Free Web NovelChapter 2261: Chapter 2261: Bad Outcome
Is it possible for a person to eat, and can what they eat be digested by the body? This is akin to whether a car can be refueled or recharged, and whether it can convert energy after refueling or recharging. If not, the car can’t run and the person, like a machine, will be out of order.
The brutal difference between life and a machine is that life ceases to exist after it stops functioning.
Eating is crucial for humans, medically referred to as nutrition. The Nutrition Department of Guoxie is the most renowned nationwide. Fu Xinheng consulted with Zhang Huayao:
"If the teacher cannot eat, is there intravenous nutrition?"
If one cannot eat, it means the patient’s gastrointestinal system cannot bear the load to convert energy, not merely that the mouth cannot ingest food. In this case, nasal feeding or enteral nutrition is ineffective, and only intravenous nutrition supplements are sought. Intravenous nutrition can directly supply energy to the human body without conversion by the digestive system. This method of nutritional supplementation has its drawbacks, as mentioned before, but for critically ill patients, it is the only option for sustaining life.
If possible, Zhang Huayao does not want to give his mother these injections, as it signifies her body’s worsening condition. Terminal cancer patients, unlike those with other diseases, won’t see improvement simply by a short-term energy boost to adjust and recover. It would be best if the patient could try to eat on their own.
Watching his mother struggle to eat, Zhang Huayao’s deep-set eyes were as motionless as frozen soil, seemingly looking into the distance.
Seeing him silent, Fu Xinheng could sense that his heart might not be at peace.
When a patient is ill, it not only torments the patient but also tortures the family who loves the patient.
Does being a top medical expert help? In such situations, it is still of little use.
Boss Zhang’s expression was subtle, and He Xiangyu and Lau Jingyun couldn’t help but mumble when Teacher Lu was not around.
"Could it be cancer cells spreading all over the body in Teacher Lu’s case?" Lau Jingyun dared not think of this worst-case scenario, and burst into tears just thinking about it.
"Senior sister," said He Xiangyu, aware of some insider information as a member of the pathology department, truthfully, "Before Teacher Lu had surgery, they had assessed that the cancer cells might have already spread to other organs. Senior Tao and the others insisted on performing the surgery, not just to prolong the teacher’s life. More importantly, everyone feared Teacher Lu would end up like Teacher Zhang."
In the final days of Zhang Yuqing’s life, the disease tormented him to the point where he had no dignity, more dead than alive. Such a repetition is something Tao Zhijie and others would never allow.
If the teacher must depart, it has to be with dignity and respect. This is the student’s duty to fulfill for their teacher.
Tumors cause patients severe pain, invade organ tissues and lead to the loss of bodily functions, making patients lose everything, including dignity, in the final stages of life. Therefore, mere pain relief is insufficient to address the patient’s suffering, and surgical intervention is necessary when needed.
At this point, surgery is no longer aimed at curing the disease, because it is known that the disease is incurable. However, surgery can make the patient’s remaining life happier, which is another goal of surgical medicine and one of the directions surgeons strive toward.
"Rest assured, no one will give up on Teacher Lu," He Xiangyu said to senior sister, "You see, the Robot personally came to accompany Teacher Lu for meals, and it’s not just to dine at the teacher’s house."
