The golden period for tethered spinal cord surgery is under one year of age, and it is best to complete the surgery within three years of age.
The longer the delay, the more severe the spinal nerve damage could become.
Nannan can still walk on her own right now, but there is no telling what will happen later.
Zhu Weidong sighed, "It's not that I don't want to do it, but the risk is too high."
Yin Xiuxiu's grip on the child tightened. She didn't realize it until Nannan couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Lin Zhilan patted her shoulder, signaling her to relax, and then said to Zhu Weidong, "Director Zhu, how about I write up a surgical plan for you in a couple of days, and you can look it over?"
Zhu Weidong was somewhat surprised. "Dr. Lin, you understand surgery too?"
"I borrowed a few Western medicine books from the director and am currently studying them."
Actually, Lin Zhilan had double-majored in Chinese and Western medicine during her graduate studies. Reading Western medicine books now was just a cover.
Chinese medicine could be explained away as a family legacy, but Western medical knowledge was not something the original owner of this body, a rural woman, could ever have come into contact with.
As expected, Zhu Weidong didn't doubt her. "Alright, I'll wait for your surgical plan. But let me be clear up front: even with a surgical plan, I might not necessarily perform the surgery."
"I understand."
The first person to eat a crab isn't necessarily the bravest; perhaps they are just the most foolish.
Zhu Weidong had no reason to undertake a surgery with such a low success rate.
After seeing Zhu Weidong off, Yin Xiuxiu looked at Lin Zhilan nervously. "Dr. Lin, what did that director mean just now?"
"Xiao Lin."
"Here!"
"Stay with Nannan in the ward for a bit," Lin Zhilan instructed him, taking Yin Xiuxiu outside to talk.
"As Nannan grows older, this disease will affect her development in all aspects. Right now, she only has urinary incontinence and an unsteady gait. But as the condition progresses, if the spinal nerves are compressed and stretched, the child is very likely to become paralyzed..."
"What about surgery?" Yin Xiuxiu asked hurriedly.
Lin Zhilan replied, "If the surgery is successful and the postoperative care is done well, she will be just like a normal person. But... currently, there aren't many cases of this surgery being performed in our country. If the surgery fails, the child's life will be in danger."
This was a very difficult choice.
Surgery was like a gamble: either she gets better, or she dies.
But without surgery, Nannan's life would be on a downward slide, and there was no telling how far she would fall.
Yin Xiuxiu stood in a daze, her fingers digging into her palms so hard they almost bled.
Lin Zhilan said gently, "This isn't an emergency. I will discuss it further with Director Zhu from surgery. I'm just giving you a heads-up so you can discuss and consider it with your family."
Yin Xiuxiu's mind was a complete mess right now; she could only nod in agreement with her words.
Lin Zhilan planned to give the child an acupuncture session first.
Lin Zijun quickly stood to the side to observe and learn.
She took out the silver needles, had the child lie on her stomach on the hospital bed, and then asked Yin Xiuxiu to hold the child still.
"Xiao Lin, watch closely. Tethered cord syndrome falls under the category of flaccidity syndrome. The child has liver and kidney deficiency and blocked meridians. The focus of point selection should be on nourishing the liver and kidneys and clearing the meridians."
As Lin Zhilan spoke, she slowly inserted the needle. Her technique was gentle and steady, pushing the needle until more than half of it was submerged.
The silver needle was so long that Yin Xiuxiu hardly dared to look.
She looked at her daughter in worry, only to find that her daughter didn't seem to be in any pain at all, not even frowning.
Since the child didn't express any discomfort, Lin Zhilan moved on to locate the next point, continuing to explain to Lin Zijun, "The child is young, so the acupoint location must be precise. The needle sensation shouldn't be too strong; an even reinforcing and reducing method is sufficient."
The silver needles were sequentially inserted into the Dachangshu, Baliao, Guanyuan, Zhongji, and Shuidao points...
Lin Zijun watched intently, occasionally taking notes when she withdrew the needles.
Acupuncture for children generally doesn't involve retaining the needles; once the qi is obtained after insertion, they are immediately withdrawn.
Lin Zhilan had Yin Xiuxiu dress the child, then went out to prescribe medicine.
"Bring the child in for acupuncture every other day. This prescription is for strengthening the spleen, nourishing the kidneys, and consolidating the bowels and bladder. Let the child take it for three days to try, and I'll check her pulse again then."
Yin Xiuxiu nodded and pulled a small cloth bundle from her pocket. It was wrapped in several layers, inside of which were cash and ration coupons.
"Dr. Lin, how much is it in total?"
The medicine Lin Zhilan prescribed wasn't expensive. She flicked the abacus, "23 cents."
Yin Xiuxiu counted out ten dollars and twenty-three cents and placed it on the counter.
Lin Zhilan paused for a moment before accepting the money.
"You have to work now. If I'm not in the traditional Chinese medicine department after you get off work, just go straight to my house to find me. You know where it is, right?"
"I know."
"That's good," Lin Zhilan patted Nannan's head. "Take the child home."
"Thank you, Dr. Lin."
Yin Xiuxiu carried the child and headed back.
Lin Zijun leaned in and said slyly, "Master, you forgot something."
Lin Zhilan raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You forgot to charge her for the acupuncture."
Lin Zhilan looked up, her eyes deep, wearing a faint smile. "Xiao Lin."
"What is it, Master?" Meeting her gaze, a chill ran down Lin Zijun's spine.
Lin Zhilan said mildly, "Actually, besides me, you have many other masters."
"Huh?" Lin Zijun was confused.
"The patients."
Patients are also teachers to doctors, as well as the best textbooks.
The symptoms in textbooks are always the most standard ones, but patients don't get sick according to textbooks.
The core reason why people trust older, more experienced doctors is the diagnostic reliability brought about by the accumulation of clinical experience.
"Xiao Lin, consider the acupuncture fee as your tuition," Lin Zhilan decided generously.
The traditional Chinese medicine department actually had money. After deducting the salaries of the three of them, as well as the funds for purchasing medicinal herbs and other medical supplies, there was actually quite a lot left over each month.
However, this matter was probably only known to Director Liu, who had seen the account books; the other departments were merely guessing.
Lin Zijun nodded, determined to bring some candy for this little teacher the next time Nannan came for acupuncture.
It was well past quitting time, so Lin Zhilan packed up her things and went home.
As soon as she walked in the door, her eldest nephew and her daughter gave her a big surprise.
"Mommy, come quick! Brother caught fish and brought them back!"
As soon as Linlin saw her mother, she grabbed her hand and led her into the courtyard.
Jiang Chengzhou had dug a basin-sized pit next to the courtyard wall and filled it with water, turning it into a small pool.
Fish...
Of course not.
Jiang Chengzhou had caught a whole bunch of tadpoles from who-knows-where and poured them all into the pool to keep.
"Auntie, I caught them for my little sister," Jiang Chengzhou said with a beaming smile, claiming credit.
"Brother is awesum!"
There was even a little sidekick hyping him up.
Lin Zhilan rubbed her forehead and said helplessly, "Good thing they're frog eggs. If they hatch into toads, that'll be real fun."
Linlin pulled her hand toward the water to touch them. "Mommy, baby fish."
"Um... baby, these aren't fish. They're tadpoles."
"Tad-pohs?" Linlin pointed at the pool. "Baby tad-pohs."
"Mhm."
Linlin giggled, patting her little chest. "Tad-pohs, my babies. I'm their mommy."
