Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 277

277. Gu Min-woo’s Routine

Clang-

“Excuse me, doctor. The CT scan is up.”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk entered the room while the three were talking.

The most important CT results were in.

“We’ve been told to move the patient to the operating room immediately.”

“Okay, I’ll check right away.”

A moment later, Lee So-ri and her mother-in-law approached Tae-kyung, who was reviewing Gu Min-woo’s CT scan at the ward station.

“I called you both here to explain Gu Min-woo’s CT results.”

“How is our son?”

“Could you come closer to take a look?”

Tae-kyung quickly reviewed Gu Min-woo’s full-body CT scan, from head to chest to legs, once again.

Before the two arrived, Tae-kyung had already meticulously examined the CT scan, looking for anything he might have missed.

“I’ll explain while looking at the images.”

“Yes, Director.”

The two waiting for the results looked terrified.

Afraid of what the results might show, they held each other’s hands tightly and focused on Tae-kyung’s next words.

“Looking at the CT scan, it’s fortunate, in a way.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Fortunately, there’s no bleeding or fracture in the head.”

“That’s a relief. Really a relief.”

Relieved that there were no major head injuries, the two listened as Tae-kyung continued his explanation.

“And as important as the head is, so are the spine and the nerves within. Gu Min-woo sustained an injury to his heart from the impact, so we expected damage to the vertebrae as well. The CT scan does show fractures.”

“Oh, no, my son…”

Gu Min-woo’s mother’s hands trembled as she listened to the explanation.

“Doctor, does that mean Min-woo… does that mean our Min-woo can’t move his arms and legs? I’ve seen on TV that that’s what happens when you injure your spine.”

“That’s usually the case. But fortunately, that’s not the case with your son. If you look at the monitor, you can see that there are a total of three fractured vertebrae here, here, and here. But, if I may put it this way, the fractures didn’t affect the nerves. If you look here, this white, transparent pathway is the spinal cord. The fractures are parallel to it, and the surrounding area is stable, so surgery to insert pins and fix the vertebrae should be enough for him to recover.”

“Oh, my goodness!”

“Mother!”

As soon as Tae-kyung finished speaking, Gu Min-woo’s mother seemed to lose strength in her legs and collapsed to the floor.

“Hic! Min-woo, our son, it’s a relief… it’s a relief!”

And then, as if her suppressed emotions exploded, she sobbed and shed thick tears.

Tae-kyung brought a chair from the ward station and offered it to the mother, quietly waiting for the guardians to stop crying.

This was only possible because the CT scan confirmed that there were no more immediate emergencies.

After about two minutes, Lee So-ri, who had been holding her mother-in-law’s hand tightly, calmed her down and said.

“Mother, I think the director still has more to explain. Let’s listen more.”

“Yes, let’s do that. I suddenly burst into tears… I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.”
Tae-kyung continued, “Mother, of course, it seems that Gu Min-woo is out of immediate danger of death or total disability. But his heart was compressed and he lost a lot of blood, and he’s in a lot of pain from multiple fractures throughout his body. And because I opened his chest during the emergency treatment, the pain is tremendous. So, we’ll administer narcotics to control the pain. And we’ll have to intubate him to control his breathing. He’ll have to be in the intensive care unit after the surgery, and we don’t know how long he’ll be there. Even after that, his life may still be in danger due to hypovolemia [abnormally low blood volume]. In summary, it’s fortunate for now, but it’s still too early to rest assured.”

“Yes, Doctor. I understand. Please take good care of him.”

Lee So-ri replied with a determined look next to her mother-in-law, who was still wiping away tears.

“Director, please save my son. I’m begging you.”

“Of course, I’ll do my best. I’ll go into the operating room and close the patient’s chest that I opened urgently, and then I’ll see you again.”

After talking with the two, Tae-kyung rushed to the operating room. And the film crew, who had been watching the situation from the ward lounge, anxiously hoped that the surgery would go well.

The assembled staff wanted to approach Lee So-ri and Gu Min-woo’s mother to apologize, but they knew that the atmosphere wasn’t right.

Two hours later-

As time passed, Gu Min-woo’s surgery was completed, and Tae-kyung returned to the two who were waiting in the guardian waiting room.

“Did you wait long?”

“No. How did the surgery go…?”

“The chest surgery where I made the incision went well.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

The two were at a loss for words and repeatedly expressed their gratitude at the news that the surgery went well.

“Currently, Gu Min-woo is unconscious and will not wake up for several days.”

“What!? Why?”

Lee So-ri’s eyes, which had been calm, were instantly filled with worry at the news that he was unconscious.

“In his current condition, it’s difficult for him to breathe on his own. We’ll gradually restore his spontaneous breathing, and then we’ll wake him up. To put it simply, think of it as we’re intentionally putting him to sleep for his sake. And the spinal surgery is too dangerous to proceed with now, as I explained earlier, so we’ll do it when he wakes up.”

“Oh, thank you! You are my savior, Director. Thank you so much for saving my son.”

“Thank you, too. I sincerely thank you.”

Gu Min-woo’s mother and Lee So-ri, shedding tears, bowed deeply and repeatedly expressed their gratitude.

The two were sincerely grateful to Tae-kyung, no matter how they expressed their gratitude.

“No, the patient worked hard. I and the medical staff will also do our best until the end. Then I’ll see you again.”

“Excuse me, Director…?”

Lee So-ri hurriedly followed Tae-kyung, who was saying goodbye and leaving the guardian waiting room, and called out to him.

“Yes, So-ri. Do you have any questions?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just about our Haengun [Good Fortune, the baby’s nickname]…”

Lee So-ri paused, swallowed hard, and continued, stroking her belly with her right hand.

“Thank you for letting him see his father.”

Lee So-ri once again thanked Tae-kyung for saving her husband.

She had been terrified that her husband, who was happier than anyone about her pregnancy, would leave without even seeing the baby in her womb.

But when she heard the news that the surgery was successful, she was so grateful and relieved.

“Director, you saved Min-woo. I think it was only possible because it was you.”

“No, it’s not me. Any other doctor would have done their best to save Gu Min-woo.”

“Maybe so. But Min-woo wouldn’t have thought so. Min-woo always trusted only you when it came to injury problems.”

“I’m even more grateful that you say that. I’ll do my best until the end.”

As Lee So-ri watched Tae-kyung say warm words and turn around, she recalled a conversation she had with her husband while watching TV one day.

‘Honey? Do you have a routine when you’re filming?’

‘Why are you suddenly asking that?’

‘That person is a famous action actor in the United States. But he cuts a small piece of clean bandage and puts it in his shoes before filming.’

‘In his shoes? Why?’

‘He says that way, he won’t get injured no matter how dangerous the filming is. It’s an injury prevention routine. I was wondering if you had one too.’

‘That’s amazing. I don’t have a routine, but I think I have something similar.’

‘Really! You had something like that too? What is it?’

‘It’s just that if I get injured, I always get treated at our hospital?’

‘Oh! Why?’

‘Well… I guess it’s a belief that I’ll be okay if the director treats me?’

‘So, when you broke your leg back then, you deliberately took a taxi to our hospital instead of going to a hospital near the filming location to get treatment?’

‘Yeah, that’s right. Everyone told me to go to the nearest emergency room, but I felt like I wouldn’t feel uneasy if the director treated me. I just thought that the director wouldn’t mess around with patients, at least.’

‘Well, the director does have a very trustworthy feeling.’

‘So-ri? What if…’

‘Don’t say anything weird.’

‘Listen, it’s not like that. If I get seriously injured, I need to be treated by the director then too. Got it?’

‘What are you saying! That’s a weird thing to say. I told you not to say unlucky things, right? Take it back quickly.’

‘I’m just joking.’

‘Okay! Take it back.’

‘Take it back! Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo! [Korean expression of spitting out bad luck]’

What her husband had said as a joke seemed like a real blessing in the current situation.

Of course, Lee So-ri knew that all doctors were medically great. But she thought that at least as far as thinking about the patient was concerned, there was no doctor like Tae-kyung.

‘The director doesn’t easily give up on patients who can be saved. Because he knows better than anyone that life is precious.’

Just like what Ui-jin had said in the hospital room earlier, it seemed like Tae-kyung had saved her husband because he didn’t give up on him.

Lee So-ri felt grateful and grateful to Tae-kyung and all the medical staff at Our Hospital.

“Baby! So-ri?”

Lee So-ri, who was standing blankly in the middle of the hallway, was urgently called by her mother-in-law, who was in the waiting room.

“Yes, Mother.”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine now.”

“Then hurry up and go to the intensive care unit with this nurse.”

“The intensive care unit?”

“Visiting is allowed. You have to see Min-woo’s face.”

“Is visiting allowed at this hour?”

“Gu Min-woo has been moved to the intensive care unit, so visiting is allowed for a short time now. From tomorrow, it’s only allowed at certain times.”

Nurse Im Jeong-suk added an explanation.

“Then instead of me…”

Lee So-ri paused, looked at her mother-in-law’s face, and continued.

“I think it would be better for Mother to go. Please go, Mother.”

Lee So-ri was so happy to hear that visiting was allowed that she was about to cry. But when she saw her mother-in-law in front of her, she couldn’t bring herself to say that she wanted to go.

Because she was pregnant and carrying a baby in her womb, she knew how a mother felt about her child.

She thought that her mother-in-law would want to see her son even more because he was injured and had surgery, and she didn’t see him often.

“No, So-ri.”

But her mother-in-law’s thoughts were different.

“It’s right for you to go now, not me. I can see him tomorrow. Min-woo will cheer up and get better faster if he hears your voice. Go see his face and say what you want to say. I’m okay.”

Gu Min-woo’s mother also wanted to see her son just as much. But she thought it was right to give way to her daughter-in-law now.

“No, Mother. More than me…”

“So-ri, hurry up and go. Min-woo will be waiting. Nurse, my daughter-in-law will visit instead of me.”

“Yes, I understand. So-ri, I’ll guide you.”

“Hurry up and go.”

“Yes, Mother. Thank you.”

Lee So-ri thanked her mother-in-law and headed to the intensive care unit with Nurse Im Jeong-suk.