The ward went quiet.
Li Gaoliang wasn’t the only one who was stunned. The nurse, the doctor, and even Wang Peng were all stunned.
No one spoke.
After a couple of seconds went by, Li Gaoliang’s looked at Lu Zhou excitedly.
“Really?”
Stand up again!
He’s not kidding?
The doctor coughed and replied, “Please don’t make these jokes with patients.”
Even Professor Lu shouldn’t make such a cruel joke!
The nurse and doctor cast an unfriendly look toward Lu Zhou.
Li Gaoliang’s face turned gray, and he laughed to cover his embarrassment.
“Yeah, stop playing around with me… The doctors said that my legs are completely destroyed. It’s a miracle I’m alive right now.”
Lu Zhou shook his head and looked at Li Gaoliang as he said, “I’m not kidding, I’m being serious.”
Li Gaoliang paused for a second.
His intuition told him that this was impossible.
After all, when he was dragged out of the piece of concrete, his two calves were completely ruined. There was no hope of saving his legs.
When he was transferred to Wushi hospital, he received one response. Either he could amputate his legs now, or he could wait for necrosis, which meant an eventual amputation…
Now that the amputation operation was over, Li Gaoliang couldn’t believe there was a way for Lu Zhou to make him stand again.
In fact, the doctor standing next to him shook his head and said, “Impossible! I’ve never heard of this kind of technology before. If you’re talking about prosthetics, standing up is possible. With rehabilitation training, one might even be able to walk normally again.
“But his situation is different. Not only is his calves damaged, but his spinal nerve is damaged as well! He can’t even control his bladder, forget about prosthetics!”
“You’re right.” Lu Zhou looked at Li Gaoliang and nodded. He then said, “I don’t know a lot about biology, but if the nerves are damaged, it is quite troublesome.”
The doctor shook his head and said, “That’s why I’m telling you not to joke with the patient. You’re giving him false hope.”
Giving someone false hope wouldn’t fix any problems.
“I’m not giving him false hope.” Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “It can be done in theory, just not with current technology.”
The doctor said, “So you’re saying it is possible in the future?”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Not the future. Actually, we are conducting research with Aurora University and Harbin Institute of Technology on simulating electrical nerve signals.”
“Nerve access technology?” The doctor looked at Lu Zhou and said, “Has there ever been a successful case?”
The doctor had heard of this kind of technology, but even the top foreign laboratories were in the early research stage. Judging from the results so far, the technology was not mature enough to allow patients with spinal nerve damage to stand up.
“No, no successful cases, there aren’t even any cases,” Lu Zhou said. “This technology hasn’t passed the clinical trial stage, and it still remains in the laboratory. Even though we have achieved some results, it is far from being mature.”
The doctor seemed to know what Lu Zhou wanted to say. He looked at Lu Zhou and said, “So what you’re saying is…”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Yes… Whether it works or not still depends on whether Li Gaoliang is willing to try.”
Li Gaoliang looked at the two. He was muddled.
“What are you guys talking about?”
Li Gaoliang only wanted to know one thing, which was whether or not he had a chance at standing up again.
Also, is this doctor going to change my medicine?
The doctor paused for a second before replying, “We are talking about treatment…”
“Here’s the thing,” Lu Zhou interrupted the doctor and said, “we are conducting an experiment on a nerve access device. If everything goes well, this technology can help you stand up again. But because there have been no clinical trials, this is very risky. We promise to do everything to minimize the risks, but there is still no guarantee that we will succeed.”
Li Gaoliang suddenly laughed out loud.
After a while, he shook his head and looked at Lu Zhou. He then spoke in a serious manner.
“Forget about the risks. I’ll risk anything to have a chance at standing up again.”
He suddenly realized something and said, “Of course… I will not betray my country! I will never do such things!”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Do I look like someone who will betray my country?”
Li Gaoliang said awkwardly, “That’s not what I meant…”
“I understand.” Lu Zhou nodded with a smile and said, “You don’t need to give me anything. You were injured while protecting our country. I can’t let you sit in a wheelchair for the rest of your life.”
Lu Zhou looked at Li Gaoliang and asked solemnly, “Then, I’ll ask you again, do you accept the experiment? And bear all the risks?”
Li Gaoliang nodded without hesitation.
“I accept.”
“Okay.” Lu Zhou nodded and said, “I’ll have to discuss with Director Li from the State Administration for National Defense with this. I’ll get back to you in three days. If this doesn’t work out, I hope you won’t be too disappointed.”
Li Gaoliang glanced at his bandaged legs and smiled.
“Disappointed? What else do I have to lose?”
The doctor looked at Li Gaoliang and said, “This type of experiment isn’t a joke, especially experiments regarding the nervous system. Accidents might happen. I hope you carefully reconsider. After all, if something goes wrong, you could lose your life.”
Lu Zhou agreed with the doctor’s words.
He carefully watched Li Gaoliang’s expression.
If there was any hesitation on Li Gaoliang’s face, Lu Zhou would consider retracting the experiment offer.
After all, the cost of applying a novel technology on a living human being was expensive.
If Li Gaoliang was unable to fully cooperate, then the experiment could be a total waste.
However, Li Gaoliang didn’t have an ounce of hesitation on his face.
He even began to smile wider…
He said, “Then I guess I’ll die!”
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