CHAPTER 23
The two of them spent a whole day in the largest hospital in Beijing. After thinking of many ways, they finally had an ultrasound done in the evening when they were about to get off work. Pulse Doppler ultrasound is used to examine heart diseases more clearly. The city hospital does not have this machine.
After rushing to finish all the tests before leaving, many results would have to wait until tomorrow, so Li Xia took him to the cafeteria for dinner. The hospital cafeteria had a rich variety of food, including noodles, rice, porridge, and cakes.
“What do you want to eat?” Li Xia asked.
“Let’s eat noodles.”
“Okay.”
They both loved noodles, so Li Xia found a table for him to sit down, and she went to the window to get food. Each of them had a bowl of Datong sliced noodles, plus two braised eggs, two pieces of braised tofu, and two meatballs.
Shen Haiyang stood up and served the meal. Li Xia just sat down and stood up to scoop two bowls of noodle soup. The two of them ate in silence in the noisy environment. After finishing, they found a cool corner to sit and wait for the result.
She returned to the guesthouse at night feeling anxious and unable to sleep with her eyes open. She heard some noise and then Shen Haiyang hugged her from behind.
“Go to sleep. There will always be a way out when you reach the mountain. It’s useless to think so much.”
Li Xia didn’t say anything, not knowing what to say. A hemp rope always breaks at the thinnest part, and misfortune always picks on the unfortunate. Are they really that unfortunate? No, she believed that good things come hard. Since she could change his fate of dying before waking up, she could definitely cure his illness now.
“Yes,” she replied softly, turning around and hugging his waist. “If you are sick, we will actively seek treatment. Nowadays, medicine is advanced and it will definitely be cured.”
Shen Haiyang was silent for a while, then chuckled softly. “Go to sleep.” He didn’t say anything sentimental, but thanked God countless times in his heart for bringing her to him. Of course, at this moment, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. If his life was destined to be restless, it would inevitably implicate her.
Would she agree to a divorce with property division now? He knew the answer without asking, absolutely not. Not to mention that he had no shortage of money for treatment, even if he did, she would work hard to earn money. Husband and wife, support each other. She was also practicing it. Since he knew her intention, all he could do was to actively cooperate with the treatment, and he couldn’t do the bloody drama of pretending to cheat and drive her away.
She had already been betrayed by her husband once, and was seriously hurt psychologically. He couldn’t hurt her again under the pretext of doing good for her. Since they were already close relatives, they should stick together. Even if he really left one day, he should let her know that she was deeply loved. His heart was warm and confident.
The next morning, they went to the hospital and waited for the various test reports. They walked into the doctor’s office nervously. The doctor took the test results and looked at them carefully. “Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, have you had chest tightness and shortness of breath recently?”
Shen Haiyang nodded silently, and the doctor listened to him with the stethoscope again. “There is a heart murmur and a fourth heart sound. The B-ultrasound results confirm that it is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.”
“Doctor, do we need to be hospitalized? How much will it cost? Can you arrange for us to be hospitalized today?”
Upon hearing that he was indeed ill, Li Xia was anxious to ask about the specific treatment. She brought a lot of cash with her, which should be enough for the treatment. If not, she would have to go back home. In short, he had to get treatment as soon as possible. Shen Haiyang saw that she was more nervous than himself, so he reached out and held her hand.
The two people’s clasped hands were sweaty, but Li Xia was too nervous to notice. Heart disease, this is probably a serious problem. The heart is not like other organs, if it stops beating for a few minutes, it will be fatal.
She was worried, but Shen Haiyang was calmer than her, and his mind was still thinking normally. When the enemy comes, the general will stop it, and when the water comes, the earth will cover it. Everyone’s life trajectory is different. If his life is destined to be unusual, then there is nothing to complain about.
“Don’t worry too much. Your husband’s condition is mild, not serious. Currently, this disease can be relieved and controlled by taking medicine, and there is no need to be hospitalized. New treatment methods are being studied both at home and abroad, and perhaps there will be better and more effective methods soon.”
“Does that mean it can’t be cured at present?” Shen Haiyang asked.
“Yes. But don’t worry too much, your case is not serious. As long as you pay attention to your daily life and take medicine, you can control it. There are cases showing that as long as it is properly controlled, people can still be alive and well in their seventies or eighties.”
Upon hearing this, Li Xia heaved a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t life-threatening,
There is hope. Medical technology is advancing, and who knows, there might be a better way one day. Even if they need to take medicine for the rest of their lives, as long as their lives are not in danger, they can afford it.
“This disease cannot be cured by medicine. Apart from waiting for better treatments, you should pay attention to your daily life. Don’t get too excited, don’t get too tired, don’t get angry… In short, try to keep your emotions stable and don’t let them fluctuate too much.”
Hearing what the doctor said, Li Xia regretted it very much. Yesterday, they climbed the Great Wall, and he even carried yiyi on his back for a long section. Fortunately, nothing irreversible happened.
“Doctor, how did he get this disease?”
“Fifty to sixty percent of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is inherited in families, and thirty to forty percent is sporadic.” The male doctor looked at Shen Haiyang: “Does anyone in your family have this disease?”
Shen Haiyang nodded: “I heard that my great-grandfather suffered from heart disease. But I don’t know the details.”
The male doctor nodded and said nothing more. He prescribed medicine for them and told them the precautions again. Shen Haiyang asked at this time: “If there is a possibility of inheritance, then is it better for my son to get a check-up as well?”
“Did he have any symptoms?”
“nothing now.”
“That may be all right. But it would be best to get a checkup to be sure.”
“Okay.”
Coming out of the hospital, she held everything in her hands. Looking at his empty hands, Shen Haiyang smiled and shook his head.
“Wife, you are too nervous. The doctor said that I should just be careful not to overexert myself. It’s fine to lift something normally. I’m not made of paper. I won’t break if I poke it.”
“Better be careful. Don’t lift anything heavy in the future, and don’t hug Yi Yi anymore. That kid weighs nearly 40 kilograms, very heavy.”
Shen Haiyang smiled and said nothing more. He knew his own health. He felt uncomfortable on the Great Wall yesterday, and he gave yiyi to her without any hesitation. He put the quick-acting heart-saving pills prescribed by the doctor in his coat pocket and held her hand when he went out.
“Don’t worry too much. Maybe there will be a cure soon. And my case is mild. Didn’t the doctor say that there are cases that show people can live to 70 or 80? So don’t worry. I will definitely stay with you for the rest of your life.”
“Yes.” Li Xia smiled and didn’t want to add to his psychological burden. “I’ll make an international call tomorrow. If I can get through, please ask your father to help me ask. Maybe there is a treatment method overseas now.”
After a while, Shen Haiyang nodded silently in response to her expectant gaze. He had never met his father, let alone gotten along with him, so he felt a little embarrassed to talk about this in their first communication. But seeing how worried she was, he could only agree.
The two did not tell their children much about the hospital checkup. They just said that their father was not in good health and they should not make him angry in the future.
“Especially Yiyi, you are not allowed to let daddy hold you in his arms or carry you on his back anymore.”
The mother spoke sternly, and the little one nodded obediently, and came over to hold Shen Haiyang’s hand. His pretty face was raised, and his big watery eyes were filled with concern.
“Dad, does it hurt?” Shen Haiyang habitually reached out to hug him, but the little guy dodged. “Dad, don’t hug me.”
Shen Haiyang laughed softly, and the three children all looked at him with burning eyes. He squatted down to explain to the children and touched their hair one by one.
“Dad is fine, he just has a little problem.” He stretched out his hand and pinched Yiyi’s cheek, answering his previous question. “Dad is not in pain, and it’s okay to hold Yiyi when he is in good condition.”
“oh.”
The children relaxed, and Shen Hui let out a long sigh. Seeing his father stand up, he reached out to help him. His father was his heaven, and he felt safe only when he was around him. His grandmother was gone, and his mother was like that. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if his father was not around.
“Dad, do you want some water? I’ll go get you some.”
“Don’t worry, go and have fun. Daddy just has a minor problem, he doesn’t need anyone to take care of him.” After saying that, seeing that the child still didn’t move, he reached out and touched him to comfort him. “Really, Daddy is fine, don’t worry.”
Li Xia didn’t expect the children to care so much. She just wanted to tell them to pay attention. Seeing that the little ones were beginning to worry, she said nothing and took them out for dinner.
Everything is normal now. This time they finally believe that what their father said was just a minor problem.
When they reached the food restaurant they ordered,Braised pork elbow, braised pork chop, clear-boiled lamb, spicy diced chicken, blanched Chinese cabbage, persimmon and egg. After a full meal of meat today, she did not forget to ask the waiter for two vegetarian dishes.
The next day, they went to the post office to make an international long-distance call. Because of her previous experience,she hired an interpreter this time – a teacher from the Foreign Languages Department.
After a busy tone of “beep, beep, beep,” the other party finally picked up, still speaking in a foreign language. Shen Haiyang handed the receiver to the translator. The two parties only heard a chattering exchange, and then the translator told him that the other party said that Mr. Shen was in the hospital.
He had been bedridden since last year and had been discharged and re-admitted several times. Upon hearing the news, Shen Haiyang asked him to inform the other party of his situation and asked him to pass it on.
The call went through, but it didn’t seem to go through. They couldn’t say what they wanted to say, and they didn’t know if the other party would help to pass on the message. The other party said that the old man had suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy for many years and was recently hospitalized for recuperation. The letters from home said that Shen Haiyang’s half brother handled it, and he didn’t know what was going on. After paying the money and parting ways with the translator, the couple walked and talked on the sidewalk in no hurry.
“I found the root of the problem. Your father also suffers from this disease.”
“Then you don’t have to worry. He’s already over 60 this year. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Li Xia smiled. Suddenly, a real case appeared before her eyes, which seemed to give her more confidence. “Do you think it’s your brother who is playing tricks? Otherwise, how could we not receive any of the letters?”
“Maybe. But it could also be that the old man is seriously ill, so he doesn’t want him to worry too much.”
“How about we apply to go abroad? We can visit your father and get checked abroad. Maybe we can get you treated.”
“It’s not that easy. Don’t worry, maybe there will be a reply soon.”
“The last time I called, the servant told your brother, and he was the one who handled the letters. The old man probably doesn’t know we’re in touch with him yet. I absolutely don’t believe that this matter has nothing to do with your brother whom you’ve never met.”
“Don’t think too much, just let it go.”
“Okay.” Shen Haiyang was gentle and open-minded, and didn’t seem to care about the illness at all. Li Xia was also influenced by him and seemed to think it was really nothing.
“Let’s go, take Huihui to the hospital and get a checkup so we can rest assured.”
They left Huihua and yiyi at the guesthouse while they took Huihui to the hospital. They had already made an appointment for an ultrasound scan that day, so they could do it today, and it was early, so they got the results before the closing time.
The doctor had already listened to Shen Hui’s heart. He looked at the results and said to them, “The child is healthy. Don’t worry about it.”
