After dinner, my mother had just sat down to rest when she received a call from the woman next door. The neighbor was suffering from severe lower-back pain, sweating cold and unable to sit still. She had already told her son, who was working out of town, that he would not be able to get back immediately. The pain had become unbearable, so she asked if we could take her to the hospital first for an examination and some relief.
Her son worked in Dongguan and had moved there with his children several years earlier. The family still had a home here, but there was no one to look after it regularly. The neighbor had grown accustomed to living among familiar people in the neighborhood and had chosen not to move in with them permanently. She would only visit Dongguan during holidays or when she had free time on weekends.
When my mother and I reached the building, we found her crouching on the ground. She looked extremely uncomfortable. I helped her into the car slowly and asked which hospital she wanted to visit. She named the central hospital, so I started driving in that direction.
As we talked on the way, she described the pain. Both my mother and I had experienced something similar before, and the symptoms sounded like renal colic caused by a kidney stone lodged in the ureter. In situations like that, pain relief is usually the immediate concern. I had gone through emergency treatment twice myself and still remembered the usual sequence clearly: an injection for the pain, an ultrasound, a CT scan, and then a doctor’s recommendation to stay in the hospital for a stone-removal procedure.
The central hospital was more than forty minutes away, while a nearby hospital was less than five minutes from where we were. We suggested going there first, and the neighbor quickly agreed. At one traffic light after we changed direction, she leaned toward the window and vomited repeatedly. The pain was clearly overwhelming. Anyone who has experienced a kidney stone knows how difficult that cramping, aching sensation can be to endure.
We stopped at the emergency entrance. As expected, the doctor prescribed a painkiller injection and an ultrasound examination. After paying, collecting the medication, and receiving the injection, we went upstairs for the scan. The result came back quickly and confirmed that she did have a kidney stone.
We returned to the emergency department with the report. The doctor recommended hospitalization and a CT scan to determine the exact location of the stone before deciding on surgery. The neighbor did not accept the suggestion to stay in the hospital. Instead, she agreed to have the CT scan and received intravenous medication for inflammation and pain.
By the time she was waiting for the CT scan, the medication had eased the pain somewhat. Her mood improved, and she was even chatting and joking with us. We talked about my mother’s and my own experiences with kidney stones. In the end, both of us had relied on traditional Chinese medicine to help pass the stones.
After the CT scan, she waited on a hospital bed for her infusion. That was when her son finally arrived at the emergency department, having hurried all the way from Dongguan.
The neighbor thanked us repeatedly for helping her. We told her there was no need to be so formal. Neighbors should look after one another, especially in an emergency. Besides, our two children had often eaten the snacks she gave them when they played downstairs, so helping her felt like the natural thing to do.
I handed her son the hospital receipts and his mother’s identification card, explained what had already been done, and made sure everything was properly handed over. My mother and I then went home, while her son repeatedly thanked us and saw us off.
The next day, we heard that the neighbor had returned home and was not experiencing any further problems. She even insisted on giving my mother a red envelope. We had only helped a neighbor in need, yet she still felt she had to thank us in return.