Thank You Doctor Episode 23 Recap
> Thank You Doctor Recap
Xu Yiran advised Bai Shu to actively pursue Xiao Yan, telling him it is hard to find the right person and that having raised Little Guang alone for years, Bai Shu should now consider his own happiness. Xu Yiran believes Xiao Yan is a good person and urged Bai Shu to be more proactive, questioning if his reputation was more important than finding love. Bai Shu found Xu Yiran's sudden seriousness unsettling but promised to try harder.
A young autistic boy named Tian Rui was brought to Tongshan Hospital's Emergency Department after accidentally ingesting 100 salbutamol tablets. Xu Yiran attempted to examine him, but he was uncooperative, clutching a doll tightly, and Jiang Shan's persuasion was in vain. When Bai Shu tried to feed him the medicine, Tian Rui bit his wrist. Xiao Yan immediately stepped in to disinfect and bandage Bai Shu's wound.
Bai Shu tried to downplay the pain, but Xiao Yan insisted he should voice it if it hurt. Following this incident, the team decided against gastric lavage and instead administered mannitol and oral propranolol hydrochloride. When Xu Yiran, Jiang Shan, and Tang Hua struggled to give Tian Rui his oral medication, Xiao Yan offered to help. Drawing on her experience with similar patients, she demonstrated how to take the medicine, and Tian Rui successfully imitated her.
Xu Yiran praised Xiao Yan for her skills, noting her extensive experience, and encouraged Bai Shu to learn from her. Old Tian, Tian Rui's father, arrived at the hospital. He expressed worry but felt he needed to leave to set up his barbecue stall, as missing a day meant no income, after seeing Tian Rui's condition stabilize. He explained that he had left Tian Rui with an elderly neighbor who had asthma medication, which Tian Rui accidentally ingested.
Tang Hua criticized Old Tian for his perceived lack of responsibility, but Xiao Yan subtly intervened. Old Tian then recounted his past: he was a truck driver, but after Tian Rui's autism diagnosis, his wife wanted a divorce. This was partly due to her traumatic experience with her own autistic younger brother who died young, making her fearful of having another child with autism.
Despite his wife's reservations, Old Tian insisted on having Tian Rui and now feels apologetic but remains determined to earn money for his son's treatment, clinging to hope for his recovery. He asked the doctors to continue caring for Tian Rui. Later, after his shift, Xu Yiran deliberately bought skewers from Old Tian's stall to show support, despite Old Tian's attempts to refuse payment out of gratitude. Tian Rui's condition seemed to stabilize, and he was cleared for discharge.
However, just as he was about to leave with his father, he suddenly collapsed and went into ventricular fibrillation. Bai Shu and Xu Yiran immediately performed CPR and used a defibrillator, successfully resuscitating him. Further tests revealed severe liver damage and pleural effusion affecting his lung function, along with signs of heart and respiratory failure. Initial blood and stool tests ruled out common infections and parasites, leading to initial concerns about cancer.
However, subsequent tests ruled out cancer but revealed a high concentration of damaged macrophages in the pleural fluid. Bai Shu realized these damaged macrophages could pass through the lymphatic system, explaining the effusion and heart issues. He initially suspected cirrhosis, but a liver biopsy did not confirm it. Suspecting Tian Rui might have ingested unusual substances due to his autism, Bai Shu sent Chen Zhi to search their rented home for clues, but nothing was found.
Bai Shu then tried a different approach, showing Tian Rui photos of his home and asking him to point to anything he might have eaten. Tian Rui pointed to the sand in their courtyard. Observing Tian Rui's eye movements, Bai Shu identified it as "Pirouette Rotation," not eye palsy. He quickly concluded it was a raccoon roundworm infestation.
He explained that these specific roundworms are not excreted by human hosts and were present in the sand outside Tian Rui's home, likely ingested while playing. The roundworms spread from the digestive tract, invaded his lungs causing pleural effusion, then his liver leading to damaged cells, and finally attacked his eye. The treatment plan included high-dose benzimidazole to kill the worms and laser photocoagulation to treat his eye.
Tian Rui's mother visited the hospital but was reluctant to see her son, confiding in Tang Hua and Xu Yiran that she felt she didn't deserve to be a mother. She explained that they had exhausted all their savings, even selling their ancestral home, for Tian Rui's treatment, and she felt utterly hopeless, questioning the purpose of continuing.
She expressed a desire to take Tian Rui back to their hometown and potentially have another child with her husband, wishing she hadn't given birth to Tian Rui. Overhearing this, Old Tian became furious. He confronted her about giving up on their son, declaring his unwavering determination to continue earning money for Tian Rui's treatment, even proposing a divorce so he could assume sole financial and parental responsibility.
She tearfully agreed to the divorce, admitting she could no longer bear the immense burden and emotional torment, believing Tian Rui could only live a simple-minded, suffering life. Little Guang, at the hospital for a follow-up, pulled Xiao Yan aside. He complained that Bai Shu was too busy for him because "my dad has someone else in his heart" who was more important, subtly hinting that it was Xiao Yan.
Later, Little Guang enthusiastically told Bai Shu that he had "carelessly told Auntie Xiao that you like her." Bai Shu, flustered and angered, sternly scolded Little Guang for speculating and talking nonsense, particularly in front of Xiao Yan, threatening to ban him from the internet. He vehemently denied liking Xiao Yan. Separately, Xu Yiran provided Old Tian with the contact information for Director Song from Zhongji Hospital's Pediatrics Department, a renowned specialist in autism treatment, offering Old Tian renewed hope.
Bai Shu later found Xiao Yan to apologize for Little Guang's "childish remarks," asking her not to take them seriously. Xiao Yan, feeling shy and flattered, simply nodded. An elderly patient, Li Shi Lei, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, was admitted to the Emergency Department in a coma due to a stroke that caused massive brain tissue necrosis.
Xiao Yan informed his wife, Lin Ruo Yun, that Li Shi Lei was unlikely to recover and recommended a nasogastric tube for nutrition. Lin Ruo Yun, however, refused, explaining that her husband, a former doctor and a progressive thinker, had expressed a wish for "death with dignity" and did not want excessive life-sustaining treatment if he became critically ill. She wanted to honor his wishes for a peaceful and dignified departure. Xiao Yan respectfully advised her to reconsider.
Bai Shu, upon hearing about the case, agreed with respecting the patient's wishes, stating it was the ultimate respect for life. Later, Li Shi Lei's grown children arrived, having rushed from out of town. They were distraught and insisted on active treatment for their father. They were shocked when their mother revealed her refusal to insert the nasogastric tube.
They argued that if there was a chance for him to live for another half-year with active treatment, they should take it, fearing he would otherwise "starve to death." Despite Lin Ruo Yun's heartfelt explanation of her husband's wishes and her own torment, the children firmly disagreed with abandoning treatment. As they could not reach a consensus, they decided to leave the room to discuss the matter further. The medical staff discussed the family's difficult decision, with some expressing sympathy for Lin Ruo Yun's adherence to her husband's wishes and others questioning her perceived lack of fight.
