This is a father and son. The father looks old, it would be an exaggeration to say he is fifty or sixty years old; the son is only twelve or thirteen years old, thin and pale, and can only rely on his left leg for support, and his right leg is almost useless.
Both of their clothes were equally shabby, but there was an obvious difference in thickness.
In December, the temperature in Beijing had already dropped below zero, but my father was only wearing a dusty old jacket and carrying a travel bag on his shoulder. The son was wrapped in a thick cotton jacket, but he was still shivering from the cold.
"Dad, I'm cold and still hungry." The boy said, holding his father's left arm tightly.
"Don't worry, if you bear with me, we can't eat here - the restaurants here are too expensive." Zheng Chang looked at the tall buildings around the train station and said with experience.
The boy was very sensible and immediately agreed obediently and stopped humming honestly.
The father and son helped him through the underground passage and studied the map for a long time before they found the bus stop and got on the bus.
It was after get off work, and there were many people taking the bus from the city center, but few people taking the bus from the West Railway Station to the city, so there were still a few empty seats on the bus.
The father and son were very happy and immediately helped each other move over and sat down.
After walking for so long, both of them were exhausted, and as soon as they sat down, they couldn't stop breathing.
After a long time, the boy spoke again: "Dad, it's so late, is Dr. Xu Zhihao still here?"
Zheng Chang was not sure, so he was silent for a while and said: "If it's closed, let's have some food, find a place to make do for the night, and come back tomorrow."
"Dad. Can that old doctor Xu really cure my osteomyelitis?" the boy asked cautiously.
"Yes, I can definitely do it." Zheng Chang's words were very sure, seeming to give the child confidence and to encourage himself:
"I have inquired about it. Dr. Xu Zhihao specializes in treating such difficult surgical diseases. He has cured similar patients before!"
But the boy could hear a hint of uncertainty in these words.
He was silent for a while and said in a low voice: "If he can't be cured, I won't treat him. I'll just ampute the limb."
"Silly boy, how can you say that? Dad even sold the house and took you around for so long. He didn't want this result - don't worry, Dad will definitely let you stand up again!"
The two of them had unique appearances and were in large packages and small packages, which had long attracted the attention of other passengers.
After hearing their conversation, a man sitting next to him interrupted:
"Is it possible that what you are looking for is Dr. Xu Zhihao from the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital?"
"Yes!" Zheng Chang replied: "Do you recognize Dr. Xu?"
"I've been to the clinic before - Dr. Xu can't be said to be good at treating difficult and complicated diseases!" The passenger gave a thumbs up: "He is especially good at treating various leg diseases, and your son's legs are the only ones. , it’s nothing in his hands.”
"Really, this is great!" Both father and son were relieved and did not notice the dimming of the passenger's face at all.
In the past three years, they have visited countless hospitals and countless famous doctors. They drank all kinds of Chinese and Western medicines like soup, and spent money like running water. They even sold their houses, but their condition was not under control. On the contrary, it became more serious.
The recent child's right leg has begun to ooze pus, and a small piece of dead bone is expelled from the sinus. X-rays show a large amount of femoral necrosis, and amputation is almost the only option.
But Zheng Chang disagreed. He was just a son, and he couldn't bear to see him living on crutches for the rest of his life.
After many inquiries, they learned that there was such a traditional Chinese medicine doctor named Xu Zhijuan, who might be able to cure the child's legs, so they came all the way to Beijing.
Fortunately, this old doctor Xu Zhihao is really skilled in medicine and is well-known around the world.
But the next moment, their good mood was interrupted by the passenger's next words.
"What a pity. It's such an unlucky time for you to come here. Dr. Xu..." The passenger shook his head, with a look of regret on his face: "He has passed away."
These words were like a blow to Zheng Chang's head, hitting him so hard that stars appeared in his eyes and he was dizzy.
"He died, how could it be?" He murmured to himself: "He is our last hope. If he is gone, what will happen to A'kang's legs?"
The little hope that had just risen in the boy's eyes extinguished.
He lowered his head, forced himself to suppress his disappointment, and comforted his father: "Dad, that's it, let's go home."
"Don't worry, even if my leg is amputated, I can't be a useless person. Uncle Hu in town is the one who runs the silverware shop. He praised my skill last time, so I followed him to learn the craft so that I can support myself. I can support you in the future..."
As he spoke, tears flowed out unsatisfactorily.
Zheng Chang felt even sadder in his heart. His child has been healthy and lively since he was a child, but he didn't expect that it was just a small accident and the wound was not treated properly, and it turned out like this.
It was his father's obsession to spend all his money to treat his children, and he never regretted it. But unexpectedly, even this last glimmer of hope was shattered.
Thinking back to three years of cold and summer, thousands of days and nights, hundreds of thousands of yuan in treatment expenses, all in vain, and the ending inevitably slipped to the worst direction, Zheng Chang couldn't help but feel sad. Crying loudly on the bus.
The passengers in the car had heard the situation clearly. They were impressed by the child's sensibleness and sympathized with their plight. For a while, they were whispering to each other with emotion.
Duan He was sitting in the middle of the car and suddenly felt that he couldn't listen anymore.
He thought for a while, opened WeChat, and found the WeChat ID he had shamelessly asked for.
"Expert Tao, are you good at treating leg diseases? It may be appendicitis."
Osteomyelitis is the name of osteomyelitis in traditional Chinese medicine. It is an inflammation of the periosteum, bone cortex and bone marrow mainly caused by pyogenic bacteria.
"It can be cured."
Tao Le's reply was quick and brief.
"Are you leaving now?"
"Not yet, it will take another hour for visual inspection. Is anything wrong?"
"Great, I'll bring a patient over later, can you help me take a look at it, okay?"
"no problem."
Duan He stood up and strode to Zheng Chang:
"Brother, don't be sad. I know a famous Chinese medicine expert who is also good at treating your son's osteomyelitis."
"Really?" Zheng Chang and his son raised their heads at the same time, their eyes instantly brightening.
"It's more real than real gold." Duan He laughed: "I'll take you there. We'll get off at the next stop, otherwise we'll go in the opposite direction!"
Half an hour later, three people knocked on the door of the first clinic of the Chinese Medicine Clinic.
