chapter 4 - the most painful experience

January 20, 2000. Hongkong.

In the Chengdong ward of a private hospital in Banshan District. 6pm.

Chengdong woke up, but his fever had not gone away.

"I...where am I?! I haven't finished watching the concert yet." Chengdong said softly.

"Brother, it's already evening now and the concert has ended long ago." Jiale replied.

"Son, why did you get into a fight with those gangsters?!" Ci En said angrily.

"They provoked me first!!" Chengdong replied angrily.

"Stop making trouble! Do you know there is something wrong with your body?!" Ci En said angrily.

Chengdong calmed down.

"Doctor Gu, since you have fulfilled my wish, I will do a bone marrow test tomorrow." Chengdong replied.

"Okay, we won't do it until tomorrow because you still have a fever. We will do a blood test for you now. Take these pills first. These are hemostatic pills. You must keep them with you 24 hours a day now. And you must be careful, Don't hurt yourself. Eat it as soon as you see bleeding," Knorr said.

Chengdong was so quiet that he cried. Ci En holds his hand...

"Son, don't worry. You will be fine if you receive treatment. Mom and dad will hire the best doctor for you." Ci En said.

Chengdong kept thinking about what happened in the toilet.

"Wow! This Song Chengdong is a monster! So much blood from a small wound!? Blood monster! Let's go!" Several classmates said loudly.

Chengdong was trembling and crying...

"Chengdong, what's wrong with you!? Are you okay?! Oops! The fever has started again! Push him to the operating room immediately!" Jia Le asked anxiously.

The nurses helped him put on oxygen and pushed him into the operating room.

Outside the operating room door. 7pm.

"Mrs. Song, please wait outside. Don't worry, Chengdong will be fine." Jia Le said.

Two hours later, Chengdong was pushed out of the emergency room.

In Chengdong's ward. 9 pm.

"Mrs. Song, let's go have dinner together." Jia Le said.

In the hospital restaurant.

"Mrs. Song, I'm sorry. There are only sandwiches left in the restaurant, is that okay?" Jia Le asked.

"No problem, I don't have an appetite anyway. How can I eat with Chengdong's condition? Although he is not my biological son, I treat him like my own son! He...he doesn't know about this at all." Ci En cried and answered.

"Auntie, I need to let you know that sooner or later he will need to know about your relationship. If I estimate correctly, more than 80% of possibilities that he has a special blood cancer. You must find his family immediately, otherwise he will die soon." Jia Le said.

"Wha...what!?" Ci En asked in surprise.

"Because what he has is not an ordinary blood cancer. A small wound will kill him. You saw it today. When he was sent to the hospital, the blood was flowing non-stop." Jia Le replied.

Ci En remained in a daze.

"Mrs. Song, are you okay?" Jia Le asked.

"No...it's okay. I just don't know how to speak to Chengdong. Because he has no idea that we are hiding something from him." Ci'en replied.

"Do you mind if I tell him?" Jia Le asked.

"No! You don't know Chengdong! He has a very high self-esteem. If I know his background from others, I really don't know what he will do. I will arrange this." Ci'en replied.

"Okay then. Then contact his relatives as soon as possible. Because the test report is out, we need to treat him as soon as possible." Jia Le said.

Ci En nodded helplessly.

November 13, 2010. Shanghai.

The third page of the diary.

January 21, 2000. The most painful needle in my life.

This morning, Dr. Gu personally helped me to draw bone marrow for examination. I never know that bone marrow extraction would be so painful. Doctor Gu said that my back bled after the extraction. The pain was so severe that I couldn't go to class for several days, and I could only lie in bed.

My mother said that my waist was bruised and swollen so badly that I couldn't walk and had to sit in a wheelchair.

The stinging pain was indescribable. I have never had an injection in my life that hurt so much.

Am I suffering from some terminal illness? ! I'm only 16 years old. I still have a lot of things to do! For example: falling in love and becoming a famous DJ. I haven't told my angel that I like her and that I want to pursue her.

Chengdong.

January 21, 2000. Hongkong.

In the Chengdong ward of a private hospital in Banshan District. 10am.

Chengdong watched the nurse and Jiale come in with a bunch of syringes. There are oversized and small syringes.

"We're ready to start. Chengdong, take off your shirt and pants." Jia Le said.

"Where...where is my mother?! Why hasn't she come yet?!" Chengdong said fearfully.

"Mr. Song, don't worry. She's just outside the room." The nurse replied.

"Chengdong, don't be nervous, it won't hurt so much if you relax. Just bite the quilt. If it hurts, scream out." Jia Le said.

Jiale used the big syringe to extract the bone marrow. Chengdong kept shouting in pain. He bit down until the quilt was stained with his blood. Ci En heard the shouting outside the room, and her heart was broken a thousand times.

"Chengdong! I...my poor son!" Ci En cried.

When Jiale took out the syringe, he saw that Chengdong's waist was bruised and swollen, and the blood was flowing non-stop. He also bled profusely from the corners of his mouth and fainted.

"Xue'er! Give him an injection to stop the bleeding and give him some blood transfusion." Jia Le said loudly.

Afterwards, Jia Le laid Chengdong's body towards his stomach. The unconscious Chengdong kept sweating coldly. His whole body hurt so much that his face turned pale.

The nurse called Ci En into the ward.

"Mrs. Song, we have taken Chengdong's bone marrow for verification. The results will be available in a day. However, Chengdong's condition is not very ideal. If it is correct, there is a 90% chance that he has a special blood cancer. He can't do it things like; getting out of bed and walk around. Even if you want to go out, you have to use a wheelchair," said Jia Le.

Ci En opened the quilt and saw that Chengdong's waist was severely swollen...

"How could it be so... so serious!?" Ci En asked in surprise and cried.

"I...I didn't expect his condition to be so serious. But he still needs to take a bone marrow test to correctly detect the correct condition. I'm sorry, Mrs. Song." Jiale replied.

Chengdong was unconscious for five hours.

Four p.m.

Chengdong woke up. Ci En immediately called Jia Le.

"Mom...Mom, I...I'm very hungry." Chengdong said weakly.

"Wait a minute, I've called Doctor Gu. You just had a bone marrow extraction and lost a lot of blood. I don't know if you can eat yet. Just bear with it." Ci'en replied.

Jiale opened the door and came in...

"Doctor Gu... Doctor Gu, I... I'm very hungry. But... can I eat something?" Chengdong asked.

"With your current condition of lying down, you are not suitable for eating. We will help you with IV drip and give you nutritious milk. Mrs. Song, please feed him. I will feed him the first box of nutritious milk." Just feed him the way I do." Jia Le replied.

"Okay." Ci En said.

"You...have you finished speaking? I...I'm thirsty and hungry." Chengdong answered.

"Don't worry, I'll prepare it for you. Sick people are really lively and picky." Ci En said.

Jiale fed Chengdong water and milk. When he was almost finished, he spit out the milk.

"What's wrong with Chengdong!?" Ci'en asked.

"He sleeps on his stomach and it is very difficult to digest food or water. And he is too hungry and drinks too fast. So he will vomit." Jia Le replied.

-end of chapter-