630 Craving for Pain

"Let me take a look at him first. Where is he?" Wang Yao asked.

"He's just outside. I'll bring him in," the woman said.

She went out to bring her husband into the clinic with her son's help.

"Mom, this is the doctor you mentioned?" her son asked with surprise.

"Yeah, keep your voice down. You are too loud," the woman said.

The facial expression on her son's face told Wang Yao that he didn't think Wang Yao was a reliable doctor given his age.

"Is this the first time he had a stroke?" Wang Yao asked.

The patient displayed impaired gait and hemiplegia, as well as facial paralysis. He was still drooling.

"No, the second time. The first stroke was two years ago," the woman said.

"Yes," the patient said.

"Help him sit down," Wang Yao said.

The problems associated with a stroke were in the brain. A thrombosis developed in the brain and stopped normal blood circulation. In traditional Chinese medicine, it was considered a condition caused by stagnancy of Qi and blood.

"This is not his first stroke?" Wang Yao asked again.

"No, his second one. The first stroke was over a year ago," the woman said.

Wang Yao took a good look at the patient, especially his head. "You want him to get treatment here?"

"Yes," the woman said.

Her son pouted to express disagreement. He thought, Of course we are here to seek treatment. You think we are here to buy pancakes?

His mother gave him a hard look as he was about to say something.

"OK, sit still," Wang Yao said. He took out his acupuncture needles. "Please do not move."

He inserted the needles into the patient's head. The patient's condition was different from the last stroke patient he had treated. To be precise, this patient's condition was worse. Therefore, Wang Yao stimulated his head, where he had problems of Qi and blood circulation.

"Is this gonna work? Sticking needles in his head?" The patient's son was concerned about his father. He started at Wang Yao's hand.

His mother was also concerned. She was clutching her clothes and sweating. "How do you feel? Let us know if you don't feel comfortable."

"OK," the patient said.

Wang Yao just smiled. After the acupuncture session, he gave the patient a massage. He started with the patient's face. He was gentle at first and slowly increased strength. He pressed the acupoints first and followed the meridians with his hands.

The purpose of massage was to clear the thrombosis. Wang Yao used external force to remove obstructions from the blocked blood vessels. Qi and blood were like running rivers of water. If the flowed normally, they would nurture the plants on both sides of the river. If they didn't flow smoothly, they would cause a flood.

"How do you feel?" the woman asked.

"I feel very comfortable," the patient said.

Wang Yao's massage warmed up his whole head. The numbness and swelling had also disappeared. He felt much more comfortable.

"Can you lift your arm?" Wang Yao asked. "Just copy my movement."

Wang Yao stopped the massage. "Can you squeeze my hand as hard as you can?"

The strength and range of movement of the patient's arm were better than the last stroke patient, but the condition of his leg was worse.

After the patient had finished warming up, Wang Yao continued with treatment.

"Looks professional," the patient's son said. "Dad, how do you feel?"

"I feel alright," the patient said.

"I think your speech is less slurred," the woman excitedly said. "Can you say something?"

"What do you want me to say?" the patient asked.

"His speech is better, don't you think? Son?" the wife asked.

"Yes, I think so." Although the son doubted Wang Yao's ability at first, he now had to admit that he was a good doctor. His father's speech had improved in a short period of time. And, his father's face looked more normal. "You are good." His point view toward Wang Yao had started to change.

"Well, let's call it a day. I also have some herbal pills here." Wang Yao took out the pills he had made a few days ago. "As for the fees, one session of acupuncture and massage therapy is $200. The pill is also $200."

"What? That's so expensive," the son said in shock. All his favorable impressions about Wang Yao were gone.

"I don't think so," Wang Yao calmly said.

All the herbs the pills contained were wild. Most of them were from his herbal field, which was nurtured by the Spirit Gathering Battle Array. The herbs had absorbed all the aura around them, so they were even better than the ones that grew in the mountains. In addition, the pills contained Ziyu soup. Ziyu was a licorice root, which couldn't be purchased with money.

"We'll pay," the woman said. "How long does he need to take the pills for?"

"Take one pill daily. Start with 10 pills," Wang Yao said.

"Ten pills for 10 days. So, it will cost $2,000," the woman said.

Her family had already spent over $10,000 in the hospital. With reimbursement, her out of pocket expense would be over $8,000. She was willing to pay Wang Yao $2,000 as long as he could cure her husband.

"Mom!" Her son decided to stop his mother from being fooled. Otherwise, his mother would be used by others without being aware that she was fooled.

"Look, Dr. Wang, can we buy three to start with?" the son asked.

"Sure," Wang Yao said. He was confident about his herbs. Three pills would make a difference.

"We just want to see whether the pills will work," the son said. Are you trying to grab whatever you can grab?

In fact, Wang Yao didn't care about money. He just had to put a price on his herbs since he had spent a lot of time and effort on them. They were valuable.

The wife paid for three pills. She packed the pills with great care. "Thank you, Dr. Wang."

"You are welcome. Please take this as well. I've written down some precautions for you. I think he's got high blood pressure and high cholesterol," said Wang Yao.

"Yes," the woman said.

"He needs to be very mindful of his lifestyle from now on. Stroke is closely related to high cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar level. He needs to change his lifestyle. He needs to have a light diet and exercise regularly," Wang Yao said.

"OK, I see." The woman, her son, and her husband all left the clinic after the woman had expressed her gratitude.

"Mom, he's a fraud," the son said as soon as they had left the clinic.

"What fraud? Keep your voice down. I don't want Dr. Wang to hear you. Haven't you noticed your father's facial paralysis is much better? And, his speech is also better. That doctor is really good," the woman said.

"I noticed, but $200 a pill is ridiculous. Maybe he was just lucky to hit the spot," the son said.

"Stop it! Even wild ginseng could cost over $10,000. What's wrong with the cost of the pills? The imported medication the hospital gave us were $75 a pill. Why didn't you think that was expensive?" she asked.

"That medication is from a proper hospital," the son said.

"No more complaining. Let's go home," the patient said. His speech was still slurred, but it was better than before.

"OK, let's go home," his wife said.

Meanwhile, in Sun Yunsheng's house, Zheng Weijun woke up.

"Hmm, so strange, Weijun woke up so early this time," Mr. Wu said. "Weijun, how are you feeling?"

Mr. Wu hoped there was nothing wrong with the young man since he woke up two days earlier than normal.

"Nothing special. I feel better than the last time I woke up. I can feel pain this time," Zheng Weijun said.

"Where is the pain?" Mr. Wu asked with concern.

"Everywhere, but the pain is not too bad. Don't worry too much," Zheng Weijun said with a smile.

"Wait for me," Zheng Shixiong said.

He went to Wang Yao's clinic to invite him to see Zheng Weijun

"He's awake? When?" Wang Yao asked.

"Just now," Zheng Weijun said.

Wang Yao immediately went to Sun Yunsheng's house with Zheng Shixiong. He had a good look at Zheng Weijun.

"I think he woke up earlier because of the detox," Wang Yao said.

His detox soup could act against the medication that put Zheng Weijun into deep sleep. It made the medication lose its effect earlier.

"What should we do about it?" Zheng Shixiong asked.

"It's fine. Stop giving him the medication to make him sleep. Just give him the two decoctions from me," Wang Yao said.

"OK," Mr. Wu said.

Wang Yao looked up at the sky and said, "I'll come back here tomorrow about 9 a.m. to give him acupuncture. Feed him some decoction at about 8:30 a.m."

"OK," Mr. Wu said.

"He's going to have a hard time from now on," Wang Yao said.

"Why?" Mr. Wu asked.

"His five senses will gradually recover. He'll start to feel all sorts of pain. Be prepared," Wang Yao said.