(Thanks to Lao Huang's Struggling Life, Northern Old Night Wolf for the monthly ticket encouragement)

"What do you think the odds are?"

After drawing blood from the baby again, Chen Hongyang leaned over to Liu Banxia.

"I don't know either, it just seems like the current symptoms are similar to poisoning," Liu Banxia said.

"I've also treated several cases of muscle weakness, and their symptoms are different from the baby's. Mainly, it's progressing too fast, only toxins could have such an effect, right?"

"Ah... I should have screened for some things right at the start," Chen Hongyang sighed.

"How could anyone have such foresight? Besides, we can't be sure yet whether it is or isn't," Liu Banxia said.

"Then why do you suspect botulism?" Chen Hongyang asked.

"I'm just guessing too, it seems that the baby botulism symptoms match those of the baby to some degree," Liu Banxia said.

"Maybe it got mixed in accidentally during the feeding of complementary foods, hmm... damn. If it is botulism, it might be related to the green onions the baby ate."

"Let's not speculate for now, let's wait for the results. The couple is already upset because of what I said earlier, we should be cautious in our words."

Chen Hongyang took a look and nodded.

But he was still puzzled in his heart. If it was really botulism, it's usually caused by adding honey when feeding complementary foods.

However, he had asked during the initial consultation, and Liu Banxia also inquired during the follow-up consultation; no honey was added. There was fruit and vegetable puree and fish and shrimp puree, but no honey.

But for now, he could only suppress his curiosity and carefully recalled the baby's symptoms, which indeed matched quite well.

Thinking of this, he also felt a bit guilty.

Fortunately, Liu Banxia came over, otherwise, the outcome for this little baby today would have been uncertain.

On the other side, Liu Banxia temporarily put his thoughts aside and focused on playing with the little baby.

The baby, of course, hadn't learned the skill of pretending to be sick yet. Just a while ago, he was struggling to breathe, barely holding on, only knowing how to use his little hands with effort. Now with the ventilator, his blood oxygen and heart rate have returned to normal, and the little guy has perked up a bit.

However, the tube in his mouth was genuinely uncomfortable, and his little hands wanted to move it away. Liu Banxia held his little hands to play, helping to distract the baby's attention.

"Banxia, it's confirmed, it is indeed botulism, type B, start medication immediately."

Liu Banxia was happily playing with the baby when Chen Hongyang's voice came over.

Ding! The inactive baby task completed.

Earned 300 experience points, 300 points in bandaging skill proficiency, and +2 Glory Points.

The task is rated as perfect, earning 500 experience points, 500 points in bandaging skill proficiency, and 5 Glory Points +3 points.

Seeing the task completion message, it startled Liu Banxia. He didn't expect to receive such a high reward, comparable to a major surgery.

It might also be because of the baby's critical condition and his own prediction playing a role, which accounted for the overall assessment of the task; otherwise, it wouldn't have been rated as perfect.

"Doctor, what kind of toxin is this? Isn't it used for beauty treatments?" The baby's mother was worried.

"You two don't need to worry, botulinum toxin is not just used for beauty treatments, it's actually a toxin that is widely present in nature," Liu Banxia said.

"For slightly stronger babies or adults, botulinum toxin usually isn't a problem. Even if ingested accidentally sometimes, it doesn't cause any harm."

"When we cook, we generally eliminate the botulinum toxin that might be on the ingredients, and it's only in a very small likelihood that it would spread through food."

"The baby might have contracted it from outdoor activities, possibly carried by the wind-borne sand. It might also have been foodborne, but as long as we've identified it, we don't need to worry now."

"The most severe form of transmission is through open wounds, like when our knives or cutting boards carry botulinum toxin, and we accidentally cut ourselves. That's the most severe transmission."

"Calm down, once medicated, the effects are quick, and since we caught it early, there won't be any permanent damage, the prognosis is excellent."

"This bacteria also has an incubation period, so it's not that easy to trace. I recommend disinfecting the baby's utensils and the house when you go home."

"Baby's food in the future should be cooked at a high temperature, preferably at 90 degrees Celsius for over six minutes, which would essentially kill the botulinum bacteria."

"Taking care of a little baby isn't easy. The bacteria are so small, it's hard to guard against. We just need to be more careful in the future, no need to blame anyone, after all, it's really hard to pinpoint now."

The couple nodded and forgot to thank Liu Banxia, now they're just staying by the baby's bedside.

Liu Banxia felt a bit weary already. The couple had not been taking care of the baby, just bickering by the side.

Who doesn't love their own child? But even if you give them all-around care, you can't predict what might happen with the little one.

"Can you tell me about it?" Chen Hongyang, who had finished arranging things, came over.

"I saw a picture on their phone, the little one was holding and biting a green onion. Maybe it was carried by the green onion, after all, the root still had soil on it," Liu Banxia said.

"But this is just speculation. That green onion must have been disposed of long ago, where could we find it? It also saves the couple from conflicts, as we really can't pinpoint the source of the infection."

Chen Hongyang nodded, "Today was really dangerous, it's a good thing you were called. I heard from them that you intubated really quickly. If it were me, with such a small child without any medication injected, I probably couldn't have done it."

"I was so nervous at the time and didn't dare to use too much force," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.

"Because the baby's skeleton is still developing, even though we have some foresight, we didn't dare to directly secure the airway at that time."

"Don't think too much about it. Although infant botulism is also prone to occur, that's only in comparison to other types of botulism poisoning. It's really not common in our consultations."

"Alright, I don't have much to do here. I'll walk around the hall and remind the couple not to let the mother's stress affect the baby's feeding."

Chen Hongyang smiled and nodded, feeling much more relaxed now.

It's not because Liu Banxia comforted him, so he won't reflect on his own shortcomings in consultation. It's because this baby is truly saved now, and that's a life.

The mortality rate of botulism is actually very high. Even though the B-type strain is not as dominant as the A-type, it is extremely dangerous for the baby.

"Doctor, is it okay now that you've used the medication?" the baby's father asked as he approached Chen Hongyang.

Chen Hongyang nodded, "It'll be fine once the medication takes effect. We can remove the intubation shortly and let the baby feel more comfortable."

"Thank you, doctor, thank you. If something happened to the baby, we wouldn't be able to live," the baby's father said gratefully.

"Don't thank me, if you want to thank someone, thank Deputy Director Liu who was just here," Chen Hongyang said seriously.

"When the child was in respiratory distress just now, it was like a walk through the gates of hell. Successfully intubating raised the child's blood oxygen significantly."

"Intubating such a small child isn't easy, especially without any anesthetic. Let me put it this way, our emergency center only he can do it so well and so quickly, without any delay."

"Oh... I was so focused on the baby, I forgot to thank the doctor," the baby's father got a little anxious again.

"Stay calm, caring for the baby also means not panicking when things happen," Chen Hongyang said.

"Director Liu just said to remind you both. Why blame each other? It's all for the baby's well-being, nobody wants this kind of event to happen."

"You can't really have the baby live in a sterile environment. Today, you just need to know that the baby is fine. That's the happiest thing. What's the use of thinking about anything else?"

"You don't need to deliberately thank him either. Many people want to thank him, and he doesn't care about that. His wife is pregnant too, so he is especially attentive to babies now. Taking good care of your baby is more important than anything."

Chen Hongyang's words surprised the pediatric medical staff, as they couldn't understand why Teacher Chen was praising Director Liu so highly today.

Actually, Chen Hongyang isn't someone who promotes others, but today's Liu Banxia deserved some recognition.

Liu Banxia didn't just save the baby, he saved him too.

If he had realized the baby was struggling to breathe and intubated without Liu Banxia's efficiency, the baby's brain might have suffered some hypoxia.

It's a baby, not an adult, any situation could affect their development because they are still growing.

The consequence of brain hypoxia is irreversible brain damage.

Even though in terms of responsibility, he followed procedures and wouldn't be held accountable, this isn't about being held accountable or not, this burden would be on his conscience forever.

How could he smoothly consult in the future?

Fearfulness? That would naturally lead to overtreatment. But if he didn't conduct comprehensive exams, he'd fear the old situation repeating, losing even more confidence.

If he hadn't heard that the intubation was successful, he wouldn't have been so anxious. Because he knows how difficult it is to intubate a baby, even the slightest deviation could affect the baby's health.

Therefore, you could say Liu Banxia saved him today as well, and he is truly grateful.