Chapter 13 - 13 Jounouchi Hiromi

Chapter 13: Chapter 13 Jounouchi Hiromi

Carrying Inomata Naoki's medical records she got from Yu Chen, even on her way home, Hiromi Jounouchi was engrossed in studying them, almost missing her subway stop.

"What should I do?" Back at home, Hiromi Jounouchi collapsed onto the sofa, emitting a sigh of frustration. Even with her many years of medical experience, she felt utterly helpless against Inomata Naoki's condition. No matter how carefully she studied his medical history, upon analyzing it thoroughly, she still didn't know where to begin.

If it were just stage IV esophageal cancer, although the surgical difficulty would be very high, it wouldn't be completely beyond approach. When Yu Chen had shown the medical records to the professors at East University Medical College, they too were only uncertain about a complete cure, rather than being unable to perform surgery to excise the tumor. Moreover, even if a complete tumor excision was needed and the surgical difficulty was great, in Japan there were a handful of surgeons capable of being the chief surgeon, but it wasn't that there was nobody available to take the lead.

What really made Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi feel at their wits' end was Inomata Naoki's body vitality, which was less than half that of a normal person.

The vitality of a human body is reflected in many aspects, including digestive ability, metabolic capacity, blood circulation... among others. The most direct reflection is the body's regenerative ability after injury.

The human body is capable of regeneration, this is undisputed. Whether it's the constantly growing hair and nails, or the healing of wounds after injuries, all are manifestations of the body's regenerative capacity. But this regenerative ability is not as miraculous as a gecko growing back its tail – the healing can only apply to injuries that are not limb amputations. Even the liver, which has the strongest regenerative potential, must have at least 20% of it remaining to maintain its regenerative function.

For a normal person, having the abdomen cut open to remove a large piece of tissue is already a severe injury, which requires a long time for recuperation. And for those with a weaker regenerative ability, it is uncertain if they would ever return to a normal state, with the body remaining weak indefinitely. Elderly people, due to their weaker recovery capabilities, fundamentally cannot withstand the damage caused to the body by a major surgery.

This is why many elderly cancer patients are not recommended for surgical treatment by hospitals, because their bodies cannot bear the burden of surgery. If surgery is enforced, the patient might very well die on the operating table.

However, Hiromi Jounouchi didn't pay it much attention. After all, she was already used to Yu Chen arriving later than her every day. Maybe he was just delayed by something today. Without dwelling on it, Hiromi Jounouchi cleared her mood, made herself a cup of coffee to boost her spirits, and began her day's work – she had surgeries to perform today.

But when Hiromi Jounouchi, after being busy all morning and completing a surgery, returned to the office hoping to rest a bit, she found that Yu Chen still hadn't arrived. His backpack, which he usually liked to carry, was also not in its usual place.

This struck Hiromi Jounouchi as odd and, after a moment's thought, she stood up and left the office, planning to ask the front desk why Yu Chen hadn't come in today.

"Doctor Jounouchi," the nurse at the front desk quickly greeted her when she saw Hiromi Jounouchi.

After nodding at the nurse with a smile, Hiromi Jounouchi asked her, "Shizuko, has Doctor Chen Yu not come in today? Is he on leave, or is there some kind of issue?"

"Huh? Doctor Jounouchi, didn't you know? Doctor Chen Yu has taken a week off. He has some personal matters to handle, so he won't be at the hospital this week. Didn't he tell you?" The nurse was startled by Hiromi Jounouchi's question but quickly responded, although she found it odd that Hiromi Jounouchi, who shared an office with Yu Chen, wouldn't know about his leave.

"Oh, is that so? I didn't know that, thank you, Shizuko." Hiromi Jounouchi was somewhat surprised by Yu Chen's leave but didn't inquire further. In her view, perhaps Yu Chen had gone to think of a solution. So after thanking the nurse, Hiromi Jounouchi was ready to return to the office to continue working. But after a few steps, she turned back to ask the nurse, "Shizuko, could you check for me where Doctor Chen Yu lives? He left something at my place, and I'd like to return it to him."

"Doctor Chen Yu's home? Oh, sure, I'll check for you. Please wait a moment, Doctor Jounouchi," the nurse responded without suspicion and started looking up the information for Hiromi Jounouchi.