland are definitely the best.’

"What’s there to be afraid of? We’re completely swamped with patients right now; we can’t keep up as it is," Parriott said dismissively.

Appointments at the Cleveland Center were already booked into the next year.

As they talked, Parriott’s brow furrowed. He then said, "Chen, you didn’t advise them to terminate the pregnancy?"

"What do you think?"

Chen Yu shrugged. "I came here specifically to ask if you have any new, cutting-edge techniques that might solve his problem."

They weren’t called the best for nothing. If even Cleveland had no solution, then there truly was no solution.

Parriott carefully reviewed the various test results for a full ten minutes before saying with a serious expression, "Well, there is actually one other option."

"Oh?"

Chen Yu’s eyes lit up.

Parriott put down the medical records. "She could opt for an in-utero cardiac intervention procedure now. It would address the aortic stenosis and buy time for the ventricular septal defect surgery after birth."