Seeing that the patient's family did not follow his "advice," the doctor silently muttered to himself: Another fool who's not afraid of death!
"Lady Howard, please move your body slightly! I am about to start the treatment!" The doctor tried to lower his voice to make himself sound less rude.
It was then that Jerome noticed the doctor behind Miss Howard; his chubby face atop a white doctor's coat, with stubble and hawk-like eyes, resembled anything but a gentleman from the rich district, rather more like a butcher from the slums of London, especially with that thing in his hand that looked like a pestle.
Jerome scrutinized the plump doctor before him, a hint of distrust flickering in his eyes.
Were 19th-century doctors really reincarnated butchers?
"Sir, please don't look at me like that!" The fat doctor said angrily to Jerome.
"This is Dr. James!" Miss Howard hastily explained to Jerome: "He's the most famous doctor in the whole London District!"
"One of the!" The fat doctor... no, it should be Dr. James "corrected" Miss Howard's "error," a smile of amusement on his lips, and "humbly" said, "I am also a fellow of the Royal Medical Society of Britain, and was once invited by Prince Albert to treat the British Royal Family!"
Jerome's expression changed slightly; he didn't expect that in just one year, his cousin had already connected with the British Royal Family.
The royal doctors who treat the British Royal Family are all high-eyed fellows, and the Bonaparte Clan is nothing more than a noble name with less actual wealth than some new bankers.
Could it be that his cousin really took Albert's gold pounds as rumored in the past life?
Now is not the time to ask if his cousin has hooked up with Queen Victoria; Jerome only hopes that his cousin can safely dodge this disaster, as the wealth and hope of the Bonaparte Clan rest on his cousin's shoulders.
"Doctor, I..." Jerome was about to say something, but Dr. James shook his head and signaled with his eyes for Jerome to speak outside.
Jerome gently released the increasingly emaciated Louis Bonaparte, tormented by illness, and followed Dr. James out to talk.
Inside the room, only the tearful Miss Howard and Louis Bonaparte remained.
In the corridor, Dr. James lowered his head with a solemn expression and said in a low voice: "You came just in time! Any later and you probably wouldn't have seen the patient!"
"Hmm?" Jerome showed a melancholy expression and asked softly: "Doctor, is my cousin really beyond saving?"
Dr. James shrugged and said: "I've tried my best to extend the patient's life!"
He then sighed and said, "You discovered it too late! If it had been a little earlier, there might have been hope! Britain hasn't experienced cholera for over ten years, the last outbreak being in 1832! Over ten years have made us complacent!"
In the 19th century, cholera virus was often confused with enteritis, and many doctors treated cholera as if it were enteritis, missing the golden period for saving lives.
"How much longer can my cousin hold on?" Jerome asked Dr. James.
Though he had a thousand reasons not to believe his cousin would fall so quickly, Jerome had to accept the reality that his little butterfly's wing flapping had caused his cousin's demise.
"Probably only three to five days, maybe a month. The patient's consciousness is becoming increasingly blurred, and sweating is becoming more severe! He's also feverish!" Dr. James replied in an emotionless tone: "Enemas no longer have any effect, and while willow juice can suppress the patient's fever, this condition won't last long either, as that stuff isn't good for the stomach..." [Note 1]
Willow juice? Aspirin?
Jerome's expression was first surprised, then understanding.
Both ancient and modern, Eastern and Western medicine have used willow bark boiled in water to reduce fever.
Even though they learned years later that willow bark contains salicylic acid, it didn't hinder their pragmatic approach.
If fever and dehydration can be suppressed, can my cousin's illness be sustained for a while?
"The patient is sweating excessively, surely leading to an imbalance of electrolytes in his body!" Jerome muttered to himself, recalling his high school lessons.
"Dr. James, can saline be injected intravenously into the patient's body to replenish the missing fluids?" Jerome inquired of Dr. James.
"Intravenous injection?" Dr. James shook his head and said: "The risk is too great for this method. During the last cholera outbreak, some tried this approach, but only 8 out of 25 cases were cured!"
"There's no other option now, is there?" Jerome said helplessly: "Rather than holding onto outdated methods, why not try something new? It can't get any worse!"
"True! It can't get any worse!" Dr. James examined Jerome as if he were seeing something rare and said: "Where did you learn about intravenous infusion? Only a few in the medical community know this method!"
If you lived two hundred years later, you'd know too!
Jerome ambiguously replied: "I learned about it while visiting the French Academy of Sciences!"
"Ah, the French Academy of Sciences!" Dr. James looked wistful.
If the British Royal Medical College is the hall of honor for all doctors in Britain, then the French Academy of Sciences is the hall of honor for all of Europe.
Countless ideas burst forth from the French Academy of Sciences, countless innovations stem from it, and most commendably, it has always maintained an inclusive attitude towards everyone there. (By everyone, I mean Europeans and a few Russians!)
The French Academy of Sciences is even more equal and inclusive for the Bianza people.
"Apart from the daily revolts, your France isn't without merits!" Dr. James said half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"If everyone were satisfied with life, who would want to be a rebel?" Jerome shrugged and replied: "I am somewhat envious of Britain!"
"Envious of what?" Dr. James asked curiously.
As a gentleman, he too harbored a love for his country.
"Envious that you Anglo-Saxons can bear and tolerate!" Jerome said sarcastically: "If it were in our France, who knows how many revolutions London would have seen!"
PS: 1. Enema was a popular method for treating cholera in the 19th century.