(Thanks to Qinglian Sui Feng for inspiring with a moon ticket)

"Teacher Liu, the results are out. There's only one polyp, which was directly removed. No other masses were found."

Around five in the afternoon, Li Hao came over with the patient and the colonoscopy report.

"Looks like we were worried for nothing. There's actually nothing wrong; it's your hemorrhoids causing trouble," Liu Banxia said with a smile after checking it.

"But it's good as well, the polyp was directly dealt with. Otherwise, over time, the polyp could also potentially become cancerous."

"Doctor, what's wrong with me then? Why can't I eat lately, and always feel so tired like I just want to lie down?" the patient asked.

Not having colon cancer is indeed something worth celebrating. But there's surely something wrong with the body; normal people wouldn't be unable to eat and feel lazy all day long?

"How's your sleep quality usually?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Sleeping well, but what's wrong with me?" the patient countered.

"There are many possibilities that could lead to this situation, like stress from life or work. Anything troubling you lately?" Liu Banxia asked.

The patient shook his head, "Nothing troubling, life has been pretty good. Doctor, could I have cancer somewhere else, like stomach cancer?"

This amused Liu Banxia, "Why don't you think positively? Although there are direct methods for checking, do you really want to endure that pain?"

"Let's do this, I'll take some blood and do a routine blood test. This can also reflect many problems. Not overthinking things is better than anything else."

The patient nodded awkwardly.

Thinking randomly indeed didn't help.

To appease the patient's emotions, Li Hao took care of the blood collection. They've done the initial check, now it's time to wait for the blood test results.

However, as soon as the patient got up from the examination bed, his legs weakened, and he sat back down on the floor.

"Geez, I've really drained myself," the patient said embarrassingly.

Liu Banxia frowned, "Try to see if you can get up."

The patient was stunned and struggled while holding onto the examination bed. Although he stood up, his legs were trembling.

"Sit back on the bed, I'll examine your legs," Liu Banxia said.

"Doctor, what's wrong with me? Why did my legs suddenly lose strength?" The sweat on the patient's forehead began to bead up.

"How did you feel when you came back from the colonoscopy? Did your legs also feel weak?" Liu Banxia asked.

The patient nodded, "It's been a little like that recently."

This time it stunned Liu Banxia, "Are you saying you've felt weakness in your legs for a while? Not just symptoms appearing after the colon check?"

The patient nodded, "My body feels exhausted, and naturally, my legs feel weak."

Liu Banxia frowned, choosing not to argue with the patient. It's partly his fault for not asking thoroughly. Body fatigue and leg weakness are entirely different symptoms.

He conducted a leg examination, and the patient showed signs of noticeable muscle weakness and slow reflexes. However, when examining the patient's arms, the strength seemed normal.

He carefully checked the patient's eyelids and saw no signs of drooping, feeling slightly relieved.

"Doctor, what's wrong with me?" the patient asked worriedly.

"At present, your legs are showing symmetrical muscle weakness, which I believe might be related to the nerves," said Liu Banxia.

"Lie on your stomach on the bed, and I'll check your spine. Have you experienced any back pain, injuries, or twists recently?"

The patient shook his head, "I run my own supermarket, and I don't need to move goods. The delivery people take care of everything."

"Let me check your spine to see if there's anything causing nerve compression," Liu Banxia said.

Upon careful examination, the patient had some protrusion in the spinal area. But judging by his hand diagnosis, it wasn't severe and likely wouldn't compress the nerves.

"You have intervertebral disc protrusion between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebra, let's get a CT scan to see if it affects the nerves," Liu Banxia said after finishing the examination.

"Although it's not very obvious, since you have lower limb muscle weakness symptoms, we still need to do some equipment testing. Consider that your symptoms may be causing a fatigue illusion due to neurological issues," he said.

"Doctor, is it serious?" the patient asked worriedly.

"Don't overthink. Let's first check and see exactly what's going on; many diseases can cause muscle weakness symptoms," Liu Banxia said reassuringly.

"But looking at your current condition, it's not very serious, which means it's just starting. It might also have something to do with the bowel preparation we did. Let's go ahead and do the check-up."

"If there's nothing wrong with the lumbar spine, we'll do an electromyography of the lower limbs. Don't worry, I don't think it's a big issue. Let's have a thorough check-up; we'll figure out what's going on. Don't scare yourself unnecessarily."

For some patients, you have to make the issue sound a bit serious. Otherwise, they won't take it seriously and won't cooperate with the instrument check-ups.

But for some patients, you need to minimize the influence of the symptoms as much as possible.

Just like this patient, he hasn't even been thoroughly examined yet, and he's already suspecting he has rectal cancer. After ruling out bowel cancer, he then suspects he has stomach cancer.

Now his legs are weak, showing symptoms of muscle weakness.

Although he hasn't declared what cancer he might have, the tense expression on his face reflects his inner world, and right now, he's really not calm.

Normally, it's a good idea for the patient to call their family over for some support. But Liu Banxia didn't dare to say that. If he mentioned needing family, the patient's mind might run to thoughts of terminal illness.

Although Liu Banxia has tried to handle it as gently as possible, the patient's mood is still not relaxed. Coupled with some existing muscle weakness in the lower limbs, Li Hao had to push him for the next check-up.

"Teacher Liu, what do you think is actually going on? Could it really be a tumor from another place causing this? Should we do a thymus scan?" Liu Yiqing asked.

"Let's wait first, until the blood tests and lumbar spine results are out. This patient is somewhat timid. Although he can cooperate with the examinations, if we haven't diagnosed the issue by then, he'll scare himself out completely," Liu Banxia said.

"For patients like this, we also have to be cautious. You could say they're the complete opposite of those who resist examinations; the main thing is that he easily scares himself."

"Moreover, there are many causes of muscle weakness, and we'll need to rule them out one by one. Try to keep your expressions relaxed; this guy has a lower psychological tolerance."

Liu Yiqing nodded; she had just seen the whole process.

"Teacher Liu, when will you eat?" Liu Yiqing asked.

"In a while. Let others eat first. I'm waiting for the patient's examination results," Liu Banxia said.

"We also need to think it over thoroughly, but it's like casting a wide net, which is a bit troubling. Tomorrow is a rest day, and the day after, we'll go to the Marathon site. You guys behave in the hospital, okay?"

"Teacher Liu, a serious protest. We've always been well-behaved, haven't we?" Liu Yiqing said.

"Just a reminder for you guys. Recently, our emergency center has been quite peaceful, and I'm really worried you'll stir things up when you're happy," Liu Banxia said.

Liu Yiqing was very helpless. Who is the most troublesome? Don't you have any idea yourself?

"Why is that patient having muscle weakness?" Qi Wentai asked curiously as he saw Liu Banxia come out of the consulting room.

"I'm not sure yet. So far, the manual diagnosis suggests a lumbar disc herniation. I told him to get a CT scan. If it's not a lumbar spine problem, we can look into other areas," Liu Banxia said.

"It's fortunate he came to see us. Even though it's not an intestinal tumor, the symptoms of muscle weakness should be handled with care," Qi Wentai said.

"Isn't that the truth? Wang Chao, you guys go ahead and eat. Qi and I will stay here and wait for my patient's exam results," Liu Banxia said.

"Alright, let me scout ahead for you and see what's on the menu tonight," Wang Chao said.

"It's no use. Even if Zhou Qiang racks his brains, it's basically the same dishes rotated," Liu Banxia said.

"Still, it's nice to have some expectations. You won't reward me with a cold dish or something?" Wang Chao asked pitifully.

"Really, all you do is bully me, huh? For the sake of the new equipment today, I'll reward you with one," Liu Banxia said helplessly.

Wang Chao and Xu Yino held out their hands in unison, making their meaning clear: no card, no deal.

Liu Banxia glanced at them warily, took out the meal card, and put it in Liu Yiqing's hand, "It's a big responsibility; we can't let them spend excessively."

"Teacher Liu, why don't you give the meal card to me?" Xu Yino asked, frustrated.

"Give it to you? Wouldn't that be like a meat bun getting eaten? There wouldn't be anything left," Liu Banxia said, pursing his lips.

Xu Yino was very frustrated, feeling that he was small-minded. It's not like she didn't occasionally add a dish or something.

"Ah, it seems I can only sneak a taste of the cold dish," Wang Chao sighed.

"Teacher Wang, it's okay. I can also order a dish myself. Let's see what you feel like eating," Liu Yiqing said.

She spoke very candidly, offering up her own benefits.

Otherwise, why would Liu Banxia hand the meal card to her? It's because this girl was genuinely honest, unlike Xu Yino, who was so sly.

It's not really about the money for one or two dishes. It's just that this is more fun.

It's a little scenario for them to interact; otherwise, work every day would be meaningless, so why not play a little game?