It was 18 September 2021 local time when the allied troops reappeared at Isla Salas y Gomez.
At 18: 12 that evening, the rescue team started to perform ECMO on Gu Jun. His heart started to beat weakly at 18: 37. The EF value, which reflected the ventricular function, was only 10%. The normal value was 50% to 70%. Due to the massive hemorrhage on his right frontal lobe, the neurosurgery team led by Si Kouxian started to perform a frontal lobe craniotomy at 18: 42.
They made an incision, opened the skin flap, drilled a hole in the skull, opened the bone flap, removed the bone flap, cut open the dura, removed the hematoma, sutured it, and drained it.
Based on his condition, if they kept the bone flap, the risk of complications such as high intracranial pressure and postoperative cerebral edema would be higher. A second surgery would be required, and that might kill him. Therefore, the team chose to remove the bone flap. Part of his right frontal lobe was gone. The dura mater was just below his scalp. Half of his forehead had collapsed in on itself. If he could survive this, they would have to perform a craniotomy later.
Since he did not have any other brain injuries, the craniotomy only took 4 hours to complete. It ended at 22: 56 that day.
Then, the orthopedic team led by orthopedic specialist Wang Huikang took over the main position of the neurosurgery team.
They performed debridement and suturing of multiple soft tissues, open reduction and internal fixation of fractures in the palms of both upper limbs, phalanges, radius, ulna, and tibial plateau of the left lower limb. There was also open reduction for the dislocation of the shoulder joint.
From his injuries, the doctors deduced that when Gu Jun fell from the sky, his hands first landed on the ground to support himself, then his right forehead hit the ground, and his left leg to support himself. Therefore, the injuries on his upper limbs were more severe than those on his lower limbs. Since there was no fracture on his right lower limb, ECMO had an ideal position for V-A bypass intubation.
The surgeries continued for 22 hours. When the orthopedic team finally stopped, it was already 21: 25 on the night of 19 September.
During this period, the ECMO team led by Liu Mingfeng had been observing and adjusting the parameters of the equipment. These surgeries brought more problems to the stable operation of ECMO. Thankfully, the team was experienced enough to maintain Gu Jun's cardiopulmonary support and blood flow to his limbs.
Li Cheng, Zhang Zeli, and other specialists from the Department of Cardiology and Department of Cardiovascular Surgery did not dare to relax for even a second.
Although Gu Jun had recovered his own heartbeat, his peripheral circulation and pulsation were extremely poor, and his hemodynamics fluctuated greatly. He was only 22 years old, and the results of his previous physical examination showed that his heart could beat until he was 120 years old, but now it seemed like he was suffering from heart failure.
However, with the team's hard work, he did not have a second cardiac arrest during the operation. His hemodynamics stabilized, and his heart's EF value rose to 20%. He also recovered weak autonomous breathing.
At this moment, the rescue team could finally say that they had won the first battle to rescue Gu Jun from the Dark Abyss.
Everyone in the operating theater, command center, and corridor breathed a sigh of relief. However, what happened next proved that postoperative surgery was a long test.
On the morning of the 20th of September, Gu Jun's EF value dropped to 10% again. The chest X-ray showed that there was a large amount of fluid in both sides of his chest, inflammation and infection in both lungs, and electrolyte disturbance … The rescue team returned to the operating table to deal with these complications. This battle lasted for another 30 hours.
The 21st was the Mid-Autumn Festival. They spent it in the operating theater. Wu Shiyu, Uncle Dan, and the rest spent it on the destroyer.
Gu Jun's craniotomy was of high quality. There were no postoperative complications, that was probably the only good news.
The other good news was that his ECMO catheter did not leak blood, and it did not cause swelling in his right lower limb.
After the first few days, Gu Jun's condition started to improve. The team continued to nurse him. On the 25th, one week after the surgery, the EF value rose to 30%. On the 2nd of October, two weeks after the surgery, the EF value rose to 40%. His heart was no longer in danger.
His other vital signs had stabilized. Therefore, after 14 days of ECMO, the team removed the CPB and transferred him to ICU.
By then, Gu Jun and the rest were transported back to Phecda's headquarters at Da Hwa City for follow-up treatment.
Deng Ximei woke up on the 23rd of September. Even though she had some headaches, she was sane and her life was not in danger. However, she was very quiet.
Due to her performance in this mission, she was officially accepted as a member of Phecda's Spell Department. Tong Ye and the rest had high hopes for her. They hoped that she could unleash her full potential to make up for Gu Jun's absence. But temporarily, she still needed a lot of treatment.
Deng Ximei's recovery made everyone happy, but on the 6th of October, everyone's mood hit rock bottom again.
This was the 18th day after Xue Ba underwent ECMO. He had developed a blood infection, and his liver, kidneys, and other organs were failing. The medical team had done everything they could, but they still failed. At 23: 36 that night, the medical team announced Xue Ba's death.
This news was heavy for every member of Phecda.
Xue Ba, the former leader of the Demon Hunters from Eastern State City, had long grown into an important member of the Spell Department, Phecda GOA. He had passed away at the age of 39.
Gu Jun's condition was not optimistic either. His breathing and heartbeat had returned. The anesthetic had been removed, but he had not regained consciousness. The electroencephalogram showed that he was still unconscious. Everything pointed to brain death.
Even the experts could not say for sure about this kind of brain problem. He might never wake up, or he might wake up the next day, or one year later, or even ten years later …
Time passed by. On the 30th day of his coma, on the 18th of October, he still did not wake up.
On that day, Phecda held a funeral for Xue Ba. He was buried at Phecda Cemetery. Everyone was there but Gu Jun was absent.
On the 60th day of his coma, the X-ray showed that his fractures were recovering well. The medical team removed the plaster from his body.
Even though Gu Jun might be in a vegetative state, the medical team did not let their guard down. Every day, they would turn him over, give him massages, physical therapy, and so on to maintain his bodily functions. Therefore, even though he had lost a lot of weight, his muscles were not atrophied.
On December 18th, the 90th day of his coma, three months after the frontal lobe craniotomy, the team performed a cranioplasty on him. They used the best cranioplasty material at the moment, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), which was seamlessly connected to human bones. It had good insulation, hardness, and other properties.
The surgery went smoothly. From then on, Gu Jun's skull had an additional piece of PEEK. However, with the scalp covering it, it was not visible from the outside. His face was still the same as before the craniotomy.
On the 31st of December, the last day of the year, Gu Jun had been in a coma for 103 days. 2022 was coming, but he still did not wake up.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
