Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 28

#28 Gangnam Station (7)

“Jinwoo!”

“Are you conscious?!”

As the students called out anxiously, the patient barely nodded to his friends.

He regained consciousness!

I quickly told the paramedics,

“Please transfer him to the ambulance and get him to the hospital quickly!”

“Yes!”

The pericardiocentesis [a procedure to remove fluid from around the heart] had put out the immediate fire, but I couldn’t relax yet.

I needed to check for damage to other organs, and he might need various procedures or surgeries.

Creak!

After loading the patient into the ambulance, a paramedic asked me,

“Will you be coming with us?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

The closest large hospital here is Yeonguk University Hospital.

Since I intervened, I felt I had to take responsibility for this patient until the end.

I got into the ambulance and said to Geunwook,

“Geunwook, I’ll head over first. Please check on the other patients.”

“Okay, you crazy… Are you going to be alright?”

“Don’t worry.”

I tapped Geunwook on the shoulder.

At that moment, the anxious students ran up and said,

“Teacher!”

“Please save Jinwoo!”

The students clung to me, their voices choked with tears. Some of them were a mess of tears.

I calmly replied,

“Okay. So, this student’s name is Jinwoo?”

“Yes!”

“Does anyone here know Jinwoo’s parents’ contact information?”

“I, I do.”

“Tell his parents gently so they don’t get too shocked. Jinwoo will be okay. Got it?”

A female student nodded frantically.

Then.

“Excuse me, this…!”

One of the male students ran up and handed me a pack of wet wipes.

Why are they giving this to me all of a sudden?

I only understood the reason a little later.

Thud.

After the ambulance departed, I suddenly saw my reflection in the rear window, and my face and body were covered in blood.

I was so focused on the treatment that I didn’t even notice where the blood was splattering.

“…….”

I looked down at my hands.

In that small pack of wet wipes, I could feel the students’ anxious hearts.

They wanted to help in any way they could, and in the midst of it all, they got this for me to wipe off the blood.

…How kind.

I was grateful for the young friends’ thoughtfulness.

Swish, swish.

With complicated feelings, I wiped the blood from my cheek.

Then, the paramedic sitting next to me carefully asked,

“Excuse me, did you say you were a doctor from Yeonguk University Hospital?”

“Yes, I’m an intern.”

“An intern….”

The paramedic trailed off.

His tone implied, ‘How can an intern be so bold?’

I didn’t bother to answer.

I knew better than anyone how reckless my actions were.

‘Please, just live.’

I prayed as I looked at Jinwoo’s face.

Although I’m not religious, at times like this, I want to pray to every god in the world.

Whee-ooh, whee-ooh—

Thump, thump!

The ambulance sped down the road.

With every bump, my heart began to shake 불안정하게 [unstablely].

* * *

The time that followed passed quickly.

I arrived at Yeonguk University Hospital with the patient.

“Oh, Shin Sunghan, Teacher?”

The nurse on duty in the emergency room looked at me in surprise.

My fellow interns also widened their eyes in astonishment.

“Doctor, I’m intern Shin Sunghan. This patient was suspected of cardiac tamponade [compression of the heart caused by fluid collecting in the sac surrounding the heart] at the scene, so I performed pericardiocentesis and drained about 60cc.”

I explained what happened at the scene to the chief resident on duty.

“What?! Pericardiocentesis? At the scene?”

The chief asked back, seemingly flustered.

He looked like he couldn’t believe it.

And just as he was about to say something,

“Patient’s blood pressure is 90/70!”

At the nurse’s shout, the chief resident hurriedly entered the resuscitation room.

“I’ll deal with you later! Wait outside for now!”

Thud!

The door closed.

I waited anxiously in the waiting area outside the resuscitation room.

The resuscitation room, visible as the medical staff went in and out, looked very chaotic.

The patient’s condition seemed to have worsened, as they were performing intubation, and specimens were being taken out of the resuscitation room and moved.

“Prepare a Level 1 infusion pump!”

“Call GS (General Surgery) and TS (Thoracic Surgery) quickly!”

Blood was also being taken into the resuscitation room, likely for a transfusion, and it seemed like they were contacting several departments.

I could only watch all of this from outside.

What if I accidentally punctured the heart? If that happened, what should I do in the future?

A million thoughts ran through my head.

At the scene, I acted without thinking, but now, worries were flooding in.

Then, I suddenly looked at my hands and clothes, and they were covered in blood.

“…I’m a complete mess.”

I headed to the restroom to at least wash my face.

And when I looked in the mirror, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

‘Gasp!’

It was a shocking sight.

Hair disheveled, clothes and pants splattered with blood here and there….

And the most shocking thing was the look on my face, a mix of intoxication and excitement.

Anyone could see that I looked like a drunken thug who had been in a street fight.

“No wonder people were so surprised.”

Splash—

With a heavy heart, I splashed water on my face.

I was already worried about what people would say about me starting tomorrow.

* * *

At the same time, inside the resuscitation room.

The chief resident was thoroughly assessing the patient.

Although a small amount of blood was found in the abdomen and chest, the main cause of the patient’s low blood pressure seemed to be the blood pooled in the pericardium.

In other words, it was indeed cardiac tamponade.

‘What… that intern really diagnosed it correctly?’

How did he even know?

He couldn’t have had access to an ultrasound at the scene….

The chief tilted his head in confusion but then made a call somewhere.

“Beomsoo, are you on duty?”

The cardiology fellow on duty today was Kim Beomsoo, a.k.a. Kim Snake.

“There’s a tamponade patient in the resuscitation room. The vitals are unstable right now, can you come quickly?”

The chief hung up the phone.

Kim Snake rushed to the resuscitation room shortly after.

“What’s the situation?”

“It’s a blunt trauma patient with injuries to the chest and abdomen. They said pericardiocentesis was performed at the scene.”

“At the scene?”

Kim Snake tilted his head.

He had seen many cardiac tamponade patients, but this was the first time a procedure had been performed at the scene.

“It looks like the abdomen and lungs are also injured, but we need to address the tamponade first. It seems like there’s still some blood pooled in the pericardium.”

“Yes.”

Kim Snake nodded.

Then, he proceeded with the procedure to insert a PCC pigtail catheter (pericardial drainage catheter) to drain the blood pooled in the pericardium.

His movements were swift and decisive.

Kim Snake spoke through his mask,

“But did a doctor go with the 119 [Korean emergency services number, similar to 911] when they were dispatched? Still, to perform pericardiocentesis at the scene… that’s quite bold.”

“No. I heard it was our department’s intern who happened to be at the scene.”

“An intern?”

“He was very confident and spoke with a straight face. Said he punctured the patient’s chest at the scene.”

Kim Snake’s eyes widened.

An intern doing something like that? And if it’s someone currently rotating in the emergency department….

‘Could it be that guy?’

Kim Snake’s brow furrowed.

The face of one person came to mind.

* * *

I washed my face in the restroom and wandered back in front of the resuscitation room.

Then, I ran into a doctor coming out after the procedure.

It was a familiar face.

Doctor Kim Beomsoo, commonly known as Kim Snake.

“Doctor!”

I ran up, feeling relieved.

“How did it go? What’s the situation inside?”

Zing!

Instead of answering, Kim Snake glared at me and said,

“Are you the one? The crazy bastard who performed pericardiocentesis on the street?”

“…Yes.”

“I told you, what happened last time was just beginner’s luck, so don’t act up.”

Kim Snake raised his eyebrows.

“You got a few compliments after being an intern for two months, and you think you’re something? Why do you keep crossing the line?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Pericardiocentesis without proper equipment? Your arrogance is through the roof!”

“Excuse me, but how is the patient?”

“Ha.”

Kim Snake chuckled.

“You’re worried about the patient in the midst of all this? Why don’t you worry about yourself?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Looks like you were out drinking and caused this. You punctured a hole in the patient’s chest on the street and hoped everything would be okay?”

My heart sank.

Could something have gone wrong with the patient?

What if I accidentally punctured the heart….

“It ended well.”

“……!”

“There’s no damage to the heart itself. I also drained the remaining blood in the pericardium.”

Kim Snake said, moving quickly as if he had other things to do.

I hurriedly followed Kim Snake and said,

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, my ass.”

“Then the patient is safe, right?”

“I don’t know what problems there are with other organs. The tests are still ongoing, so it’s too early to judge, you little chick.”

Kim Snake then suddenly stopped and said,

“You seem to be seriously mistaken about something. Listen carefully.”

Tap, tap.

He straightened my disheveled collar and said,

“You think you’re so great, don’t you?”

“……?”

“You think the organization only hates people who can’t do their job? Not at all.”

Kim Snake chuckled and said,

“If you do things that others don’t, that’s malignancy (cancer cell).”

“…….”

His every word pierced my heart like a knife.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down….

That is the organization.

Have I become an outcast in the hospital because of this incident?

“Your hospital life is going to be difficult from now on. Just watch, and see if what I say is true or a lie.”

Kim Snake left me behind.

After hearing his cold words, it finally dawned on me.

That I had committed an absurd act as an intern.

“Hoo….”

I leaned against the wall.

The empty hospital hallway felt particularly cold and lonely today.

* * *

The night grows late.

It was well past 12 o’clock.

The patient I brought had finished various tests.

The liver was also injured, and there was some blood pooled in the abdominal cavity.

There was some blood in the lung due to a broken rib, so the thoracic surgery department performed a chest tube insertion.

After a while, the chief resident came out of the resuscitation room.

“You said you were the even-numbered day intern in our emergency room, right?”

“Yes.”

“The patient has many damaged organs here and there, so we’ll have to keep an eye on him. You have to work tomorrow, so go get some sleep.”

“Understood.”

“Ah, and.”

The chief added with a cold expression.

“The guardians [family/legal representatives] are in the waiting room right now, so don’t even think about running into them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I nodded.

My appearance is still a mess.

My clothes are dirty, and there’s still alcohol on my face.

If I meet the guardians in this state and say, ‘I punctured a hole in your son’s chest,’ who knows what might happen.

‘Let’s go to the dorm.’

There’s nothing I can do now.

But I couldn’t bring myself to leave easily because I was worried about the patient.

Thud—

At that moment, someone grabbed my shoulder from behind.