The Enhanced Doctor

Chapter 1121: Chapter 1121: Is It Tourette’s?

(Thanks to Black Bear Baten, The Road is Twisting, Big Eater Little Huang, Be Gentle to Me, 464202023, Brother Can 110 Monthly Ticket Encouragement)

"Director Liu, what’s wrong with Yuan Yuan?"

Looking at Liu Banxia’s expression, Wulei asked nervously.

Everyone just said the child’s condition has improved and is moving in a positive direction, but Liu Banxia’s current expression really scared him.

"Have you carefully observed the child’s tic disorder?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Uh...do we need to pay special attention to that? It’s obvious, always blinking, sometimes her mouth twitches a bit." Wulei asked.

"Wait a moment, I’ll watch for a bit here." After saying that, Liu Banxia brought over a chair.

Wulei’s wife was about to speak but was stopped by Wulei. A bold idea came to his mind; could it be that their daughter’s condition really had a chance?

Because Liu Banxia wouldn’t be making futile efforts at this time; his careful observation must have found something. And he was asking about the tic disorder, it must be related to this.

Now with the nasogastric tube reducing pressure, Yuan Yuan wasn’t very comfortable either. Seeing Liu Banxia sitting nearby watching her, she also looked at him pitifully.

"Are you feeling a bit better now? Does your tummy hurt less?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Mm, it doesn’t feel good." The little one weakly replied.

"Hang in there, everyone says Yuan Yuan is very sensible and well-behaved, and I think Yuan Yuan is really brave." Liu Banxia said.

"I have taken blood samples from other children too; they are timid, but not Yuan Yuan. When they were scared, they cried loudly, but Yuan Yuan wasn’t afraid at all."

Hearing such praise from Liu Banxia, Yuan Yuan’s facial expression improved a bit, not as scrunched up as before, and she smiled slightly.

"Let me tell Yuan Yuan, there’s air in her tummy which is why it hurts." Liu Banxia continued.

"But now these tubes are sucking out the air from Yuan Yuan’s little tummy, and Yuan Yuan will gradually get better."

"What does Yuan Yuan like to eat? Does she like ice cream? If talking is uncomfortable, Yuan Yuan can nod to tell me."

The little one nodded.

"I like ice cream too, when Yuan Yuan gets better, I’ll treat her to ice cream." Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"I just saw Yuan Yuan eating, it seems like she doesn’t really like vegetables, but she eats them very seriously, that’s even more impressive."

"This Lady Xu doesn’t like vegetables either; she prefers meat. She wasn’t a good child, not as sensible as Yuan Yuan, who knows that eating more vegetables makes you healthier."

The little one’s face scrunched up again, but this time it wasn’t because of her body, but rather because of Liu Banxia’s words.

She also likes meat, but her parents say she needs to eat more vegetables to get better.

"I also heard from Dad that Yuan Yuan used to love singing and dancing, and playing with other kids." Liu Banxia continued.

The little one’s expression soured again.

These past two years have been days spent going to hospitals; occasionally going to school and being made fun of by other kids. Don’t be fooled by her young age, she can feel it too.

She knows she’s different from other kids, who all play together, while nobody plays with her.

"Yuan Yuan is really well-behaved, the most well-behaved child I’ve ever seen." Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"I have many fun places here too, once Yuan Yuan gets better, we’ll have mom and dad take Yuan Yuan out. To the zoo to see animals, to the amusement park to play games."

Liu Banxia chatted casually with the little one here; when the little one was happy listening, she’d smile and respond a bit.

When not happy listening? Her little face would scrunch up into a frown.

"Xu Yino, what’s he doing?" Chen Hongyang who walked in again asked curiously after watching for a while.

"Teacher Chen, Teacher Liu seems to have noticed something. Anyway, he’s been chatting here for quite a while, it seems related to the tic disorder." Xu Yino whispered.

"Dr. Chen, do you think Director Liu has found something?"

Hearing their discussion, Wulei hurried over, eyes full of hope.

"This matter I really can’t say for sure, wait for a bit, he may be conducting some kind of test." Chen Hongyang said with a frown.

After speaking, he also found a place to stand properly, equally seriously observing Yuan Yuan.

"Is there a way to treat Yuanyuan’s illness now?" Yuanyuan’s mother asked softly.

"I don’t know either, I’m hoping there is," Wulei replied, his voice full of helplessness.

After Yuanyuan fell ill, they went through too much, to summarize it: the bigger the hope, the bigger the disappointment.

They visited not only major hospitals but also those legendary healers. They tried many methods, but Yuanyuan’s condition showed no sign of improvement.

At this moment, Liu Banxia wasn’t just chatting with the child; he was also playfully poking Yuanyuan’s little hand with his fingers.

Normally, when a child is this sick, receiving an IV, they should just sit quietly.

But no one stopped him, knowing that whatever he did likely had a purpose.

Thus, Liu Banxia sat next to Yuanyuan and played with her for nearly forty minutes. The little one grew tired and slowly fell asleep.

"Did you figure it out?" Chen Hongyang asked with a smile.

Liu Banxia, unable to hide his excitement, nodded, "Who knows, maybe the PANDAS diagnosis was wrong. Did you notice it too?"

"Director Liu, really?" Wulei, who was listening nearby, quickly moved over and grabbed Liu Banxia’s arm.

"It’s still just a hypothesis based on some indicators. Let the child sleep for a while, and we’ll discuss it in detail outside," said Liu Banxia.

"Okay, okay, let’s talk outside. Yuanyuan... wife... you... I... what should I say?" Wulei was so nervous he couldn’t organize his words.

Liu Banxia patted his shoulder, "Don’t worry yet, we’ll need to run a series of tests. I’ll explain my assessment to you outside, so you can hear me out."

The couple could only nod vigorously.

What was said just now wasn’t only from Liu Banxia but also from Chen Hongyang.

Xu Yino was also a little excited, but since she was responsible for the child’s care, she could only listen in from the doorway of the emergency room.

"I observed carefully just now, and I think there’s been some deviation in our past assessments of Yuanyuan," Liu Banxia said.

"To be precise, I’m more inclined to believe that Yuanyuan’s frequent blinking is neurogenic blinking, not a tic disorder, which are fundamentally different."

"When chatting with Yuanyuan earlier, I used both happy and sad topics to stimulate her. I found that her blinking frequency wasn’t affected by any emotion."

"Moreover, I observed that sometimes when the child blinks, there’s no twitching of the mouth, which is what makes me happy. Because the blinking symptoms of a tic disorder are often accompanied by mouth twitching, sniffing, emotional fluctuations, and so on."

"Simply put, neurogenic blinking is a neurological issue. It’s a physiological reaction, possibly related to her OCD, or some kind of neural discharge in the brain."

"A tic disorder, on the other hand, is a pathological response, a chronic tic disorder. To be more specific, under external pressure, Yuanyuan may exhibit frequent blinking."

"This pressure acts as a stimulus, causing emotional fluctuations. A tic disorder itself causes emotional fluctuations, leading to blinking, mouth twitching, and other symptoms."

"From my observations, Yuanyuan’s blinking isn’t very frequent. We’ve just been overly focused on the PANDAS symptoms, which led us to exaggerate this symptom. Dr. Chen, is this what you think too?"

Chen Hongyang nodded, "More or less, that’s my basic assessment too. Kids often have a certain degree of mimicry."

"Some might see other kids making faces and imitate them just for fun, like pulling a funny face."

"Initially, it’s just amusing, but with mimicry, it becomes a habit. Especially since Yuanyuan has OCD, this symptom becomes more pronounced."

"I haven’t dealt with PANDAS before, so I’m unfamiliar with its tic disorder symptoms. But I feel that Yuanyuan’s situation is more about neurogenic blinking than a tic disorder."

"Neurogenic blinking can be adjusted with psychological counseling and nerve-nourishing medication. If it really is neurogenic blinking, then the child doesn’t have PANDAS."

"It’s just a coincidence that she got a strep infection. OCD itself can have many effects, and even EEGs may not clearly distinguish them."

"That’s why I suggest consulting with our neurology experts, to approach it from neurogenic blinking and try nerve-nourishing meds for the OCD, and stop the antibiotics for PANDAS."

"Director Liu, even though I didn’t fully catch everything, does this mean Yuanyuan is okay?" Wulei asked nervously.

"After this treatment process is done, Yuanyuan still needs a series of tests," Liu Banxia said.

"I’ll contact Director Miao from neurology, a renowned expert in the field, to give us a second opinion."

Hearing Liu Banxia’s words, Wulei was trembling with excitement.

This result or direction was what he desperately hoped for. Although he knew he shouldn’t get too hopeful, it really seemed like what Liu Banxia and Chen Hongyang were saying was very credible.