ALL NOVEL 56 - Magic City
Li Yun arrived at the Magic City train station and followed the crowd out of the high speed rail. It was his first time traveling to a large metropolis as an adult.
He looked up at the light frame structure spanning across the ceiling, supporting a rooftop that sheltered millions of people coming in and out of Magic City. As the fastest and most economical means to travel across the country, the station was an intersection of people from all paths of life.
There were wealthy businessmen returning from their usual business trip. There were foreigners enjoying the exotic life in China. There were tourists taking pictures at every little oddity. And there were people like Li Yun, going on a mission.
"First time here?" A woman with straight hair, heavy black eye shadows and dark lips greeted him. Her makeup was sharp, but her odd assortment of yellow shorts, white blouse and large plaid blazer made her look young and playful.
"Why do you always look different whenever I see you?" Li Yun walked closer to her, bent his head, and kissed her on the forehead.
"I like trying out different makeup," Rouxi responded as she grabbed a hold of Li Yun's arm, and led him toward the direction of the exit. They had been dating for a few weeks, but she liked to evade questions.
"How did you get Xuxu to loan you her place for three weeks?" Li Yun was staying for two weeks, but Rouxi was staying there for three weeks.
"Business partner perks."
"Are you really close with Xuxu?"
"She looked after me when I came here from the states, so you can say that."
Li Yun looked at Rouxi. He wanted to ask her something, but stopped himself, maybe it wasn't the best time.
"I parked in the lot, but it's a bit of a walk," Rouxi said as they reached the front lobby.
"Help! Help!" A scream for help suddenly bellowed out from the seas of people.
The surrounding spectators all looked around to see the source. To the right of the lobby, a crowd gathered around the commotion. Li Yun and Rouxi rushed inside the circle, nudging out several people along the way.
More spectators gathered, most of whom had their phones out, either to call for an emergency or to film the incident.
"Excuse me, doctor, coming through!" A man in a grey suit rushed in from the other side.
A medical student from Magic City Medical University naturally recognized the doctor known as Professor Shao Shan. However, the first to the scene was not Professor Shao Shan, but a young woman.
"Miss, Professor Shao Shan is here, you should have him take a look," said the nearby medical student.
The woman not only looked young, but she was preparing her needles after inspecting the man's pulse and tongue. The crowd was a bit concerned. If she was an elderly man, they may allow him to perform acupuncture, but the woman in front of them looked too young to know what she was doing.
Professor Shao Shan ignored the woman and knelt by the man's side and checked the man's heart with the stethoscope. The man laying on the ground was a tall and middle aged man with a large waistline. He was returning from a business trip with his secretary when he suddenly collapsed.
"Doctor, is my boss all right?" asked the secretary.
"He's suffering from acute myocardial infarction and will go into cardiac arrest soon," the woman stated to the Professor.
"Did someone call the ambulance!?" Professor Shao Shan yelled out.
"Professor, it's on the way," the medical student yelled out.
"Miss, I'll perform CPR," Professor Shao Shan announced.
The female secretary looked a bit worried when the female doctor continued to insert acupuncture needles. After quickly inserting seven points, she stopped.
"All right, I've inserted a few needles to alleviate some of his pain, I'll leave it in your hands," the woman responded. She calmly got up and moved out of the way as Professor Shao Shan performed CPR.
Everyone was hoping for some sort of showdown between a doctor and a TCM practicioner, but the woman had more sense than they had given her credit for.
"Do you think the man will be alright?" Rouxi asked.
"The doctor looking at him now seems to have a lot of experience," Li Yun explained. "He should be fine."
Li Yun remembered the name of Professor Shao Shan from one of the textbooks he had read. Magic City was a hotspot for leading medical professionals. It wasn't unusual to cross paths with someone as renowned as Professor Shao Shan.
Moreover, there were other doctors around. A doctor in his thirties arrived with an AED and took over the chest compression. CPR looked simple, but it required a lot of stamina. Professor Shao Shan began to use the AED.
"Damn! Where's the ambulance!?" Professor Shao Shan cried out as his face was beading with sweat.
A heart attack was a time sensitive situation. Every minute increased the mortality rate of a patient suffering from a heart attack.
"Professor, it's rush hour, the ambulance might be stuck somewhere!" Someone yelled out.
Hearing the situation, Li Yun lowered his suitcase to the floor and opened it up the flap to take out a medical kit with a catheter.
"Rouxi, if I get sued, you'll feed me, right?" Li Yun asked.
Rouxi laughed. "Sure, it'll be like raising a puppy."
"Help me get a power cord," Li Yun said in a serious tone.
Rouxi nodded, looked around, and rushed toward the janitor.
Meanwhile, Li Yun quickly rushed toward the man laying in the middle of the crowd. He put on blue latex gloves and began setting up the equipment. Professor Shao Shan looked at the new arrival, and then at the medical kit he was preparing. It was an atherectomy kit.
"What sort of doctor carries an atherectomy kit? A cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon?" Professor Shao Shan wondered.
Li Yun was a doctor who expected to encounter an emergency situation like a heart attack or stroke, but he didn't think it would be so soon. After hooking up the kit, he placed the man's hand on his exposed wrist. Li Yun had figured out that as long as there was physical contact anywhere on the skin, he would be able to use Qivi. Looking through the man's cardiovascular system, Li Yun found the location of the blocked artery around the heart. He quickly took out acupuncture needles inside his jacket.
The female doctor with TCM knowledge was curious to see what he was planning. Li Yun placed three needles around the left arm.
"He's slowing down the blood flow to the arm?" the female doctor thought.
"Hey, how long can you perform CPR?" Li Yun asked the doctor performing chest compression.
"Probably another five minutes," the doctor responded.
"All right, continue," Li Yun said as he sterilized the man's bicep.
"You are performing a transradial rotational atherectomy?" Asked Professor Shao Shan.
"Yep," Li Yun replied.
The concept seemed pretty simple. Use a catheter with an abrasive end tip to drill away the plaque blocking the artery. Nevertheless, this technique usually involves an intravascular ultrasound and CT angiography.
Without delay, Li Yun quickly inserted the catheter, and pushed the wire inside, navigating it closer to the site of the blockage.
"Ah, I see, the needles were to minimize pain in place of anesthesia," the woman thought.
The Professor was impressed and stunned. There wasn't any blood flowing out at the insertion site. Whenever he saw the procedure performed, it was usually a bit messy.
Li Yun continued navigating the guide wire. Although he could see the passage with Qivi, moving the wire inside the vessel wasn't exactly simple. Li Yun had to pull back, twist and turn once he got to the heart. He needed the guide wire to enter into the exact location of the blockage.
In the middle of navigating inside the artery, Rouxi arrived with an extension cord. Doctor Shao Shan wasn't too familiar with the atherectomy unit, but it was easy to tell where the power should plug in. It took Li Yun another three minutes, but he managed to reach the blockage site.
"All right, turn on the machine," Li Yun requested.
Professor Shao Shan pressed the button, and the power unit to the atherectomy kit activated. Li Yun could feel the vibration of the wire. Inside the man's heart, he could see the tip of the catheter rotating around. Li Yun pushed the wire in further, drilling through the plaque that clotted the man's artery. The process wasn't as quick as what was shown on the training animation, but it was working. After drilling through the blockage, Li Yun could feel the blood starting to recirculate again.
A group of emergency workers arrived with a gurney, but was instructed to wait by the professor.
Li Yun pulled back the wire, and then taped the catheter into place. Once he pulled out, Professor Shao Shan checked the man's chest again with a stethoscope. He gave the EMT a quick overview of what had happened, and they quickly moved him to the ambulance.
Professor Shao Shan turned to look at Li Yun. "Doctor?"
"Li Yun," he responded.
"You should come along," said Professor Shao Shan.
"What hospital is he being transported to?"
"Magic City University Hospital ER."
"You should stay with the patient, and we'll head in from behind," said Li Yun.
"Can I follow?" asked the woman with TCM knowledge.