Thank You Doctor Episode 5 Recap
> Thank You Doctor Recap
While Bai Shu was engrossed in watching surgery videos, Chen Zhi approached him for advice on learning resources. Bai Shu, displaying his characteristic impatience, told him to thoroughly read the textbook first. Observing this, Xu Yiran advised Bai Shu to abandon his aloof and cold demeanor, suggesting that the team's attention had shifted to Xiao Yan.
Chen Zhi agreed, describing Xiao Yan as mysterious—initially appearing like a "female knight" when she first arrived at the emergency room, yet acting like a "white angel" during consultations. He found it difficult to understand why she would leave a promising career in Switzerland to become an emergency doctor in Tongshan Hospital. Xu Yiran remarked that Bai Shu was no longer the sole "special person" in the hospital.
Later, 85-year-old Xia Qing Yun and her husband, Shen Pei Hai, arrived at the Emergency Department via ambulance. Xia Qing Yun had fainted while walking, and Shen Pei Hai had sprained his back helping her. Xia Qing Yun, a former nurse, worried about her husband and insisted that he also be checked. She mentioned he was a doctor, and Shen Pei Hai himself later added that he was a renowned cardiac surgeon.
Passing by, Bai Shu recognized Shen Pei Hai and, admiring his work, escorted him to a consultation room for an examination. During the check, Shen Pei Hai mentioned his recurring back pain, a chronic issue he had taken painkillers for. Bai Shu, after examining his abdomen, suspected the pain was unrelated to his slipped disc and recommended a CT scan to be safe, which Shen Pei Hai agreed to.
Meanwhile, Xia Qing Yun’s brain CT scan revealed a brain hemorrhage with chronic subdural hematoma. Xiao Yan, considering Xia Qing Yun's advanced age, advised conservative treatment due to the high risks of surgery and potential postoperative complications. However, Xia Qing Yun was adamant about having surgery, fearing she would become bedridden and unable to care for her husband. She explained that her son's family lived out of town, and she didn't want to burden them.
Having spent their entire lives in healthcare, she understood the risks but desired to live a few more healthy years to look after Shen Pei Hai and enjoy life. Despite Shen Pei Hai’s worried protests that surgery might be fatal, Xia Qing Yun declared the decision was hers. She then instructed Bai Shu to take Shen Pei Hai for a blood test. Xiao Yan respected her wishes and arranged for her transfer to the EICU.
The lab results for Shen Pei Hai confirmed acute pancreatitis, with pancreatic swelling, exudate, and elevated white blood cells, amylase, and lipase. Bai Shu rushed to inform him but learned that Xia Qing Yun had suddenly suffered a cerebral hernia and was in surgery. Shen Pei Hai was distraught, expressing little hope for his wife’s recovery given her age, and regretting that he had overlooked her head injury when she first fainted.
Bai Shu explained the severity of Shen Pei Hai's own condition, clarifying that his back pain was caused by pancreatic inflammation affecting the retroperitoneum, and urged him to return to the EICU for immediate treatment. In the EICU, Bai Shu informed Shen Pei Hai that Xia Qing Yun's blood oxygen saturation was stable. Shen Pei Hai, reflecting on a lifetime of medical practice, acknowledged that while they relied on science, facing death still led to a hope for miracles.
To everyone's relief, Xia Qing Yun soon regained consciousness, bringing immense joy to Shen Pei Hai. However, Xia Qing Yun’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Despite Xiao Yan and the medical team's desperate efforts to resuscitate her with epinephrine, she could not be saved. Shen Pei Hai watched, heartbroken, as his beloved wife passed away.
Witnessing this tragic scene triggered a painful memory for Xiao Yan—a flashback of Lin Zhiyuan, who referred to himself as Ron, saying he might not get to take her back to "Smoke Alley," and her own unspoken apology. She vividly recalled his dream of a peaceful life together in a small courtyard with a loofah trellis, a fish pond, and a dog also named Ron.
Deeply affected, Xiao Yan later traveled to Lin Zhiyuan’s hometown, asking an elderly resident about "Smoke Alley," but was told no such place existed. Back at the hospital, Bai Shu handled Xia Qing Yun's death certificate and escorted a grieving Shen Pei Hai out. As Shen Pei Hai fumbled for his senior citizen card, he found Xia Qing Yun's instead, prompting another wave of tears. Bai Shu, feeling a pang of sorrow, watched him leave.
Xiao Yan observed the scene silently from a distance. Meanwhile, in the pediatric ward, Tang Hua confronted Yu Jian Guo for feeding his daughter, Yu Ming Ming, tangerines, reminding him that high potassium levels forbid it. She chastised him as "selfish and cold-blooded" for his perceived negligence in Ming Ming's care. Ming Ming, however, defended her father as the best in the world. Later, Ming Ming experienced severe, widespread bone pain due to a calcium and phosphate metabolism disorder.
After administering a pain reliever, Xiao Yan spoke to Yu Jian Guo privately, explaining that the pain relievers were temporary and Ming Ming required regular anti-osteoporosis treatment, with each session costing thousands of yuan. Yu Jian Guo immediately agreed to cover all expenses. Tang Hua again interjected, harshly questioning his fitness as a father for not performing a compatibility test, arguing that it was crucial for a direct relative.
At that moment, Yu Jian Guo's sister, Lan Lan, arrived with food and vehemently defended her brother. She revealed that Ming Ming was not his biological daughter but an abandoned infant he and his late wife had found and adopted years ago.
They had raised her as their own and deliberately kept her adoption a secret to spare her emotional pain, especially after his wife's death, when Ming Ming, at age five, was traumatized by comments from other children about potentially becoming an orphan. To protect Ming Ming, Yu Jian Guo had decided never to remarry and had avoided compatibility testing, fearing it would reveal the truth. Tang Hua, realizing her profound mistake, offered a sincere apology to Yu Jian Guo.
Xiao Yan clarified that compatibility tests do not determine parent-child relationships and that even biological parents are not guaranteed a match. Yu Jian Guo immediately offered to get tested, but Xiao Yan gently told him it was already too late. Later, Ming Ming confided in Xiao Yan, making her pinky promise to keep it a secret from her father. She revealed that she had known she was adopted for a long time, having overheard her parents talking.
To avoid burdening her father, who had spent all his savings on her treatment, she had pretended not to know and had endured her pain in silence to avoid expensive dialysis sessions. She felt she was different from other children and had to be extra well-behaved so as not to worry or anger her father. Xiao Yan reassured her that she was an exceptionally good child and that her father was very proud of her.
Simultaneously, Tang Hua reported to Xiao Yan that both Yu Jian Guo and his sister’s compatibility tests had failed, leaving them without a kidney source and feeling helpless. Xiao Yan encouraged her to remain strong for their patients. In a meeting called by Lu Ping’an with Xiao Yan, Tang Hua, and Bai Shu, the severe prognosis for Ming Ming was discussed. Her kidney function was almost completely lost, relying solely on dialysis, which was not a sustainable long-term solution.
Xiao Yan proposed full disclosure, arguing that even an eight-year-old child had a right to know about her own death, which she considered the most important event in life. She believed Ming Ming was strong and intelligent enough to face the truth bravely. Bai Shu, however, vehemently opposed this, stating that death was difficult even for adults to accept, let alone a child.
He worried that the emotional stress would worsen her condition and accelerate her death, accusing Xiao Yan of sacrificing a child's life for her own desire to appear "different." Tang Hua intervened, reminding Bai Shu to refrain from personal attacks. Bai Shu, asserting his professional judgment, maintained his opposition. Yu Jian Guo, who had been listening from outside, entered the room. He thanked Xiao Yan for her care and, with a heavy heart, shared his regret.
He had only just realized how much Ming Ming had suffered in silence, pretending not to know her adoption status and enduring pain to save him money, which had unfortunately led to her current dire condition. He tearfully questioned if timely dialysis could have saved his daughter.
