Until he was close enough to reach out and touch her, he stopped and carefully observed her current state.
Her body was curled up in the bed like a shrimp, like a cat, with both hands clutching the blanket in her sleep, like a small animal unwilling to move even half a step away from the warmth of the bed. The bed for companions was narrow, and the edge of the blanket had slipped off the bed, letting in a bit of cold air.
He judged that she was cold and was going to freeze. Cao Yong immediately bent down to tuck her in. His hands tucked the edges of the blanket up to her neck and saw that there was a bluish tint under her eyes; her fatigue was very evident. Her breathing was long, a sign that she was sleeping deeply. It also showed that she was so tired today that her brain had completely shut down into a dormant state, so much so that being this close, she didnāt notice a thing.
Seeing her in such a state made oneās heart ache.
The furrow in Cao Yongās brow hadnāt relaxed the whole time. He knew she was a very strong person, which was exactly what he feared mostāthat she would tire herself out.
He extended his right hand to feel her forehead, checking if she had a fever from being too exhausted. Confirming that there were no signs of illness for the time being, Cao Yong exhaled lightly. He thought about what he should do next.
When would she be willing to let him or anyone else help instead of being excessively strong on her own? Just like when she had helped him out of a difficult situation before, he wanted to help her out of one too.
"Dr. Cao." Someone called out from behind.
Cao Yong immediately turned his head back and raised his middle finger to the other person, gesturing to keep quiet.
The emergency duty doctor who called him quickly shut his mouth.
After carefully ensuring she wasnāt disturbed, Cao Yong straightened up and turned to walk out with the on-duty doctor.
Back at the nurseās station, Cao Yong, wanting the patientās medical records, asked the on-duty doctor, "Doctor Yao, what is her cousinās condition?"
The other doctorās badge had the surname Yao written on it.
The young Doctor Yao knew that the boss didnāt recognize him before, so it didnāt stop him from being somewhat nervous and cautiously answering Cao Yongās questions: "A nurse just informed me that Dr. Cao wanted to see a certain emergency patientās medical records. This Xiao Shugang was transferred from X Province Peopleās Hospital to our Guozhi Emergency this evening. He is to be transferred through emergency to our hospitalās internal medicine department. So the medical records brought by him during the transfer were taken by Dr. Shimās team from internal medicine department. Now, in the medical record folder, there are only temporary orders from their team, including examinations needed for hospital admission tomorrow and monitoring orders for his observation in the emergency department tonight. No special treatment has been given to the patient for now, and his condition is relatively stable. The next step in treatment depends on Dr. Shimās teamās decision; it might wait for the results of other tests."
After listening to his lengthy explanation, Cao Yong asked, "They havenāt written an admission history yet?"
"No. They plan to write it when the patient is transferred to the cardiology department tomorrow," he replied.
In the emergency department, if a patient hasnāt completed admission procedures and hasnāt established an inpatient record, essentially doctors only write a brief summary of the condition and orders in the patientās outpatient and emergency record book. Cao Yong was aware of this; the question he needed to ask remained unchanged: "What is the patientās illness?"
"It seems to beā" Doctor Yao had just responded with these three words when he suddenly realized that the bossās eyes opposite him lit up like the shadowless lamp in an operating room, shining directly at him.
In clinical practice, when a senior doctor asks a question, the least acceptable responses are these: it seems to be, it appears to be, it might be.