Surgeons Episode 44 (Ending) Recap
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At a hospital assembly, Fu Bowen stood before the staff, recalling the doctor's oath he took upon entering Renhe Hospital. He admitted that the oath had painfully stabbed his conscience for thirty years, and he was not worthy to be called a doctor.
He confessed that on June 3, 1984, he and Xiu Min Qi, fearing legal repercussions for Lu Zhong He's death due to a lidocaine allergy, coerced Cao Guang Yi, the then pharmacy head, into fabricating a procurement form. They changed the drug from lidocaine to penicillin, shifting all blame to nurse Zhang Shu Mei. Despite Zhang Shu Mei's persistent appeals, he and Xiu Min Qi remained silent.
Cao Guang Yi resigned and went abroad, while Zhang Shu Mei suffered a mental breakdown and eventually committed suicide. Fu Bowen explained that he could no longer bear the burden on his conscience and presented the real procurement form, which explicitly listed lidocaine, not penicillin, as the drug Zhang Shu Mei had retrieved. He urged Xiu Min Qi to confront the truth and stop perpetuating the lie. However, Xiu Min Qi remained unyielding.
He calmly stated that the thirty-year-old investigation's findings were the truth: Zhang Shu Mei had taken the wrong medication, penicillin, resulting in the patient's death. He systematically refuted the presented evidence. He dismissed Zhong Xi Bei's lone testimony as insufficient proof, arguing that only an empty penicillin vial, not lidocaine ampules, was found in Lu Zhong He's room. He also brushed aside Lu Chenxi's theory about her father's allergies, deeming it irrelevant because the injection was penicillin.
Regarding the procurement form Fu Bowen presented, Xiu Min Qi noted that the original archived form had been verified as authentic by the investigation team decades ago. With Zhang Shu Mei long deceased and Cao Guang Yi's whereabouts unknown, he questioned who could now verify the authenticity of this newly surfaced form.
He further mentioned that Zhang Shu Mei's son, Zhuang Shu, had attempted to overturn the investigative decision four months prior but lacked strong evidence, merely asking them to speak the truth based on their medical conscience. At that time, they refused due to concerns for their reputation and status, leading Zhuang Shu to develop chronic depression and leave China.
Fu Bowen interjected, explaining that he had already lost his reputation through past academic misconduct and drug addiction, questioning why he would now slander Xiu Min Qi. Unmoved, Xiu Min Qi asserted that the case's truth was clear, and its conclusion settled, with no new evidence warranting refutation. He concluded by declaring that he, Xiu Min Qi, had never acted against a doctor's conscience in his fifty years of practice, and then abruptly left the room.
As he walked away, Fu Bowen desperately called out to him, reminding him that Zhuang Shu had saved his daughter. The entire staff watched Xiu Min Qi leave, filled with doubt, anger, and dismay despite his denial. After the conference, two investigators from the Municipal Health Planning Commission's Disciplinary Inspection Committee arrived at Yang Fan's office to inquire about Renhe Hospital's procurement of medical equipment from Pioneer Medical Treatment Corporation. Yang Fan confirmed his familiarity with the company.
Later, Fu Bowen visited Xiu Min Qi at his home. Xiu Min Qi reminisced about his long-standing ambition to conquer lung transplantation, which was a major challenge in medicine at the time. After five years of persistent applications and research, his lung transplant project was finally approved in 1984. He recounted that Lu Zhong He's death from a lidocaine allergy occurred precisely then.
Fearing that this accident, which he considered unrelated to medical malpractice, would jeopardize his hard-won lung transplant program, they decided to shift the blame to Zhang Shu Mei. Xiu Min Qi declared that he had no regrets about his decision and would make the same choice if he could go back in time. He argued that the successful lung transplant program had since saved countless lives, making the sacrifice of "just a nurse" like Zhang Shu Mei worthwhile.
Fu Bowen, however, strongly disagreed, asserting that all lives are equal and Zhang Shu Mei's demise was unjust. He argued that deceit and fabrication were the greatest impediments to the advancement of medicine and science. Xiu Min Qi dismissed Fu Bowen's perspective as childish, reiterating that he would stand by his original decision. He then acknowledged that with Fu Bowen's public confession, the outcome was now irreversible, and he had already lost.
One month later, in Los Angeles, Zhuang Shu was tending to his garden when his colleague Owen showed him news of a severe acute pneumonia outbreak in Jialin City, China. The report detailed 100 suspected cases, 25 critical, and 5 deaths, with Renhe Hospital being quarantined as the outbreak's origin. The infection was identified as a drug-resistant mutated strain of E. coli, likely similar to Lin Hao's strain, and not sensitive to any known medication.
Owen noted its similarity to the bacterial strain Zhuang Shu had previously sent for research, which he'd theorized could mutate to infect healthy individuals. Zhuang Shu confirmed the connection, regretting his sudden departure had prevented him from discussing this critical information with the CDC. Driven by a renewed sense of purpose, Zhuang Shu, shedding his previous disheveled appearance, decided to return to Renhe to stand with his former colleagues.
Upon his return, Zhuang Shu found Renhe Hospital under complete lockdown, with medical staff fully clad in protective gear, battling the severe epidemic. The epidemic was severe, with people dying every day. Yang Zixuan and Yang Yu had also been infected but were stable, without life-threatening conditions. Zhuang Shu reunited with Lu Chenxi in the isolation zone. Both wearing white isolation suits, they looked at each other affectionately and silently embraced.
Lu Chenxi informed him that his earlier suggestions for respiratory improvements and immediate abscess resections had prompted an adjustment in their treatment plan, leading to a decrease in patients experiencing septic shock and ARDS. The Beijing CDC's microbiology lab had confirmed the infection was a mutated version of Lin Hao's strain and suggested a combination of antibiotics, discontinued for ten years, which might prove effective.
Lu Chenxi expressed relief that Yang Fan had not stopped Zhuang Shu's previous research into Lin Hao's strain. She then shared the somber news of Xiu Min Qi's death. On the third day of the epidemic, while he and Fu Bowen were resuscitating a patient with respiratory distress, the suction machine malfunctioned. Xiu Min Qi used his mouth to suction the obstruction, contracting the infection that ultimately claimed his life.
Lu Chenxi revealed that before entering the infected area, Xiu Min Qi had written a letter to the investigation team, confessing his full involvement in conspiring with Fu Bowen to falsify the procurement form, deceive the investigation team, and falsely accuse Zhuang Shu's mother. The reopened investigation was unfortunately interrupted by the escalating epidemic, as colleagues fell ill one by one.
Lu Chenxi admitted she had been torn between calling Zhuang Shu and not wanting him to return to the dangerous situation, hoping instead to find him in the States once everything settled. Unexpectedly, Zhuang Shu simply said, "Let's get married." Lu Chenxi, overjoyed, exclaimed that she had won a bet against Chen Shaocong, who had predicted she would be the one to propose.
She playfully chided Zhuang Shu for his lack of contact and jokingly wondered if he would leave again, mentioning her parents' constant nagging for them to marry, fearing he might run off with a foreign woman. Twenty-eight days later, the epidemic was successfully brought under control through the combined efforts of all medical personnel in Jialin City.
An investigation, prompted by Xiu Min Qi's confession, cleared Zhang Shu Mei's name, confirming she had been wrongly accused by Fu Bowen and Xiu Min Qi. However, due to the statute of limitations, no legal action was taken against Fu Bowen and Xiu Min Qi. Yang Fan was relieved of his duties as Renhe Hospital Dean and Director of Thoracic Surgery due to his involvement in questionable financial transactions related to drug and medical equipment procurement.
Yang Zixuan, having abandoned his position in the United States, returned to China with the intention of providing medical aid in Africa. Despite Yang Fan's loss of power, his relationship with his son significantly improved. Yang Yu's baby was confirmed to be healthy and unaffected by the epidemic, much to Chen Shaocong's delight, who proudly named his child Chen Hao Shuai. Life gradually returned to normal.
Lu Chenxi, now an associate professor, lectured enthusiastically at the medical university, recounting historical medical feats to her students. Zhuang Shu waited patiently in the classroom, eager to whisk her away for wedding photos as instructed by Lu Chenxi's mother. Lu Chenxi, however, found the traditional wedding photo styles unappealing and kept postponing. She was also waiting for a prospective graduate student recommended by Fu Bowen, who was already an hour or two late.
Just as they were about to leave, the student, a handsome but somewhat disoriented young man named Hu Ge, finally arrived, explaining he had gotten lost on campus. Lu Chenxi, upon hearing his name, humorously suggested he change it to "Hu Tu" (muddle-headed). Hu Ge explained his elder brother was already named Hu Tu. Lu Chenxi expressed her frustration with the quality of new applicants, then turned to leave.
Hu Ge then sheepishly asked if he could apply to be Zhuang Shu's graduate student instead. Zhuang Shu agreed, with one condition: Hu Ge must call him "Big Brother" instead of "Teacher." Hu Ge happily accepted, softly repeating "Big Brother."
