Lu’s Clinic.

After a day of rest, the clinic reopened, and it was still crowded outside.

Lu Jiu got busy again.

But for some reason, there were fewer locals today, and more people from out of town.

And most of them had complex illnesses.

There was even a patient with hemiplegia and a twisted mouth and tongue.

Inside the clinic, a man in his early thirties placed his mother carefully on a small bed and nervously asked Lu Jiu, “Dr. Lu, do you think there’s still a chance for my mom?”

Lu Jiu said, “It’s very complicated. I can’t guarantee anything, but we can only try first.”

Just because Lu Jiu can now restore Gastric Qi in late-stage lung cancer patients doesn’t mean he can handle every illness.

That’s actually not the case.

Prolonging life and treating a disease are two different areas.

The treatment direction for Shi Zixiong’s mother was about prolonging life, regardless of the illness, since it was incurable. The focus was adjusting her lifestyle.

But this stroke patient is different. To improve her lifestyle, you must cure her illness. If it’s only about prolonging life, staying in a hospital room would suffice, and there’s no need to seek out a traditional doctor.

“Please try, please try.” Yu Guolai had a very positive attitude.

The reason he was here was because he saw a video online searching for folk traditional doctors.

After searching for Lu Jiu’s name, many related videos appeared instantly.

It was only after watching all the videos that he decided to travel across provinces from Nanhu to see Lu Jiu for treatment.

They had actually already consulted both Western and traditional medicine for the stroke, but it hadn’t helped.

It’s been treated for more than half a year without any improvement.

Before coming here, he also wondered what if they encountered a fraud.

So before making the trip, Yu Guolai quietly came to check out the place.

After learning about Lu Jiu’s deeds from a few locals, Yu Guolai finally decided to bring his mother for treatment.

Anyway, he would not give up regardless of the result. If Lu Jiu couldn’t cure her, he would find another doctor.

Lu Jiu did not immediately take the pulse. Instead, he pinched and kneaded the area where the aunt had paralysis to judge her current condition roughly.

In the past, stroke was called apoplexy, hemi-paralysis, slight unresponsiveness, or major unresponsiveness.

The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, Spiritual Pivot·Acupuncture Section of Truth and Evil, mentioned this illness, “When false Qi lodges in half of the body, deeply penetrating, residing in the vessels, and the vessels weaken, true Qi departs, leaving only the evil Qi, resulting in hemi-paralysis.”

Plain Questions·General Discussion on Empty and Solid stated, “When treating wasting and thirsting, apoplexy, hemi-paralysis, loss of consciousness, fullness and counterflow of Qi, it is an illness of the wealthy.”

Combining this with Plain Questions·Heavenly Qi Communication which states, “Great anger results in the disruption of form and Qi, and blood accumulates in the upper body causing slight unresponsiveness.”

It becomes clear that there are generally two situations prone to stroke.

Either eating too well, or emotions being too extreme.

Those who never watch their diet and are irritable are not careful daily, so when false Qi invades, it’s very likely stroke will occur.

Of course, there’s another special situation.

That is as described in Plain Questions·Regulating the Meridians, “When blood and Qi rise to the upper body together, it results in major unresponsiveness. If Qi and blood can descend in time, there is still hope for survival; if not, then it is fatal.”

This means blood and Qi rise upwards against meridians, causing major unresponsiveness leading to sudden unconsciousness mimicking sudden death. If Qi and blood can descend promptly, there is hope; if trapped above, there’s no saving.

This situation usually results in immediate death, typically affecting older people, as bodily functions decline with age. If false Qi invades, there’s hardly any buffering time given.

Therefore, older people must keep warm, especially during seasonal changes.

Strokes occur throughout the year, but mostly during seasonal changes.

Especially when winter suddenly turns cold, cold Qi invades, slowing blood circulation.

The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, Plain Questions·Regulating the Meridians, states “Cold is left alone, then blood coagulates, coagulation causes vessels to be blocked.”

Modern medicine also found factors causing frequent strokes relate to cold and environmental influences.

The main pathological mechanism of stroke can be summarized as wind, fire (heat), phlegm, stasis, and deficiency, influencing each other and converting under certain conditions, causing internal wind, disordered Qi and blood, rushing to the brain, leading to blood stasis or extravasation causing stroke.

Additionally, Qi deficiency leads to weak blood control, causing stagnation, resulting in blood stasis and stroke — called “deficient Qi stagnation”; Yin deficiency cannot control Yang, internal wind agitates, disturbing the senses, also causing stroke. Clinically, these interact, sometimes coexist, such as Qi deficiency with blood stasis, phlegm and stasis intertwining.

Although the stroke’s pathological site is in the brain, it involves the entire five viscera and six bowels.

In stroke’s acute phase, with symptoms like hemiplegia, facial distortion, insensitivity, without “mental daze,” the illness is relatively light, affecting meridians and brain vessels.

If initially there is confusion or delirium, it has entered the viscera, affecting brain marrow, and the condition is severe.

If consciousness is clear initially, but worsens over three to five days with delirium, it means the illness has progressed from meridians to viscera, worsening the condition, and vice versa.

Yu Guolai’s mother is now in a state of mental confusion, clearly indicating the illness has moved from meridians to viscera.

This is a sign of worsening condition.

“Could your mother speak at all after the stroke?” Lu Jiu asked.

“No, initially she couldn’t move, and then her mouth began to twist, her tongue also had difficulty, but she could respond to us. Yet over the next week, her hearing worsened until she couldn’t respond at all,” Yu Guolai replied.

“Does your mother usually indulge in excessive eating and drinking?” Lu Jiu asked.

“No, we all eat the same food at home, and my mom actually eats quite sparingly.” Yu Guolai answered.

“And how about her temperament? Is she quick-tempered, blunt, easily angered?” Lu Jiu asked.

“Uh…she is a bit.” Yu Guolai replied.

It seems to be an emotional issue.

Lu Jiu then took the patient’s wrist to communicate with the Five Viscera.

In this case, asking her son surely wasn’t enough, and the patient herself couldn’t speak.

So what to do?

They had to connect with the Five Viscera.

“Starving, really want to digest some food, someone make her eat, please!” Spleen Earth said.

“Yelling won’t help, she can’t speak, who knows if she’s hungry.” Liver Wood said.

“Heart Fire, do something.” Spleen Earth said.

“Enough with the noise, what’s the point of shouting? She’s been like this for over half a year, if I could help, I would have already, what’s the point now? Keep it up and none of you will live!!!” Heart Fire retorted.

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep