episode_0207

Episode 207. Casualties on the Front Line (1)

****

The atmosphere of the temple was fine.

Until yesterday, it was a terrible situation, and there were more than a few people who were getting sick, but the atmosphere changed after the professor came.

Professor Asterix.

Here comes hope.

As soon as the professor arrived, he said, “We need this, bring that, this person can live, triage the patient, he organized everything.”

So that I can work.

In particular, the healers’ morale improved greatly due to the improvement of their fallen comrades.

Because Professor Asterix promised to save her, she was able to put her fears aside for now, worry less, and focus on the treatment.

Amira coughed a few times, but it seemed like the taste of blood was less noticeable.

“It’s really scary.”

There is no one in the medical world who does not know the name of Professor Asterix. How great – it is strange to say so.

anyway.

You wouldn’t know how drastically things changed once Professor Asterix arrived unless you saw it for yourself. Well, even Amira was lying in bed, so she didn’t know the details.

The rumor was false. Isn’t it rather underestimating Professor Asterix?

****

Hedwig is actually quite a tall person.

The Wyvern cavalry is the elite of the elite. Among them, they are healers, so if we were to use a modern analogy, we could think of them as the generals of the Air Force medical officers.

This is ridiculous. It’s not for nothing that Hedwig is put in charge of managing the plague throughout the empire.

Alabaster frowned.

“Ah. That cavalry officer collapsed? Are you okay now?”

“Yes, I am fine.”

“A high-ranking Imperial officer is injured here. This is also not a good situation.”

“That’s right.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.”

Well, it’s just bacteria. If you treat it with antibiotics early, what can you do about something like pneumococcus?

Well… … actually, that’s not true.

“That’s fortunate… …. How are the number of patients? The situation isn’t getting worse, is it?”

“The growth rate has slowed. The number of patients is still increasing, but it is still a little better than when I first came.”

However, the number of patients did not increase significantly. Some patients were discharged or returned to home isolation.

It was a positive change. We didn’t find a great solution. The pneumonia patients just died or got better one by one.

“I heard that Professor Asterix stopped the Black Death twice and also stopped the epidemic of dysentery. It’s like a legend.”

“That’s too much praise.”

One time it wasn’t the Black Death. It was the scurvy of sailors returning from the sea and another illness that Hedwig mistook for the Black Death.

“Ms. Hedwig went with us too.”

“I see?”

Hedwig is also a hero.

A hero who saved countless people.

It’s a bit ironic that you’re sick with the plague right now. But I think the prognosis will be good.

“To put it bluntly, a high-ranking Imperial officer getting injured while on duty in our area could spark a firestorm.”

“I’ll make sure to talk about that.”

I sighed inwardly.

What are all these people doing here? Don’t worry about such strange things, and just focus on the disease that is spreading now.

Is the water bad here?

“Consider what’s important. Isn’t the city turning into a beehive right now?”

“A beehive?”

Come to think of it, the way someone gets shot by a machine gun is called a beehive. It would be hard to understand if you said it looked like a beehive. I thought about it for a while.

“The city situation is not good. Is there any road for quarantine work?”

“No.”

Is there anything left to try?

There are already curfews and restrictions on movement. People who are sick are isolated at home or in hospitals. Is there anything else we can do?

“Firewood and coal.”

“Why that?”

Alabaster scratched his head.

“Please collect and distribute to people. It seems that the epidemic is worse because the weather is cold.”

“It’s not that difficult… … .”

“Yes.”

“I’ll try.”

It shouldn’t be difficult to get firewood.

It’s not a sure solution, though. The clerk nodded with a determined expression. If it were a little warmer, pneumonia might spread less.

The bookseller sighed and opened the paper he was looking at, as if preparing to write.

“Professor. But could you explain again what the current epidemic is?”

I was wondering how to explain it.

How can I explain it so that even high school students, or even elementary school students, can understand it? More importantly, only with practical information.

“Pneumonia caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae. It causes a severe cold, and repeated coughing can damage the throat and increase the risk of problems such as bleeding.”

“How does it spread?”

“Usually spreads through sneezing. Droplets can float in the air or land on surfaces.”

“I know that. So that’s why you’re always pouring alcohol everywhere and walking around with your mouth covered. Is that the only way it spreads?”

Maybe so.

“In any case, the germs from the patient have to enter another person’s body. They have to enter through the mouth or nose to get pneumonia.”

“Let me think about it some more.”

I nodded.

“That’s right, Professor. Since Hedwig, who came with us, is sick, don’t you think we need to heal someone to take on the role of assistant?”

Well, I scratched my head. It would be nice to have it, but would anyone be willing to help? I’ll be gone in a few days anyway.

“I wish there was… … . Please look into it. I will go back to the hospital. ”

“Thank you.”

It’s annoying, but I can’t help it since I really need advice. I left the bookstore behind. I wonder if the patients I saw yesterday are okay.

I went back to the hospital.

Before entering the ward, I wiped my plague doctor mask again, changed my coat, and put on an apron. I have to work hard today too.

It’s a bit shabby for a hazmat suit. But it looks okay if you just disinfect it with alcohol.

The ward was starting to get a little more organized.

I don’t know when they moved it, but the patients were now separated into areas according to severity, probably to make the flow more efficient.

I looked around to see where the patients I had seen earlier were. Hedwig should be in a single room.

Is the student who died yesterday okay? This is the problem with antibiotic treatment.

This is more of an anomaly than a problem. Just because bacteria disappear doesn’t mean the damage they cause disappears right away.

It’s only natural that it takes time for the damage to be repaired. Antibiotics are not medicines that make the body better, they are medicines that kill bacteria.

There are quite a few dead patients… … .

Coughing was heard from all directions.

I should have brought a graduate student. Hedwig is sick and I don’t know anyone at the temple personally, so it’s a hassle.

First, let’s look at the child we saw yesterday.

Was your name Talo?

****

Talo coughed repeatedly. Slowly, his throat started to hurt and he started to smell blood every time he coughed. It was also a problem of what was happening outside.

Knock knock, knock.

I tasted blood in my mouth, so I spat into the trash can, and there was blood in my saliva. Is my condition getting worse?

Someone walked next to me.

It was the professor I saw yesterday.

He was wearing a black coat, a black mask, and even something that looked like a black apron.

Just looking at the clothes, it was a scary sight, but for some reason, I felt at ease. Was it because I saw them often, or because they came to help me?

The mask looked at the child.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

This is not an okay situation.

I’m in so much pain. I’m lying in the temple and I don’t even know how my family is doing.

****

I checked the patient’s temperature with a thermometer.

The body temperature has definitely gone down.

As expected, tissue damage is the problem. Even if the illness is cured, it seems like it will take a long time for the symptoms to go away. Even a bad cold can last a long time, right?

Moreover, if you suffer from severe pneumonia, the aftereffects are not short. The cough may last for several weeks.

I don’t think I’m going to die… … But I don’t want to say that everything will be okay.

“Is my family okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“Could you please check it once?”

I shook my head. I’m not free enough to go out and find someone else’s house.

“Oh, I’m busy so I can’t go out and look for them… …. None of your family members got sick and came to the temple. Don’t worry too much and just focus on getting better.”

“You’re not here, are you?”

“Yeah.”

Talo tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but then started coughing again. I waited for a moment.

“The bottle seems to be getting a little better.”

“Is this it?”

The patient looked at me incredulously.

What… … . How absurd would it be to say that you’re better when you’re coughing up blood right now? It might sound a little unfair.

Still, it’s fortunate that this world is susceptible to antibiotics. If you just take medicine, you’ll get better.

“Your consciousness has cleared and you have no fever. I’ll prescribe you some painkillers and cough suppressants.”

“Yes.”

The child sat on the sickbed. It was a bit ambiguous, but I thought he needed more attention because he was a child, so I gave him a red handkerchief.

However, one hopeful aspect is that the number of severe patients is decreasing. Most of the new patients are mild.