Chapter 208 - 208 0209 Obstructive Emphysema

Words : 1323 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

208: Chapter 0209: Obstructive Emphysema 208: Chapter 0209: Obstructive Emphysema After lunch, Liu Ying was about to find her close friends to play mahjong, believing that this time Zhang Wei’s illness was definitely cured. As a mother, she could finally relax and enjoy some time with her friends. Unexpectedly, just after she sat down and played a few rounds, and her luck was not too bad, her cell phone rang in her bag. She took it out and saw it was a call from Zhang Wei. Liu Ying asked her friends to quiet down before she answered the call and asked, “Baby son, what’s the matter?” “Auntie, it’s me, Li Qiang. Wei has started coughing severely again; you need to come quickly and take him to the hospital,” he said. After Li Qiang finished speaking, he even put the phone next to Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei’s cough could be heard intermittently, startling Liu Ying enormously. She could tell that Zhang Wei’s condition seemed to have worsened. How could this be? His condition was fine when they ate lunch earlier in the morning; why is he coughing so severely now? “Li Qiang, I’m coming right away,” she said. Liu Ying hung up the phone. While her friends looked at her curiously, Liu Ying explained, “Sorry, my son is coughing badly again. I need to take him to the hospital.” “Liu Ying, why has your son been getting sick so frequently lately? Could it be that he has encountered a ghost? I suggest you pray to Buddha, seek divine help, and find out what’s wrong,” one of her friends, Amei, said. Liu Ying did feel that her son had been unusually troubled lately, with one thing after another, all related to illness—from severe insomnia to narcolepsy, then to acute upper respiratory infection, and acute bronchitis, and now who knows what? Could it be that her son had encountered something unclean? “I don’t know; I must take him to see a doctor first.” Liu Ying decided to take her son to the hospital first for an examination, and then she would seek divine intervention to see if he had encountered something unclean. Liu Ying hurriedly left her friends’ home and drove toward Jiangbei No. 3 Middle School. It was May now, and it was starting to get warm, especially in the afternoon. When Liu Ying arrived at the entrance of the school in her car, she saw Zhang Wei and four of his friends waiting at the gate. However, Zhang Wei kept coughing non-stop, his face and eyes looking terrified. Many tissues thick with phlegm had been discarded on the ground. Liu Ying quickly approached and asked, “How come you have suddenly started coughing like this?” Zhang Wei was in great discomfort; he found it difficult to speak, his cough was frequent, and his breathing was noticeably labored, which Liu Ying could hear clearly from afar. It was much more severe than the acute bronchitis he had a few days ago. Liu Ying first helped Zhang Wei into the car. This time she decided not to take him to Jinling People’s Hospital, feeling that the doctors there were not competent enough as the condition only worsened with their treatment. Now, Liu Ying was taking Zhang Wei to Jinling Hospital. As Liu Ying was driving to Jinling Hospital, she also called Zhang Dongliang to briefly update him on Zhang Wei’s condition. Zhang Dongliang had been busy managing his hotel and company these days. He had thought his son was no longer in trouble, but now it seemed the situation had become much more serious. Zhang Dongliang told Liu Ying to first take Zhang Wei to the hospital for treatment, and he would come later. Upon arriving at Jinling Hospital, Liu Ying and Zhang Wei, along with Li Qiang and his four friends, got out of the car and went to the internal medicine department to register, and after waiting nearly half an hour, it was finally Zhang Wei’s turn to be examined. The attending physician in internal medicine, Liu Chun, was examining Zhang Wei. Based on Zhang Wei’s current symptoms of coughing, yellow and sticky phlegm that was hard to expel, shortness of breath, irritability, chest fullness, swollen eyes, fever with chills, and thirst, after checking his pulse and tongue, it was clear that Zhang Wei was suffering from obstructive pulmonary emphysema syndrome with phlegm-heat obstructing the lungs. Previously, Zhang Wei had been uncomfortable, and when Liu Ying narrated the history of his past illnesses, Liu Chun asked, “Did you bring your son’s medical records?” “Doctor Liu, we came in such a hurry that we didn’t bring Xiao Wei’s medical records,” “It’s evident that your son’s condition has become progressively worse, turning into chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema now.” In Liu Chun’s view, Zhang Wei had previously suffered from severe insomnia and hypersomnia, which were trivial issues. Later, he also experienced acute upper respiratory tract infections and acute bronchitis, conditions that could gradually lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema. Moreover, these were conditions that slowly developed despite having been cured previously. However, in Liu Chun’s view, chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema mostly affects older adults, and it’s rare among younger individuals. Emphysema is defined as a pathological state characterized by a reduction in respiratory elasticity, permanent over-inflation, and increased pulmonary volume in the distal parts of the terminal bronchioles, often accompanied by respiratory tract wall destruction. It is mostly caused by diseases of the lungs and bronchi, or degenerative changes in lung tissue, and is a chronic irreversible disease. Based on the causes of onset, it can be classified into paraseptal emphysema, obstructive pulmonary emphysema, compensatory emphysema, and senile emphysema. Emphysema caused by genetic factors is more common abroad, and interstitial emphysema does not fall under the category of emphysema. Obstructive pulmonary emphysema is clinically characterized primarily by wheezing, shortness of breath, and symptoms that are noticeable or worsen after activities. In traditional Chinese medicine, it corresponds to the categories of asthma and lung distension. Liu Chun briefly discussed Zhang Wei’s condition with Liu Ying and asked if there was any history of genetic emphysema, but Liu Ying and Zhang Wei had always been very healthy and had never encountered such issues. When Liu Ying and Li Qiang heard that Zhang Wei had emphysema, they knew the condition was very serious. Now, Zhang Wei could only be hospitalized and had to wait until he fully recovered before he could be discharged. Zhang Dongliang drove over, Liu Ying had already completed Zhang Wei’s hospital admission and settled him into a general ward. “What’s the situation?” Zhang Dongliang entered and asked. “Xiao Wei has obstructive pulmonary emphysema,” Liu Ying said. “That serious? So, what do we do now?” When he heard about the acute bronchitis, Zhang Dongliang didn’t take it seriously, but upon hearing about the chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema, he knew the condition was very serious. “Doctor Liu said to start with injections and medications, but as for when he might recover, he doesn’t know,” There was already a nurse coming to give Zhang Wei an IV drip and preparing hot water for him to take his medication. The four followers could only watch; after half an hour, Li Qiang said, “Uncle Zhang, Auntie, why don’t we head back for now and come visit Wei again later?” “Then you guys go ahead. Do you need me to take you back?” Liu Ying asked. “No need, Auntie.” Li Qiang and the others left the room, planning to take a taxi back to Jiangbei. As the four of them left, Liu Ying and Zhang Dongliang felt that Zhang Wei was fortunate to know these four people, at least they were there to accompany him to the hospital during his illness. “What’s going on? Didn’t everything seem fine at lunch?” Zhang Dongliang asked, puzzled.

Chapter 208 - 208 0209 Obstructive Emphysema

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