Chapter 22 — Medicinal Garden After Hospital

The next morning, test results of water samples from the common well behind the central market were sent back, confirming that the water source was seriously contaminated after heavy rain, causing wastewater from the nearby livestock area to seep back into the groundwater. The town government immediately issued an emergency notice, asking all people to stop using this water source, and deployed temporary clean water supply points in many areas.

However, that announcement came a bit late compared to the speed of the disease's spread. By noon on the second day, the number of hospitalized patients exceeded one hundred people, causing Yen Son district hospital, which only had limited capacity, to fall into a serious overload situation unprecedented in its history. The hospital's corridors and courtyards were all used as places to set up additional field beds, while the medical team was almost exhausted from working continuously without stopping.

In the midst of that stressful situation, the combination of the medicinal garden and the hospital further demonstrates its irreplaceable role. While Western medicine doctors focus on treating severe cases that need intravenous fluids and special antibiotics, Mr. Loc, Quyen, Mr. Thanh and dozens of other volunteers are constantly on duty at the garden, ensuring the supply of herbal decoction is never interrupted, serving hundreds of milder patients who are being monitored and treated right in the field area.

"We need more people to process tobacco leaves," Mr. Loc said. His voice, although hoarse from fatigue, still maintained the steadiness necessary to reassure everyone around him. Quyen quickly mobilized another group of women in town, who had attended the previous community meeting, to help wash leaves, boil water, and package small portions of medicine to distribute to families with patients being treated at home, reducing the overload pressure on the hospital.

Bao Nam, despite being awake for nearly thirty-six hours straight, still did not allow himself to rest, constantly moving between treatment areas to supervise and coordinate human resources. He found that the harmonious combination between the two treatment methods is bringing remarkable results - mild cases are treated promptly with herbs from the beginning, without giving the disease a chance to get worse, allowing the hospital to focus all its precious Western medicine resources on truly critical cases.

In the middle of that afternoon, a special case made the entire medical team worried. Ms. Pham Thi Thu, a young mother living near the market, carried her little daughter named Tran Ngoc Bich, who had just turned four years old, and ran into the emergency department in a state of extreme panic. Baby Ngoc Bich has had a continuously high fever since the night before, diarrhea, and non-stop vomiting. This morning, she began to show signs of drowsiness, sunken eyes, and dry, chapped lips - typical signs of severe dehydration.

"Doctor, please save my baby," Ms. Thu sobbed, her voice trembling with despair as she placed the motionless baby in her arms on the nearest emergency bed. "She refused to drink water, she kept vomiting it all up, I didn't know what to do."

Bao Nam, as soon as he saw little Ngoc Bich, paused for a short but heavy moment. The child's chubby face and big round eyes, now closed due to exhaustion, somehow reminded him of the image of his daughter, Bao An, in the memories he had tried to bury for the past two years. He took a deep breath, trying to push away the emotions swirling in his heart, focusing all his attention on the task at hand.

"Infusion needed immediately, highest priority," he ordered firmly, his voice regaining its usual professionalism even as his hands shook slightly as he began to find a vein for the small child who was convulsing slightly from excessive dehydration. Finding veins in a small child in a state of severe dehydration was already difficult, but it became even more difficult when Bao Nam's hands, despite his efforts to control them, still could not avoid rare moments of trembling throughout his career as a doctor.

Quyen, who was nearby to distribute medicine, immediately noticed the unusual change in Bao Nam's attitude. She quietly approached, stood behind him, said nothing, just gently placed her hand on his shoulder discreetly, as a reminder that he was not alone in this difficult moment. Feeling that presence, Bao Nam took another deep breath, his hands gradually regained the necessary stability and precision, and after only a few tense seconds, the IV needle was successfully placed into baby Ngoc Bich's small vein.

"The epidemic is here, we need to monitor closely for the next few hours," Bao Nam told the nursing team, his voice regaining composure. But his eyes, when looking down at the small, pale face of the child sleeping on the hospital bed, still could not hide a dull pain, an old memory that was being aroused more strongly than ever.

While waiting, Dr. Phan Ngoc Lan, a young colleague who had just moved to the pediatrics department a few months ago, also rushed to assist, her hands quickly preparing additional monitoring equipment. "Mr. Nam, let me help monitor the baby's heart rate, you just focus on the transmission line," she said, her voice urgent but still maintaining the necessary professionalism. That timely support helped Bao Nam have a little more space to calm down, focusing all his remaining concentration on his slightly shaking hands.

Ms. Thu, standing in the corner of the room, clasped her hands together, constantly whispering prayers. Quyen came to her side, gently placed her hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "Dr. Nam is one of the best doctors we have, you should trust him," Quyen said, her voice warm and sincere. "We will do everything we can to help Bich get through this period."

Throughout that afternoon, Bao Nam almost did not leave baby Ngoc Bich's hospital bed, constantly monitoring vital indicators and adjusting the infusion rate carefully and meticulously down to the smallest detail. He also asked Quyen to prepare some decoction from young guava leaves according to Mr. Loc's recipe, even if only in a very small amount, to further support the child's weak digestive system, once the dehydration was somewhat controlled through the intravenous line.

For nearly two hours afterward, Bao Nam almost never took his eyes off the screen monitoring baby Ngoc Bich's heart rate and blood pressure, occasionally bending down to check the moisture on the child's lips and the back of his hand, comparing it with the notes he continuously updated on the monitoring board. At one point, the baby's heart rate suddenly increased abnormally fast, causing the whole hospital room to hold their breath for a moment, before stabilizing thanks to his timely adjustment of the infusion rate. Every time that happened, Quyen's heart also tightened. She stood still in the corner of the room, silently praying, not daring to take her eyes off the thin but sturdy back of the person she loved, fighting for a small life.

At night, when baby Ngoc Bich's vital signs began to show signs of being more stable and his body temperature gradually decreased, Bao Nam allowed himself to leave the hospital bed for a moment, step into the hallway, lean his back against the wall, his shoulders shaking in a rare moment of weakness. Quyen, always standing nearby, immediately ran to him and hugged him, so that he could lean on her, allowing himself to be weak for a moment, after hours of straining to shoulder heavy responsibilities.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, her voice filled with worry.

Bao Nam didn't answer right away, just hugged her tighter, as if trying to find a solid fulcrum amid the chaotic emotions swirling in his heart. "That girl, she looks so much like my Bao An," he whispered, his voice choked. "All this afternoon, I kept feeling like I was being given another chance, a chance to save my daughter, even though I knew it was just an illusion created by my mind." Quyen tightened her arms around him, not saying anything, just letting that warm silence become the strongest support for him in this long and challenging night. She knew that this was not the time to say more empty words of comfort, but just her quiet, persistent presence was enough to help him have more strength to continue through the remaining stressful hours ahead, just as she had been supported by him through so many long nights filled with her own tears.