Common disabilities are often caused by complications from this disease, which has a very high paralysis rate. Many who contract it cannot walk, are bedridden, and experience severe muscle atrophy.
How could a perfectly healthy child suddenly develop such a disease?
Director Jake was truly baffled.
Cooper suddenly suggested, “Director, since it’s been caught early, why not try combining modern and traditional medicine? I could invite Aaron Mateo to take a look and see what he suggests?”
Director Jake nodded.
—
Very soon, Aaron Mateo arrived. Being familiar with Director Jake, he hurried over as soon as he heard about the situation with Jake’s grandson.
“What happened to him?”
“Uncle Aaron.” Director Jake bowed his head, sighing. “They say it’s polio. Thank you for coming.”
“Don’t mention it! Even for a regular patient, I would’ve come. Let alone him, who I’ve watched grow up.”
Director Jake fell silent, his heart heavy as he looked at his grandson lying in the hospital bed.
Aaron Mateo examined Aaron’s pulse and pressed various points on his body to check his physical response. After some time, he frowned.
“It’s not looking good. This illness seems to have been developing for some time.”
Director Jake felt a pang of regret. At first, everyone thought it was just a cold. Who could have guessed it was something so serious? If they had known earlier, they would have hospitalized him right away!
Soon, Professor Michael was also called in. After examining Aaron, his conclusion matched Aaron Mateo’s.
It was difficult to treat.
Or rather, it was beyond his capability to treat.
Professor Michael glanced at Aaron Mateo and said quietly, “Uncle Aaron, relying on traditional medicine alone will make it very hard to cure this disease. Besides, the child’s condition has progressed rapidly, and now his hip strength is deteriorating. If we delay any longer…”
His meaning was clear.
If modern medicine offered a better solution, even if it couldn’t completely cure the disease, parents would understand and forgive any lasting complications.
But if traditional medicine failed, the blame would fall squarely on the practitioners, with accusations that traditional medicine is ineffective or even harmful.
Professor Michael wasn’t confident in treating the child and didn’t want to delay other potential treatments.
Aaron Mateo understood this and sighed deeply.
“My mentor once successfully treated a child with polio, but that was a long time ago, and the case records are no longer available. If only he were still alive—otherwise, finding a traditional medicine practitioner capable of curing polio today is nearly impossible.”
This statement left Director Jake in despair.
If modern medicine were effective, he wouldn’t have turned to traditional medicine in the first place.
But if traditional medicine also failed to provide a solution, then the child’s chances of recovery would be even slimmer.
Was there no one in the world who could cure polio?
Suddenly, Aaron Mateo remembered someone and brightened. “Wait! I almost forgot about her! Michael, what about your star student?”
“Star student? Are you referring to Sophia?” Professor Michael hesitated, lowering his head uneasily.
“What’s wrong?” Aaron Mateo noticed his discomfort and frowned. “Where is she? Isn’t she at the hospital?”
Professor Michael glanced at Director Jake, hesitating.
Director Jake was startled and quickly said, “Why are you looking at me? What does your student have to do with me? Do you think I could’ve driven her away?”
At that moment, he remembered that he might have dismissed an intern a few days ago due to Olivia’s complaints. Could that intern have been the Sophia they were talking about? If she was connected to Aaron Mateo and he’d dismissed her, wouldn’t that be a slap in Aaron Mateo’s face?
Though Aaron Mateo held no official title higher than Jake’s, his reputation as a healer for national leaders gave him significant influence. The people he interacted with were either wealthy or powerful, making him someone not to offend lightly.
Director Jake hadn’t realized he might have offended such a person.
“Uncle Aaron, I did dismiss an intern a few days ago for prescribing the wrong medication. I didn’t know she was connected to you!”
“Wrong medication? What was the prescription? Let me see it!” Aaron Mateo’s expression darkened.
Although he wasn’t particularly close to Sophia, he knew her medical skills were exceptional. For her to be relegated to an intern position without prescribing privileges was absurd! He had even considered mentoring her himself and providing opportunities for her career advancement.
Professor Michael quickly retrieved the prescription, and Aaron Mateo examined it carefully, frowning.
“This prescription is excellent. If I’m not mistaken, this is a royal family formula for pregnancy care. My ancestors had a similar one. How could such a prescription be labeled as incorrect? Director Jake, what is going on in your hospital?”
Director Jake broke into a cold sweat.
How could he have known that an intern could produce a prescription as valuable as a royal family secret formula?
He was fully aware of the fortune this formula could bring if developed into a product.
Yet this intern had selflessly shared it with a patient!
The patient complained about stomach pain and blamed the prescription.
Upon reflection, Olivia’s actions seemed suspiciously targeted at Sophia. But why?
“If the prescription was fine, could Olivia have been deliberately causing trouble for Sophia? That doesn’t make sense. Olivia is a celebrity, and her boyfriend is from the Scott Family. Why would she target an intern?”
Hearing this, Aaron Mateo was shocked. “Olivia? Her boyfriend is Scott Henry?”
“Yes!” Director Jake said, as if it were obvious.
Since the Scott Family was local, he’d kept an eye on entertainment news.
Aaron Mateo thought for a moment and quickly understood. He recalled that Scott Livinus had mentioned Sophia was Scott Henry’s wife. Now it all made sense why Olivia had targeted her.
“Director Jake, you’ve been foolish!” Aaron Mateo sighed deeply.
“What do you mean?”
Aaron Mateo briefly explained the situation. “Olivia is the mistress. Sophia is Scott Henry’s wife! This is the first time I’ve heard of a mistress causing trouble for the wife and the wife being fired from her job because of it. Director Jake, look at what you’ve done!”
Director Jake broke into a cold sweat. He had never imagined that Sophia, a mere intern, would be connected to the Scott Family, let alone that such a situation would arise.
Now it made sense why Olivia would insist on seeing an intern.
“Uncle Aaron! This is my fault! But even Michael didn’t know the full story. How could I have known?”
Professor Michael was still in shock. He hadn’t known Sophia’s husband was part of the Scott Family! His low-profile student had never mentioned it in years. Perhaps she was too embarrassed—after all, her husband was constantly embroiled in scandals with celebrities.
Aaron Mateo rolled his eyes and huffed, “In any case, I’m not confident about treating Aaron’s illness. I can only try. But that girl, from what I know, her medical skills are as good as mine. She’s especially adept at treating complex and difficult cases!”
Director Jake was skeptical and said, “Uncle Aaron, that seems unlikely! She’s just an intern. The royal formula you mentioned might have been passed down in her family. How could someone so young possess such advanced medical skills?”
Aaron Mateo sighed deeply. He had no idea where Sophia had learned her skills.
If he knew, he would definitely ask her to teach him how she had mastered techniques that took him seventy years to perfect by her twenties.
“Believe it or not, that’s up to you!”
Director Jake now understood the gravity of his mistake.
But he couldn’t be blamed entirely—who would have thought an intern would have such skills?
It was like discovering a humble bathhouse worker was secretly a martial arts master. Unimaginable!
Director Jake slapped his forehead. “Alright! I’ll go get her back right now to treat my grandson!”
—
Over at Sophia’s clinic, she received a call from Professor Michael.
Sophia gave him the address, and half an hour later, Director Jake arrived in person to bring her back.
“Dr. Smith, about my grandson…”
“No time,” Sophia said coolly.
