Damon sat in a wheelchair. With the help of the flight attendant, he boarded the plane from Johannesburg Airport in South Africa and transferred to Shanghai in China.
When Damon saw the familiar doctor, Morris, at the arrival gate, tears almost flowed down his cheeks.
"I think my foot is going to break. It's swollen even more." Damon sat in a wheelchair and was scared to death.
"Let me take a look." Doctor Morris squatted down and checked. He smiled and said, "It's okay. It's just a normal swelling. It will subside soon."
Damon said worriedly, "My foot has been very swollen for the past few days. It was still swollen before I boarded the plane."
"It's okay. It will be fine after the surgery." Doctor Morris comforted Damon. As a doctor specializing in sports medicine in a private hospital, Morris was very good at comforting young patients.
Compared to adults, the endurance and endurance of young patients were much weaker when it came to the same injury. For athletes and prospective athletes whose family conditions were not very good, injuries not only brought physical pain, but also mental stress.
Damon, who was only nineteen years old, was a poor white athlete from South Africa who came from a very poor family.
He started participating in various levels of English football matches in high school and used it to get a university scholarship. If everything went smoothly, Damon was expected to join a professional team in the next two years and free his family from the slums.
However, a collision during a training match caused Damon's Achilles tendon to rupture, and his dream was almost shattered.
Suturing an Achilles tendon after a ruptured Achilles tendon was enough for ordinary people, but for professional football players, it was a nightmare. If he was an athlete who had been famous for a long time, he might be able to play with experience. But for a young man who had not become a professional athlete, after suffering such a serious injury, if he wanted to continue his dream, he could only …
Rely on the insurance company.
The school Damon studied in had a very complete insurance policy, and it was very flexible. Although it was not enough for him to go to a super expensive hospital for treatment, it was enough to pay for the fees of the private hospital where Morris was, and for him to go to countries like China or India for treatment.
Morris comforted Damon in a low voice and said, "The doctor I found for you is a very famous doctor in China. The new technology he used was invented by an academician, and he has treated many people. Some athletes have recovered very well."
"Some have recovered very well. What about the others?" Damon was still smart enough to use his brain.
"His recovery is not bad. There are no failures so far." Morris said, "The Achilles tendon repair is only one aspect. The subsequent rehabilitation training is also very important. After the surgery, there's a high chance that you'll have to undergo high-intensity training within four months. "
Damon muttered, "Four months." Then, he said, "This is what I need."
"Yes, you will be able to participate in next season's competition and even train before the match." Morris continued in a low voice, "I've talked to your coach. He'll give you a chance. As long as you can pass the test of a season, you'll become a strong player after recovering from an injury, not an injured player."
"What if it fails?" Damon's voice was deep.
"If the Achilles tendon repair surgery fails, the most serious consequences will be difficulty in walking. The Achilles tendon ruptures again, infection, adhesion, and so on. These are all possible consequences." Morris knew that Damon was definitely willing. If he wasn't willing, he wouldn't have taken an entire day's flight here. He would have rejected Damon's offer earlier. However, Morris still said patiently, "I saw Doctor Ling's surgery with my own eyes. His skills are very good, and they're the best in the world. You don't have to worry too much. "
Damon hummed in a low voice. His head was lowered, and he did not seem to be motivated.
"Let's go straight to the hospital. We'll rest today, and we'll start the examination tomorrow. Then, we'll meet with the chief surgeon." Morris did not hope to convince Damon. He just wanted him to understand.
Doctor Morris waved his hand again, and a resident doctor from the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center who came with him came forward to help push the wheelchair.
For the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center, it was not unusual for foreign patients to come for consultation, but it was rather rare for them to ask for a doctor to perform a certain surgery.
There were actually a lot of cases of foreigners coming to China. For example, some hospitals in cities near Russia had patients from the former Soviet Union all year round.
Hospitals in China could provide above standard services, and the fees were low. Even if they included the travel and accommodation fees, they could still save a lot of money for foreign patients.
However, there was a shortage of medical resources in China. They neither rejected nor pursued such low-end foreign patients. It was fundamentally different from what doctors thought of as freelance surgeries.
The freelance surgeries were performed by people, and they were directed at the chief surgeon.
Foreign patients who only attended general consultations for money were not considered freelance surgeries.
In contrast, such patients who brought along doctors from private hospitals and had insurance companies to pay high medical fees were considered high-end for the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center.
Once medical services became high-end, they would have to face global competition.
And winning in global competition was something worthy of praise for any hospital in China.
The Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center sent Damon back to the hospital with their ambulance, which had not been used for a long time.
A group of doctors even started the consultation early. They did not even need to pretend in the meeting room.
"It's a typical Achilles tendon rupture."
"It's a little atrophy."
"The patient is healthy. Based on the data, there are no other diseases."
"Then, should we go back?" Ling Ran stared at the MRI scan for a while and asked in a slightly lonely manner.
The patient's illness was too simple. Although it looked quite serious, there was nothing much to say.
Ji Tianlu coughed hard and said, "Academician Zhu is still very concerned about this case. Let's pretend for a while … Let's talk for a while."
"Oh," Ling Ran replied and watched as the doctors chatted happily with each other.
"Let's talk about the prognosis."
"After the patient recovers, he will go back to China for treatment."
"How many days will he stay in China?"
"A week at most."
"Then, we need to fix the casts and other things."
Ling Ran originally had his eyebrows lowered like an ascetic monk, but when he heard this, he suddenly pricked up his ears.
If the patient left the country, the hospital bed would be empty.
In other words, such a patient would not occupy the hospital bed for long.
In Ling Ran's mind, such a patient was obviously a five-star patient!
Damon was the first patient sent by Sanlem Insurance Company from South Africa. In the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center, he was already a five-star patient. But in Ling Ran's mind, he had just been promoted to a five-star patient.
"After this patient is treated, there will be publicity, right?" Ling Ran interrupted the discussion.
Ji Tianlu hummed in acknowledgment and asked, "What do you think?"
"Liu Weichen's competition will be postponed to next week. Is this news helpful?" Ling Ran sorted out the information he knew and looked very serious.
Ji Tianlu looked even more serious than Ling Ran. He sat upright and said, "If there are no problems with him, it will be helpful … Will there be any problems?"
"There shouldn't be any problems next week." Ling Ran thought about it carefully. With the recovery ability of athletes, there might be major changes in a week.
"That's great. Ling Ran, you must stay for a while longer." Ji Tianlu slapped his thigh and said, "When Liu Weichen is done running, our publicity situation will be very different. At that time, there will definitely be a lot of people coming for treatment."
For Ling Ran, it was nothing new for him to have a lot of patients seeking treatment.
Large-scale tertiary Grade A hospitals in the country did not lack patients.
Ling Ran looked at Ji Tianlu and asked a little disappointedly, "Liu Weichen can't attract foreign patients, right?"
Ji Tianlu was stunned for a moment. He smiled and said, "Regardless of whether he can attract foreign patients or not, there will be a lot of patients in the country. Besides, we can target the athletes, and it will soon expand."
The anesthetist who came for the consultation said enviously, "The income will not be lower than treating foreign patients."
"Slowly, the number of foreign patients will also increase." Ji Tianlu could guess Ling Ran's thoughts, and he said, "Many athletes from other places operate in a similar manner as patients from other countries. They have their own sports doctors, team doctors, and the like. It's very normal for them to go back and do their own rehabilitation exercises after receiving surgery in our hospital."
Ling Ran listened and nodded slowly. He smiled and said, "I will give Liu Weichen a call later and take a look at his scans to confirm his injury."
"Liu Weichen will be very happy." Ji Tianlu's mouth twitched a few times. He asked again, "Then, the South African athlete we are consulting now … Damon's surgery plan …"
"Just do it normally," Ling Ran said without any burden, "There is nothing special about it."
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.
