44 – Roadmap

"Dr. Li, Mr. Ouyang is here again," the nurse informed Li Yun as he was by another patient's bedside.

Li Yun finished marking the chart and looked at the nurse. "His son drove him or via the ambulance?"

"His son drove him in this time."

"Dr. Yang and Dr. Zhou dealing with him?" Li Yun asked her.

The nurse nodded. "They are dealing with Mr. Ouyang right now in the geriatric department."

After checking his patient, Li Yun walked toward the geriatric department. In the hospital, the geriatric department was considered the most depressing department. It wasn't as stressful as pediatrics or the ER, but it was depressing to see people at the end of their lifespan, and there was nothing to prevent it. The only thing the doctors could do was ease away their suffering.

"Where's that useless son of mine!?" Mr. Ouyang cried out.

The man was nearing his nineties, but he was still waving his cane around like a kid in the playground. Li Yun wondered if he was the one that knocked Lui Jing in the head the other time. Better stay far away.

"Mr. Ouyang, we need to perform a check-up on you," Mi Xuan explained. "Your son told us you haven't taken your medicine."

"Blah, useless medicine!" Mr. Ouyang waved his frail hands to ward them off. "I'm going away soon anyway. It's not like it will make me live longer."

"Sir, it is still important to take your medicine," Yang Kang tried to plead. "You fell last time because you had a dizzy spell. The medicine will help keep your mind clear."

"Yah, yah, the other doctor already explained. You don't have to mention it twice. Let me get some rest, and tell my son to take me back home. I'm tired!"

Yang Kang looked at Mi Xuan, ready to give up. They tried their best to convince him to stay, but he wouldn't give them a urine sample or blood sample. They couldn't do anything if the patient refuses, even if they have a guardian's consent.

Mi Xuan looked impatiently at the elderly man. "It's fine if you don't want to take medicine, but are you sure it's not because you forgot?"

"What? Why would I forget!?" Mr. Ouyang stumped his cane on the floor once. "You don't know, back in my days, I was the best mathematician on the national team. Not like you kids these days, relying on your computers and calculators."

"I see, so you forgot to take your medicine."

"What! What are you talking about?" Mr. Ouyang barked back. "Are you deaf!? Didn't you hear what I have said? I just don't want to take them."

"That's not a problem. You don't have to take them. It's not like you will remember even if we give you more."

"What are you talking about? Of course I can remember."

"So you can remember to take your pills for the next month?"

"Easy peasy!"

Yang Kang looked at Mi Xuan strangely. They were talking in circles, but yet she got him to take the pills the next time. He didn't know she had that kind of patience. Mi Xuan, however, gritted her teeth and walked out of the room.

"It looks like a rotation in geriatric is good for you," said Li Yun as he approached the two of them.

Mi Xuan glared at Li Yun. "Did you ask Chief Gao to put me in here for an extra week?"

"Are you having fun making friends with all the seniors?"

Mi Xuan defeatedly let out a long sigh. Everyone knew Li Yun practically oversaw the ER after Chief Gao. "It was a good experience. I asked them about their life experiences based on their wrinkles. They seemed to open up more after I talked to them."

"Most seniors are chatty, especially when they start talking about themselves."

"I just want to verify if the lines on their faces really reflected their experience. I don't really want to know their life story."

"Why not? Face reading is just a starting point to understand a person. If the person tells you everything about themselves, that's even better. Just look at Yang Kang."

"What about me?" Yang Kang asked curiously.

"You didn't read up on face reading?"

"Nope, I don't enjoy studying like Doctor Mi Xuan."

"But you can remember every single person you have treated and your conversations with them."

"Ooh, Doctor Li knows my special skills."

Yang Kang's ability to remember names, faces, and conversations were envious, especially because it came naturally.

"You don't have to rely on face reading simply because you're able to connect with patients, and they will tell you everything about themselves."

Yang Kang nodded.

"Knowing a person's life story is like having a roadmap."

"A roadmap for what?" Mi Xuan wondered. "Most of these people are already at the end of the road."

"People are unique, but only to a certain extent. Between the bumpy road and an easy road, most people will pick the easy road. But people with Mr. Ouyang experiences will pick the bumpy road because they like challenges. And people like that will often face similar challenges. If you see a young mathematician in his twenties, you can use Mr. Ouyang's roadmap to help guide his decision."

Mi Xuan prided herself in being able to see the big picture, but what Li Yun said changed her initial thoughts about the importance of people skills. As she heard more and more stories, she began to understand why people made certain decisions, whether it made sense to her or not.

"Speaking of which, I heard you're good friends with Ms. Ching now," Li Yun heard everything from the nurses, they were like his spy network.

Mi Xuan grew annoyed upon hearing the name of the narcissistic elderly woman. "Why won't she stop calling me?"

Ms. Ching was someone who was easily depressed, so she came to the hospital for checkups once a month.

"She made you food, so talking to her isn't a bad trade-off."

Mi Xuan grew silent. "She doesn't have much time left. I have tried contacting her relatives, and although they felt a bit of regret, they are too busy to see her."

It was progress for Mi Xuan if she was able to sense when patients were near the end of their lifespan. Usually, only the most experienced doctors could sense it.

"As long as she's still talking to you, it seems like she will be fine," Li Yun consoled.

"Yeah, but what kind of daughter doesn't want to visit their mom at the last moment of their lives?" Mi Xuan suddenly thought about her own parents.

"Just think about it. How is your relationship with your father? Would you visit him?"

"He's overbearing, but I'll still visit him."

"Did you ever have a fight with him where you were so upset that you wanted to run away?"

"All the time."

"Okay, maybe using you as an example isn't a good idea," Li Yun commented and turned to Yang Kang. "How about your parents?"

"I try not to fight with them," Yang Kang replied. "I am the obedient son."

"If your parents don't accept you, would you want to see them again?"

"I'm not sure, but I probably won't be able to face them again."

"So you're saying they had a fight, and are unable to resolve until now?" Mi Xuan connected what Li Yun was saying regarding Ms. Ching's relationship with her daughter.

"Along that line," Li Yun nodded. "It may even be something very stupid. But most fights are from an accumulation of bitterness and resentment. So it doesn't matter what the fight was about, but it was enough to break their relationship. After so long, they may have forgotten about it, but they still feel awkward trying to reconnect."

Being aware of the situation, Mi Xuan set on a mission to bring the mother and daughter together. She called Ms. Ching's daughter again. Ms. Ching's daughter was a social worker who helped others. Mi Xuan recognized that Ms. Ching's daughter's decision was based on becoming someone who was the complete opposite of her mother. She didn't want to follow Ms. Ching's roadmap.

"Ms. Dong, I understand that you're busy, but please hear me out one more time," Mi Xuan pleaded over the phone. "Your mother regrets being selfish. She doesn't say it out loud directly because that's the type of person she is. However, she's constantly talking about her daughter and granddaughters, so you can tell that a part of her really wants to reconnect. Although you may not like her, it will be better in the long run for the grandchildren to meet with their grandmother one more time."

On Ms. Ching's final day, she was surrounded by nurses and doctors. Although the flight was delayed, her daughter along with her husband and children were able to make it before Ms. Ching closed her eyes.