Thank You Doctor Episode 31 Recap
> Thank You Doctor Recap
Su Rui adamantly refused to donate bone marrow to Su Ming Jun, his father, despite Su Ming Jun’s wife, Hou Xiuying, kneeling and begging him to save his life. Hou Xiuying apologized, but Su Rui insisted she had nothing to apologize for. Su Yuxin, Su Rui’s half-sister, interjected angrily, explaining that Su Rui's mother had abandoned their father for a department supervisor, and only sought reconciliation after being rejected by the supervisor.
She argued that their father had divorced Su Rui’s mother and only later met her own mother, and that he had suffered greatly when Su Rui's mother died. Su Rui reacted with fury, silencing Su Yuxin and almost striking her before being restrained. Hou Xiuying continued to plead with Su Rui, but he declared that it was all his father’s choice and walked away. Shortly after, Su Rui collapsed with a high fever of 38. 5 degrees Celsius.
Bai Shu examined him, noting normal CT results but elevated creatine kinase isoenzymes, low protein levels, decreased heart valve activity, and an enlarged spleen, all contributing to hypoalbuminemia from persistent fever. Initially suspecting an autoimmune disorder, Bai Shu ordered an antibody test. Su Ming Jun, learning of Su Rui's illness, felt deep regret for not bringing him up after Su Rui's mother passed, attributing his neglect to being preoccupied with Hou Xiuying's pregnancy with Su Yuxin.
Hou Xiuying took responsibility, admitting her fear of not being able to care for both a newborn and Su Rui. Meanwhile, Su Yuxin coldly remarked that Su Rui deserved his illness. The antibody test for Su Rui came back negative, ruling out an autoimmune disorder and suggesting an infection.
Bai Shu and Xiao Yan discussed the diagnostic challenge, as the specific pathogen causing the infection was unknown, and traditional cultures would take a week, a timeframe Su Rui could not afford. Bai Shu, determined, initiated a sputum smear test to expedite the diagnosis. Concurrently, Su Ming Jun’s condition worsened. Lu Ping’an, aware of the urgency, found a half-matched bone marrow donor (4 out of 6 HLA matched).
Bai Shu, concerned about severe rejection similar to a previous patient, Jiang Xian Yun, advocated for waiting for a perfect match from international bone marrow registries, despite the logistical difficulties. Lu Ping’an, emphasizing the patient's critical state, overrode Bai Shu’s decision and declared himself Su Ming Jun's attending physician. Bai Shu, frustrated, accepted the change. Later, Bai Shu informed Su Ming Jun about the half-matched transplant and the ongoing search for a better match.
Su Ming Jun, upon learning that Su Rui's life might be in danger if his pathogen remained undiagnosed, astonishingly offered to be intentionally infected with the same pathogen to hasten the diagnosis, viewing it as an act of atonement. Bai Shu firmly refused, citing the high risk to Su Ming Jun, a late-stage leukemia patient, and the violation of medical ethics.
Su Ming Jun, feeling his leukemia was incurable after three relapses, wished to die peacefully after doing something meaningful for his son. Lu Ping'an later confronted Bai Shu and Xiao Yan, accusing Bai Shu of being eager for quick success and unscrupulous, implying Bai Shu's communication style had subtly influenced Su Ming Jun's dangerous request. Xiao Yan defended Bai Shu, asserting that Su Ming Jun's idea was his own.
Lu Ping’an dismissed her defense, reiterating that Bai Shu must comply with his directives or leave the Emergency Department, calling him a "troublemaker." When Bai Shu sought Xiao Yan's opinion, she cautiously suggested that Lu Ping'an's intentions might be for Bai Shu's own good. Feeling misunderstood and undervalued, Bai Shu went to Jiang Zhongjing, requesting to leave the Emergency Department. Jiang Zhongjing, aware of Bai Shu's temper and recent conflicts, was not surprised.
He gently probed for the real reason, observing Bai Shu's despondent demeanor and surmising it was related to Xiao Yan, a fact that was apparent to everyone in the department. Jiang Zhongjing, who understood Bai Shu's underlying fragility despite his outward arrogance, reminded him that he had placed him in the Emergency Department specifically to endure hardship and become a brilliant doctor.
He stressed that minor emotional setbacks should not deter him from his dream of becoming a truly great doctor who could face disease and death with composure. Bai Shu, admitting he had disappointed his mentor, was reminded of his lifelong ambition to save lives and make a lasting impact. Jiang Zhongjing forbade him from giving up and instructed him to return to the Emergency Department, apologize to Lu Ping'an, and show respect to his senior.
Jiang Zhongjing concluded by praising Bai Shu as the most talented young doctor he had ever met and urged him not to disappoint him. After his conversation with Jiang Zhongjing, Xu Yiran approached Bai Shu, having correctly guessed that Jiang Zhongjing would not let him leave. Xu Yiran noted that only Jiang Zhongjing, and now possibly Xiao Yan, could truly rein in Bai Shu. Meanwhile, Su Rui remained steadfast in his refusal to donate to his father.
Su Yuxin made a heartfelt plea, revealing how Su Ming Jun had continuously tried to connect with Su Rui over the years, visiting him annually despite being turned away by his uncles. She described the cabinet full of birthday gifts, including Transformers, gaming consoles, and sports equipment, that Su Ming Jun had collected for Su Rui, hoping for a day he could present them all.
Su Rui dismissed her emotional account as a futile attempt to "play the emotion card," firmly stating that there was no bond between him and his father since he had abandoned them. Suddenly, Su Ming Jun’s condition took a severe turn, and he fell into a coma. Medical staff rushed to his aid, and Bai Shu quickly instructed Chen Zhi to prepare the half-matched donor from Peace Hospital for surgery.
Su Rui watched the frantic efforts, a flicker of anxiety in his eyes. Shortly after, Xiao Yan received Su Rui’s definitive diagnosis: a fungal infection, specifically capsular histoplasmosis, which explained the cavities in his lungs. Bai Shu assured Su Rui that he was lucky they identified the pathogen quickly and would treat it with amphotericin, confident in his recovery.
Then, Bai Shu and Xiao Yan explained Su Ming Jun's critical state and the immediate need for a half-matched bone marrow transplant, which would save his life but entail significant suffering. Xiao Yan then shared Su Ming Jun’s desperate plan to deliberately infect himself to aid Su Rui’s diagnosis, highlighting his profound love and sense of debt as a father, even if it meant suicide.
Xiao Yan, having observed their interactions, pointed out that both father and son cared deeply for each other, but their love was "misplaced"—Su Ming Jun seeking gratitude while Su Rui waited for an apology. Citing the Chinese proverb "The child wants to support the parents, but the parents can't wait," Xiao Yan urged Su Rui to cherish the time and opportunity he still had with his father, emphasizing the irreversible regrets doctors often witnessed.
Moved by this revelation and Xiao Yan’s words, Su Rui asked if there was still time to proceed with the transplant. Hou Xiuying and Su Yuxin were overjoyed, expressing profound gratitude. Xiao Yan then playfully asked Bai Shu if he was still planning to leave the Emergency Department, to which he responded with a dismissive but relieved tone. Following the successful transplant surgery, Su Ming Jun regained consciousness in the ICU.
Outside, Su Yuxin held up a large banner that read "Su Rui is okay," bringing tears of joy to Su Ming Jun. Su Rui, seeing this from his own recovery room, prepared to discharge himself. Su Yuxin stopped him, tearfully thanking him for saving their father. In preparation for the upcoming hospital development conference, during which committee members would inspect the Emergency Department, Lu Ping'an assigned Xu Yiran to manage the reception.
Xu Yiran was visibly upset by this, a reaction Chen Zhi found puzzling. Lin Zhi clarified that Xu Yiran's father, Xu Guoxing, was the Dean of Ruirong Hospital and President of the Association of Physicians, leading the inspection team. Their relationship was strained because Dean Xu often expressed disappointment in Xu Yiran. Bai Shu, realizing that Xu Guoxing, who hadn't contacted his son in years, was visiting with a specific agenda concerning Xu Yiran, expressed concern.
Xu Guoxing directly confronted Xu Yiran, lambasting him for abandoning a coveted permanent position at Ruirong Hospital. He emphasized his own sacrifices to pave a successful career path for Xu Yiran and demanded his son resign from the current hospital and report to Ruirong's Emergency Center by the end of the month. Xu Yiran, however, stood his ground, asserting his autonomy as an adult.
He expressed his contentment at his current hospital, valuing the learning experiences, the supportive colleagues, and the personal growth he achieved there, seeing it as an opportunity to understand the disparities between medical ideals and reality. Dean Xu, dismissing his son's perspective as childish, reiterated his order. Xu Yiran later confided in Bai Shu about his father's domineering nature, observing that Bai Shu shared a similar controlling personality.
Meanwhile, Zheng Yajie continued her persistent pursuit of Bai Shu, who consistently tried to avoid her. She confidently predicted Bai Shu would one day become a dean like Xu Yiran's father, to which Xu Yiran cynically warned her about the difficulties of living with such a controlling individual. Bai Shu, using a patient as an excuse, once again escaped Zheng Yajie's romantic advances. Xiao Yan attended to a young female patient suffering from severe pancreatitis.
Tang Hua informed Xiao Yan that the patient’s mother had tragically died of the same condition in the same hospital three years prior. This prompted Xiao Yan to recall a past case during her residency where a mother and her daughter both had a predisposition to ovarian cancer, leading to a prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy for the daughter, who nevertheless still succumbed to the disease, leaving behind her own young daughter with the same genetic risk.
The current patient's condition rapidly deteriorated, showing signs of liver, kidney, and lung failure, with bloody fluid draining from her abdomen, suggesting intestinal paralysis and necrosis. Despite the grim prognosis, the father, Wang Qiang Jun, remained stoically calm, which Chen Zhi found unsettling, speculating he was mentally prepared due to his wife's previous death from the same illness. Despite Xiao Yan’s and the team’s exhaustive efforts, including administering epinephrine, the patient could not be saved. Xiao Yan offered her condolences to the grieving father, who simply thanked the medical team for their efforts.
