Chapter 623 Severe Burns
“Hiss!” Looking at the person in front of me, cold sweat streamed down my face. The patient lying on the hospital bed was wrapped from head to toe in bandages, almost like a mummy. However, the exposed skin still showed patches of blood-red skin and charred scars.
These were signs of severe burns. Furthermore, judging by the yellowish and reddish bandages, not only did the burn area exceed fifty percent of the body, but a large amount of serum and tissue fluid had also oozed out.
Under normal circumstances, this patient wouldn’t be saved. The fluid leakage caused by burns would lead to electrolyte imbalance. The exposed skin from the burns would lose its protective function for the human body, resulting in severe infection from germ invasion.
This was knowledge I gained from my dream. Even in my previous life, burns like these would require immediate transfer to a sterile ward for rescue and intensive care, and survival would still be uncertain.
And now, Amelia stood beside the hospital bed, attending to this patient, with Samantha assisting her on the opposite side of the operating table.
The patient had an oxygen mask on their mouth and was covered in IV drips in their arm. The red one was blood plasma, and the clear ones were likely supplemental fluids like saline solution and glucose.
The hospital bed emitted a cold air, the source of which was unclear. It was supposed to have a bactericidal effect and alleviate the pain of the burns, though the patient was already unconscious.
Amelia, holding tweezers, was using cotton to disinfect the patient’s wounds. Then, Samantha applied medication and changed the bandages. Every bandage and gauze she tied had been soaked in an unknown potion; I couldn’t understand it at all.
“Parul, what are you here for?” Amelia asked casually as she skillfully worked on the wound.
“I…” Just as I was about to speak, I hesitated again. I had originally wanted to ask Amelia to treat Claire’s mutation, but a mutation was hardly as urgent as severe burns.
“I heard from the nurse that you brought a little girl, and there’s another patient who wants me to treat them?” Amelia paused her work and turned to ask me.
“Yes, but please finish treating this patient first, and then help me,” I suggested. It was great that I didn’t have to actively ask for her help.
“No need. Since it’s a patient brought by Parul, I can certainly see them first. Let’s go,” Amelia said, starting to take off her surgical gown.
“Wait! Stop, you haven’t finished treating this patient yet!” I quickly pointed at the burned patient. It was clear half the treatment was done, and the bandages weren’t even fully changed.
“This one? I’m not treating them anymore. It’s too troublesome. I could save seven or eight people in this time. Samantha, go and tell the patient’s family that I’ve done my best and ask them to make arrangements,” Amelia waved dismissively.
“Okay,” the young nurse replied earnestly and turned to walk out the door, seemingly accustomed to Amelia’s methods.
“Wait a moment! You can clearly save them, so why not finish? Will the patient’s family accept this kind of treatment!?” I asked loudly.
Although theoretically, it was difficult to save a severely burned patient, for some reason, I believed Amelia could actually save them, or at least there was a chance. Otherwise, why would she have been treating them so diligently just now?
“Burns are too troublesome. It’s tiring, and it’s uncertain if they can be saved. Even if they can be saved, whether they can be fully cured is another matter. The family might run away when they hear about the treatment cost. Besides, they should understand, right? It was affected by the Blazing Storm,” Amelia said impatiently.
So, this person was injured by fire magic. How unfortunate. And Amelia actually wanted to give up on the patient just because it was troublesome and they might not pay for the treatment? If she gave up, the patient would certainly die, without even a chance to transfer to another hospital.
“Please do your best to treat this person and don’t give up halfway. I can wait!” I said seriously, blocking the doorway.
“Why? You have no relation to them, and you’re here to cut the line, asking me to treat your patient first?” Amelia’s question left me speechless.
That’s right; I had no right to tell Amelia not to abandon the patient because I was the one who had come to cut the line. People are just so contradictory. I remained silent, stubbornly looking at Amelia.
“Sigh! Fine. As long as Parul assists me, I’ll finish this case,” Amelia offered a trade.
“Okay, no problem!” Although I didn’t know why she proposed this, since it was my request, I agreed with a stiff upper lip.
“Alright, stand where the nurse is. Samantha, get her a surgical gown,” Amelia instructed.
“No need, right? I don’t have any infectious diseases,” I said. Last time, I also assisted Amelia with Older Brother Jayad’s surgery, and I didn’t wear a surgical gown then, only gloves.
“Even without germs, there’s dust. And wearing a surgical gown shows respect for the patient,” Amelia said earnestly, which was complete nonsense. Why didn’t she mention respect when she was about to give up on the treatment just now?
“Alright,” but I still had to agree. After all, it was my request. A small request like changing into a surgical gown was not difficult to accept. Moreover, in an operating room, a doctor could reasonably demand that others follow surgical protocols.
Samantha handed me a white, one-piece surgical gown. I had no choice but to bravely take off my original clothes and put on this sealed, isolation surgical gown, along with a mask.
I had a feeling I was being tricked. She made me change into a surgical gown not for the patient, but simply to have me as an assistant, didn’t she? Perhaps she had deliberately said she would abandon the treatment at first, knowing I wouldn’t be able to bear it?
“Samantha, go and check on the patient Parul brought. Parul, come over here,” Amelia said, seemingly to appease me and make me feel at ease as an assistant. She was asking Samantha to handle Claire’s illness first. I still trusted the abilities of this mysterious head nurse.
So, I stood opposite the operating table. “How should I assist you?”
“Just follow my instructions. It’s very simple. Didn’t you already perform a surgery last time?” Amelia said, putting on a pair of metal spectacles.
These spectacles were somewhat similar to Sebastian’s, a monocular lens with interchangeable lens surfaces. But if Sebastian’s were classical, Amelia’s were futuristic.
The monocular device consisted of three cylindrical lens barrels of varying lengths, resembling a soldier’s thermal imaging or night vision equipment. I guessed it was a head-mounted microscope. After putting them on, Amelia resumed the surgery.
This time, she had to use a scalpel to remove the charred flesh and stop the bleeding. I would have to help her by holding the scars with tweezers or applying hemostatic agents with cotton.
Just then, Amelia suddenly said, “Parul, you can control viruses and bacteria, right?”
