What should I do?
Garrett watched Prince Rothgar in silence. The flickering firelight reflected on the dwarf’s face, turning it a reddish-brown, nearly the sa color as his large beard. If it were his previous life, with a top-tier hospital as his backup, his answer would have been straightforward:
Go for a lung wash.
Based on his previous life’s experience, a full lung lavage would increase lung capacity by about 10% after a three-month re-examination—
And he would direct the patient to the respiratory departnt to register for a comprehensive check-up: complete blood count, liver function tests, kidney function tests, full coagulation panel, erythrocyte sedintation rate, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, ultrasound, CT scan, lung function tests…
But now, he had none of that. All these supportive tests, which help doctors rule out contraindications and assist in ergency managent during surgery, were virtually unavailable to Garrett. After much thought, he asked a different question:
"How high is the mountain we’re going to climb?"
This question genuinely stumped Prince Rothgar. Dwarves excel at mining, and experienced miners could roughly estimate how deep a mountain could be mined or how much ore could be extracted; but asking them to gauge the height of a mountain, from its base to its peak, was another matter.
For mountains they had mined, they had so idea; for those unmined, not so much. The mountain they were to climb for the king-selection event was a sacred mountain to the dwarves, never formally surveyed—
"It takes three days to climb." He recalled the stories his father had told him and seriously inford Garrett:
"From the base to the peak, it takes three days."
Garrett was silent. Who’s asking how many days it takes? I’m asking about the altitude! Altitude sickness can occur above 3,000 ters, causing chest tightness, palpitations, shortness of breath, and in rare cases, developing into high altitude pulmonary edema. Even if he agreed to the surgery and Prince Rothgar accepted it, and the surgery was perfectly successful—
If the fluid in the lungs hadn’t been fully absorbed and lung function hadn’t fully recovered before climbing a mountain above 3,000 ters, it would be a death wish!
Any respiratory physician from his previous life would have been furious to know a patient was so reckless.
But forcing a dwarf was useless. So things can’t be forced out of desperation, like advanced mathematics, or the exact altitude of a certain mountain. Garrett thought for a mont and changed his question:
"Is there snow on the mountain in sumr?"
"There’s snow."
"Permanent snow?"
"Right, you can see the snow from the base of the mountain."
That ant the mountain was higher than the snow line. The problem was, the snow line isn’t a fixed number; it’s above 5,000 ters in the tropics, but near the Arctic Circle, it could be only 2,000 ters. So, the question now was, where was the dwarven royal court located?
Garrett didn’t know the latitude of this place, only that Nevis City wasn’t very hot in sumr nor too cold in winter, with a temperate mariti climate. The dwarven royal court was even further north than Nevis City, so the snow line here was probably around 2,500 ters, unlikely to exceed 3,000 ters—
Assuming this place’s values were similar to Earth’s.
"How high is the sumr snow on the mountain?"
"It’s quite large." Prince Rothgar gestured with his hands: "You can see it from the base. The elders say, at the hottest ti of sumr, climbing to the top, you still have to tread on snow for a whole day. That last day is tough, not even mountain goats can reach the top, you can only rely on yourself. Every step you take, you’re gasping for breath…"
After much questioning, Garrett was finally able to confirm that the peak’s altitude was definitely above 3,000 ters, probably not exceeding 4,000 ters—forgive his poor geography. No wonder the last part of the king-selection battle stated, "The last ones to complete face a battle"! ??
A group of dwarves, who had spent years mining and blacksmithing, suffering from impaired lung function, carrying weapons to the top under the effects of altitude sickness—sumr might be bearable, but in winter, if one or two managed to survive, it would be considered lucky!
Climbing to such a height, the probability of altitude sickness was high. According to Garrett’s character, or rather, a doctor’s prudence, he treated the unknown as a certainty, assuming altitude sickness would occur.
In that case, lung washing and such could be temporarily shelved. Garrett gathered his thoughts and seriously addressed Prince Rothgar:
"First of all, these days, you’re not allowed to smoke!"
"Oh..." Prince Rothgar regretfully looked at the pipe attached to his waist. After a mont of indecision, he nodded firmly: "Alright!"
He removed the pipe, took a deep sniff of the tobacco scent, and then stuffed it into his bag. Garrett watched as his short, thick arms reached down, likely pushing the pipe to the very bottom of the backpack, and nodded in approval:
"Secondly, if there are any dicines that can help you cough up phlegm, rember to take them every day. Miners’ lungs are not good because of the dust accumulated in them. The more you can cough out, the better."
This was also agreed upon, but when it ca to the third point, Prince Rothgar shook his head repeatedly, refusing to agree no matter what:
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