Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 145

Fifth Vitality – Episode 145

145. What! 30 Minutes?

“That doctor always did *something* even during surgeries…”

Rrrrrrrrrr

As they continued their engaging conversation, Gu Dong-gyun’s phone on the desk vibrated intensely, interrupting them.

“Yes.”

– Doctor, the patient is acting strange.

“What’s wrong? Okay. First, what are the blood pressure and pulse rates? Ah, I see. Have them ready. I’ll be there soon.”

“What is it?”

Lee Chan-hee asked, observing Gu Dong-gyun’s expression after he hung up.

“Is something wrong with the patient?”

“It’s nothing serious.”

“You said you’d be there soon? Is it urgent?”

“No, the patient is acting strange, so they asked me to come, but the vitals are fine, so I was going to check later. Instead, tell me more about that doctor from before.”

Gu Dong-gyun didn’t take the nurse’s call seriously.

Patient calls were a daily occurrence, and when he went, it was usually nothing. And more than anything, he didn’t want to interrupt the conversation with his friend, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“What are the patient’s symptoms?”

“They say it’s hard to lift one arm and their gaze is strange. Ah, I don’t know. I’ll check it out later.”

Thud-

“Friend, we need to go.”

Lee Chan-hee placed his hand on Gu Dong-gyun’s shoulder after hearing the patient’s condition and continued in a low voice.

“Let’s go now.”

“Huh? Why are you so serious? What big deal could it be?”

“It might just be a feeling, but there’s a suspected issue. Let’s go to the patient first. I think that’s the right thing to do.”

Lee Chan-hee was influenced by Tae-kyung in every way as a doctor, but the biggest influence was his concern for patients.

During rounds or consultations, Tae-kyung never ignored a patient’s words or small symptoms that could easily be overlooked.

He wondered if he needed to be so meticulous, but in the end, that meticulousness often played a crucial role in quickly identifying or saving the patient based on their symptoms.

Having been around Tae-kyung, he couldn’t just ignore the patient’s symptoms that Gu Dong-gyun mentioned.

“A suspected illness?”

“Yes. And the nurse called you at this hour because that patient’s body is acting strange.”

“I’ve been working here for months, and every time I go after getting a call like this, it’s always nothing.”

“It’s a relief if it’s nothing. Let’s just go and come back quickly.”

“Okay. It’s just downstairs. Let’s go together.”

Gu Dong-gyun, with a helpless expression, headed to the 3rd floor with Lee Chan-hee, where the patient was.

“Director?”

The nurse called Gu Dong-gyun as he opened the door to the emergency stairs.

“Where is the patient who called earlier?”

“This way. The patient was acting strange, so we moved them to the treatment room.”

“Patient?”

Lee Chan-hee, who entered the treatment room with Gu Dong-gyun, examined the patient and called out, surprised.

“Patient? Can you hear me?”

He called out loudly once more, but the patient remained unresponsive, only staring with open eyes.

“How long has this patient been like this?”

“Excuse me!? Who are you?”

The nurse in the treatment room looked at Lee Chan-hee in his civilian clothes and asked with a bewildered expression.

“You can’t just come in here.”

It was natural for the nurse to react this way, as he came to someone else’s hospital and asked about the patient without identifying himself.

“This person is my friend. He’s a surgeon. It’s okay, you can tell him.”

As soon as Gu Dong-gyun’s explanation ended, Lee Chan-hee showed his hospital ID on his phone.

“I’m a doctor.”

Seeing the ID with the hospital name and his photo, the nurse was relieved.

Lee Chan-hee had seen Tae-kyung taking a picture of his hospital ID with his phone in the examination room a while ago.

‘Why are you suddenly taking a picture of your ID?’

‘Do you remember the three-car collision scene when I first came?’

‘Of course. How can I forget that incident?’

‘There was someone who argued about whether I was a doctor in front of the emergency patient back then.’

‘Ah, that slightly drunk person? It was a bit troublesome because of that person.’

‘Of course, it was like that at the time, but from that person’s perspective, they were a guardian, so I thought they could do that. They must have been anxious because they couldn’t tell if I was a doctor or not. After experiencing a similar incident with Chairman Kim Geon-hyung, I realized that I should carry my doctor’s ID so that even if I suddenly have to treat someone outside, I can do it without wasting time.’

After listening to Tae-kyung’s words, Lee Chan-hee also started saving his hospital ID on his phone from then on.

“She’s a 57-year-old woman. She was hospitalized at another hospital due to a TA [traffic accident] and has been at our hospital for about two days. She had no fractures or external injuries at the time of the accident, and no other major injuries. She received physical therapy well today as usual, but she’s been like this for the past 10 minutes.”

The nurse calmly reported the patient’s condition.

“Was there no problem with communication before that?”

“No, there was no problem.”

“Dong-gyun, the light?”

“Here.”

Lee Chan-hee received a medical flashlight from Gu Dong-gyun and shone it into the patient’s eyes. Then, he took off the patient’s gown and carefully looked at her body.

He lifted the patient’s right hand and then released it, then lifted the left hand and dropped it over her face.

Then, the left hand fell limply on the patient’s face without any strength.

“Hey, Chan-hee, what’s wrong?”

Tension was felt on Gu Dong-gyun’s face as he saw Lee Chan-hee’s increasingly serious expression.

“This patient seems to have a problem with her brain.”

“What? Brain!?”

“Brain?”

Gu Dong-gyun and the nurse asked back in surprise.

“Brain? Then what should we do? What do we need to do?”

“Can you do an MRI here?”

“No. We can’t do an MRI, but we can do a CT scan.”

The nurse next to him replied with a surprised expression.

“Director? Should we contact the director?”

“The director lives in another region, so it will take a while for him to come from home.”

“There’s no time to wait for anyone now. It’s late. It’s the brain.”

Lee Chan-hee, who was listening to the two people’s conversation, shook his head and said.

“Ah! Director Kim lives near the hospital.”

“Director Kim has been on vacation since yesterday for a family trip.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“Ha! Damn it. Chan-hee, what should we do about this?”

Gu Dong-gyun, who was discussing countermeasures with the nurse, looked at Lee Chan-hee with a bewildered expression.

“Can you do an angio [angiography, a CT technique that photographs blood vessels in more detail] here?”

“I don’t know. Let me ask.”

“Excuse me, nurse. Do you have thrombolytic agents here? Anything.”

“I’m sorry? We don’t know all the medications here.”

“Then, where is the medication storage? I’ll look for it.”

“Hey! Chan-hee?”

Gu Dong-gyun, who had briefly left the treatment room, shouted and came back in.

“They said angio is possible. Should we do it right away?”

“Yes. You go with the patient. Call me right away if anything happens. I’ll be there soon too.”

“Okay.”

Gu Dong-gyun and the nurse left the treatment room with the patient, and Lee Chan-hee hurriedly ran into the room that the nurse had guided him to.

There were transparent drawers about 20cm wide and long everywhere, full of items.

“There are quite a few.”

There were quite a few drugs at a glance. Lee Chan-hee hurriedly opened each one and checked the names.

“Not this… Not this either.”

After about 5 minutes of moving both hands busily, he became impatient.

‘I can’t do this in this state.’

Lee Chan-hee, still looking for thrombolytic agents by hand, took out his phone and quickly made a call on speakerphone.

‘What if he’s in surgery?’

Just when he thought he wouldn’t answer, a familiar voice was heard.

– What! At this hour? Did you drink and call the wrong number?

The person who answered the phone was Tae-kyung. Tae-kyung had just finished surgery.

When Lee Chan-hee’s name appeared on the phone screen, he thought he had called the wrong number. He had never called on a day off before.

“No. I didn’t drink.”

Lee Chan-hee continued to open and close medicine bottles while talking on the phone.

– Lee Chan-hee? Are you hurt?

Tae-kyung, who was quick to notice, sensed that Lee Chan-hee’s voice was unusual.

“I’m not hurt, but the patient is acting strange.”

“Patient? What are you talking about? Explain it so I can understand.”

“I came to a friend’s hospital where he works, and a patient who is hospitalized here is acting strange. I think the patient’s symptoms are exactly like a brain lesion.”

“What are the symptoms?”

“That’s…”

Lee Chan-hee quickly explained the symptoms.

“Doctor, is this a brain lesion? First of all, what kind of medicine should I use in this case? It’s not clear whether it’s a cerebral hemorrhage or a blood vessel blocked by a cerebral thrombus [blood clot in the brain]. My friend is going for a CT angio scan, so the results will be out soon. Doctor, what kind of medicine should I use?”

– How much time has passed now?

“It’s been almost 30 minutes.”

– What! 30 minutes?

Tae-kyung’s voice was also getting louder at the news that nearly 30 minutes had passed in a situation where time was of the essence.

– First of all, if it’s blocked by a thrombus, you have to use a thrombolytic agent, but you have to open it up first. Opening it up quickly is more important than anything else. Is that possible there?

“No. Doctor. I don’t think it’s possible here.”

– Then find any thrombolytic agent. Find that medicine and send me a picture. I’ll send you the administration method. So find it first! Quickly. Find the medicine first, look at the CT image, and give it to the patient. If it’s a cerebral hemorrhage, call me right away.

As soon as Tae-kyung’s words ended, Lee Chan-hee’s hands, which were looking for medicine, became even busier.

“Doctor? Just a moment. One! There’s one. I’ll send you the ingredients.”

Tak- Tak- Deureureuk-

After checking a few more medicine bottles, Lee Chan-hee took out one medicine bottle and took a picture of it and sent it to Tae-kyung.

“I’ll give this, then what should I do?”

– Lee Chan-hee! Get a hold of yourself. Are you going to send the patient to the afterlife?

Tae-kyung suddenly shouted at Lee Chan-hee’s question, who was in a hurry.

– Check the CT image first and then give it. You can’t just give it without thinking. If it’s a cerebral hemorrhage, you’re literally sending the patient to the afterlife.

“I’m sorry. What’s next?”

– You have to send them. You have to send them as soon as possible. Instead, you can’t send them anywhere, you have to send them to a place where intervention [a procedure to treat blood vessel lesions in the brain or heart through peripheral blood vessels, etc.] is possible. It’s already late, so hurry as much as possible. Call me right away if you don’t know anything.

“Yes, thank you, doctor.”

Lee Chan-hee took the medicine he had taken a picture of and ran out.

“Hey! Chan-hee, here.”

Fortunately, Gu Dong-gyun, who had quickly finished the CT scan, turned on the video at the station and shouted to Lee Chan-hee, lowering the screen.

“The video is up. Look at this!”

“Here!”

Lee Chan-hee, who was checking as if he would break through the monitor, pointed to one place on the monitor. In the place he pointed to, there was a dark part in the cerebral blood vessel that was brightly continuous.

In the meantime, the administration method came to Tae-kyung in a text message.

“It’s a thrombus. Give this first. The guardian? Is there no guardian for this patient?”

“Yes. They’re coming now, but it’ll take a while.”

“Give this medicine first. Dong-gyun, from now on, you and I have to make calls quickly.”

“Call? Other than 119?”

“We need to transfer that patient right away. We have to send them to a place where intervention is possible as soon as possible. There’s no time. Otherwise, there will be lifelong aftereffects.”

“Af, aftereffects? But where should we send them?”

“To a place with a cerebrovascular center. And it has to be possible to perform the procedure right away, so call the closest place from here first. You can call the emergency room first.”

“Okay.”

“Please help me, doctor.”

“Of course.”

Gu Dong-gyun searched for nearby emergency room numbers on the laptop on one side of the station.

“I can call this after looking at it.”

“Let’s hurry.”

From then on, Lee Chan-hee, Gu Dong-gyun, and even the nurse. The three of them started making calls like crazy.

“Hello. This is oo Hospital. I’m trying to inquire about a transfer. It’s a woman in her 50s with a cerebral thrombus. Is intervention possible…? Ah, yes. Okay.”

“Hello. oo Hospital is inquiring about a transfer…”

“oo Hospital. Transfer inquiry… Yes, I understand.”

The three of them made calls at random for a long time, but it was not easy to find a hospital to accept the patient.