Surprisingly, Eric Foster was just staring at the ceiling, his eyes somewhat vacant, muttering to himself. No one knew what he was saying, but fortunately, Dr. Sullivan had good hearing and could only make out that he kept repeating three words!

　　Impossible!

　　Impossible? What’s impossible? Dr. Sullivan was a bit confused, but quickly gave Ethan Brooks a shot of sedative. Performing surgery and dissections was easy for him, so giving an injection was nothing at all.

　　After giving Ethan Brooks the injection, Dr. Sullivan finally calmed down a bit. To be honest, when the young man on the hospital bed looked at him just now, for some reason, his heart started pounding. It felt like fear, but what was he afraid of? He was just a patient—Dr. Sullivan had seen people with much more severe mental illnesses. Why would he be so afraid of a student like this? But if it wasn’t fear, then what was it?

　　Inside Dr. Sullivan’s office, he looked at the CT brain scan of Ethan Brooks in his hand with a grave expression, a hint of surprise in his eyes. Across from him, the Ping Brooks couple looked uneasy but didn’t dare interrupt his thoughts.

　　Nurse Foster stood quietly to the side, glancing at Dr. Sullivan from time to time, then at Aunt Carter. She didn’t know why, but suddenly those two ferocious eyes flashed through her mind, filled with an indescribable despair, making her heart tremble.

　　After coughing, Dr. Sullivan finally broke the silence, pointing to a shadow on the CT brain scan and said, “This is the brainstem, the main trunk of the brain. It’s composed of the pons, medulla oblongata, and midbrain. By the way, Mr. Brooks, I remember I told you about this.”

　　Ping Brooks nodded blankly, “Yes, Dr. Sullivan, you also said that Xiaofei’s brainstem was bleeding, compressing his central nervous system. At the time, you said he had lost autonomous breathing. I didn’t expect him to recover later.”

　　He felt a bit relieved that his son had survived a great disaster, but another kind of disappointment quickly filled his mind.

　　“That’s right.” Dr. Sullivan nodded. “I heard your account over the phone, and later listened to Dr. Smith’s description of the case. I originally thought Ethan Brooks had a neurological disorder caused by central nervous system damage, but when the new scans came out, I discovered—” he paused slightly, “the brainstem hemorrhage somehow healed.”

　　“What?” Ping Brooks was stunned, thinking to himself, could it be that the original brain scan was mixed up? He was puzzled but didn’t say it out loud. After all, they were professionals, and questioning them might not be good for his son’s treatment.

　　Nurse Foster was also surprised. Brainstem damage in a patient is a big deal—mild cases cause headaches and dizziness, but more severe cases can lead to unsteady walking or hemiplegia. Ethan Brooks had a brainstem hemorrhage at first, no wonder Dr. Sullivan said his condition was grim at the time, and that becoming a vegetative state was a real possibility.

　　“Dr. Sullivan.” Helen Carter couldn’t help but ask, “So does that mean my son doesn’t have a mental illness?” This was what she feared most—if her son survived but no longer recognized his parents, it would be no different from death.

　　He slowly shook his head. “He doesn’t have a neurological disorder, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a mental illness.”

　　“Neurological disorder? Mental illness?” Helen Carter felt her head spinning. “Dr. Sullivan, what’s the difference?”

　　Dr. Sullivan pointed at the scan and explained, “A neurological disorder refers to diseases of the nervous system. The nervous system is a vital system in the human body, coordinating the functions of internal organs to adapt to changes in the external environment, and acts as the command center. Any condition that can damage or destroy the nervous system can cause neurological diseases.”

　　He paused slightly to let them digest this. “For example, head trauma can cause concussion or cerebral contusion; like what happened to Ethan Brooks at first. Also, bacterial, fungal, and viral infections can cause various types of encephalitis or meningitis; congenital or hereditary diseases can lead to delayed brain development in children; hypertension and cerebral arteriosclerosis can cause cerebral hemorrhage, and so on.”

　　“But Dr. Sullivan, didn’t you say Xiaofei’s brainstem hemorrhage has healed?” Ping Brooks finally understood a bit.

　　Dr. Sullivan pondered for a moment. “That’s right. From the brain scan, his brainstem is now no different from a normal person’s. That’s what puzzles me the most.”

　　Seeing the questioning looks from the couple, Dr. Sullivan gave a wry smile. “This kind of brain damage is extremely difficult to treat. Headaches, dizziness, abnormal sleep, lower limb paralysis, hemiplegia, numbness, convulsions, coma, even becoming a vegetative state—these are all common manifestations of neurological disorders, and they generally don’t heal on their own. In our country, treatment for this is still in the exploratory stage.” He coughed. “In other words, it’s still experimental, and the risks are very high.”

　　Ping Brooks was moved. Fortunately, Ethan’s brain injury somehow healed. Otherwise, he and his wife really wouldn’t know what to do. “What about abroad?”