Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 38

#38 ICU (5)

Beep, beep, beep!

What’s going on?

I quickly turned my head to look around.

Whoosh—

The ventilator tube attached to the patient’s neck had become disconnected, and oxygen was spraying into the air.

“Young-eun! Seriously!”

The nurses holding the patient shouted in unison.

The new nurse froze, unsure of what to do.

The vital sign monitor alarms blared.

Abnormal waveforms flashed on the electrocardiogram, and the oxygen saturation began to drop.

“Just a moment.”

I stopped the dressing.

And calmly reconnected the ventilator tube.

Soon, the patient’s vital signs returned to normal, and the monitor alarms ceased.

Wheeze—

The patient resumed breathing as before.

It seemed the patient had been in pain and moved, causing the ventilator tube connected to their neck to become dislodged.

“I’m sorry…….”

The new nurse, barely regaining her senses, spoke in a faint voice.

Before the other nurses could become more harsh, I quickly interjected.

“It’s okay, please give me a new pair of gloves.”

“Yes…….”

I changed my gloves again and quickly completed the dressing.

The nurses returned the patient to their original position and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Young-eun, we’ll talk later.”

The oldest nurse said quietly.

It sent shivers down my spine just listening.

I could feel her determination to give the new nurse a harsh lesson.

Perhaps it was a case of shared sympathy.

As a clumsy new doctor myself, making mistakes didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.

‘She’s probably going to get scolded a lot.’

But it can’t be helped.

If medical staff make mistakes, the patient’s life could be in danger.

.

This place is the last line of defense for sustaining a patient’s life.

A minor mistake, a minor judgment, can lead to fatal consequences.

Instead of worrying about others, I need to pull myself together right now.

* * *

A little later.

Visiting hours began.

Since the ICU is only for patients in critical condition, visitors are not allowed to enter freely.

Visiting time is limited to 30 minutes, only twice a day.

10:30 AM / 7:30 PM.

The first of those times had begun.

“Intern, you’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I greeted the nurses and returned to the station to sit down.

Intern duties are paused during this time.

This is to allow patients to be with their families.

Since there’s nothing I can do even if there is work.

I sat at the station and opened a chart.

‘Stage 2 colon cancer…….’

Kim Hye-jung was a patient who had undergone surgery more than two months ago.

There were records of multiple additional surgeries due to complications such as peritonitis [inflammation of the peritoneum, the membrane lining the abdominal cavity] after the initial surgery, and she even had a ventilator attached due to complication pneumonia.

The progress notes indicated that she needed chemotherapy for lymph node metastasis [cancer spread] discovered during surgery, but her condition was too poor to even begin chemotherapy.

‘She’s not in a condition to withstand chemotherapy…….’

I carefully reviewed the chart.

Just then, someone peeked over my shoulder.

It was Nurse Cha Yu-ri.

“Are you looking at the chart?”

“Yes. Her vitals fluctuated a bit earlier…… I guess her condition isn’t good?”

Nurse Cha Yu-ri nodded slightly.

A nurse who has worked in the ICU for a long time would be much more experienced and know the patients’ courses better than a newbie doctor like me.

“She’s been in the ICU for 70 days already, I wonder if she’ll be able to walk out of here. It would be really great if she could just recover enough to be moved to the general ward…….”

70 days.

More than two months.

What would it feel like to lie in bed, staring at the ICU ceiling for over two months?

Not just physically, but mentally, it would be very draining.

I looked at Kim Hye-jung with pity.

Then, Nurse Cha Yu-ri asked in a bright voice, as if trying to change the atmosphere.

“By the way, Dr. Seon-han, are you on your second rotation as an intern?”

“Pardon?”

“You weren’t flustered at all when the ventilator came off earlier. Usually, intern doctors get really flustered when something like that happens.”

“Ah…….”

Come to think of it, that’s true.

Is it because I’ve become more seasoned?

Perhaps it’s because I’ve gone through various trials and tribulations in the past two months.

‘Am I improving in my own way?’

Of course, I’m still just a rookie doctor.

But even so, I seem to be moving forward little by little.

Though it’s probably only like leveling up from 7 to 8.

* * *

A week passed.

After a bit of initial fumbling, I gradually became accustomed to the routine in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).

And I picked up a few tricks.

“Seon-han, coffee?”

As always, Dr. Byun winks at me and asks.

I put on a regretful expression and said.

“I’m sorry, senior, but I have a lot of calls from this morning, so I don’t think I can go today.”

“Hey~ Seon-han. I’m telling you, even if you work moderately and half-heartedly, I’ll still give you good marks? What’s the point of having a senior?”

Dr. Byun says enticingly.

But I didn’t fall for it.

I never had any intention of getting good marks through connections or school ties in the first place.

And more than anything, I can’t trust Dr. Byun.

If I trust him and get betrayed, I’ll be the only one in trouble.

“Let’s go to the cafe at lunchtime. I’ll buy the coffee.”

“Tsk. You’re so inflexible.”

Dr. Byun disappeared somewhere, as if he was bored.

I chuckled and moved to take care of my work.

One of the biggest differences between the ICU and the general ward is that there are no guardians in the patient rooms.

As a result, I often talked more comfortably with the nurses.

Especially with Nurse Cha Yu-ri, we became close quickly, perhaps because we were of similar age.

“Hello.”

“Hello, doctor!”

Nurse Cha Yu-ri is bright as always.

It’s amazing every time I see her.

How can she have such a bright face in the desolate ICU?

She’s the kind of person who makes you feel good with her positive energy when you’re with her.

“Is there something you’re looking for?”

“I think we’re missing a few dressing supplies.”

“Oh dear…… the Skinpore and Silvadene ointment are already all gone? I’ll go get some from the storage room.”

“Can I come with you? I’d like to learn the location.”

“Sure. Then follow me!”

Cha Yu-ri smiles and leads the way.

I followed her, only looking at her back.

A thin silver necklace sparkled on her smooth neck, visible beneath her tied-up hair.

As we headed to the storage room.

Nurse Cha Yu-ri, who was walking briskly, turned to me and asked.

“But doctor, excuse me, how old are you?”

“I’m 27.”

“Really? You look younger.”

“I do?”

“Actually, the nurses were watching TV and wondering. How old is that intern doctor, and how is his skin so good? They were envious.”

Oh my…….

My face flushed.

I feel like my face turns red whenever the news interview is mentioned.

I’m just a fledgling, but I seem to be excessively known around the hospital compared to my skills.

“Dr. Seon-han, you looked good on camera?”

“Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not teasing you. I’m serious!”

I headed to the storage room, chatting with Nurse Cha Yu-ri.

The storage room was located at the end of the ICU, past the blood analyzer.

Inside, racks were installed at narrow intervals, and various items were piled up.

“Sometimes we run out of things. In that case, you can take them out of the storage room like this, heave-ho!”

Jump, jump!

Nurse Cha Yu-ri tiptoed and stretched her arms high.

But she seemed to be just short of reaching it.

I stretched out my arm and grabbed the Skinpore and handed it to her.

“Wow, Dr. Seon-han, you’re taller than you look?”

“What else did you need?”

“What was it…… um…… we also need Silvadene.”

“This one?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

I reached out to the rack behind Nurse Cha Yu-ri.

But…….

When I came to my senses, we were quite close to each other.

It couldn’t be helped, as the storage room was very cramped.

Since we were only wearing thin doctor’s gowns and nurse’s uniforms, we could feel each other’s body temperature even with just a little closeness.

“I’ll take this and go out.”

“Okay, I’ll gather the rest and come out!”

We smiled awkwardly and moved away, as if we had made a promise.

We’ll be working together for the next month, so we shouldn’t cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.

Moreover, rumors tend to spread quickly around young doctors and nurses even with just a little closeness.

“Shall we go do the dressing again today?”

“Yes!”

I moved to the bed, following Nurse Cha Yu-ri’s energetic voice.

In any case, while talking with Nurse Cha Yu-ri, I could escape from the heavy atmosphere unique to the ICU.

“Grandma, are you awake?”

I greeted her in the morning.

Then, Grandma smiled brightly and greeted us.

Another thing that had changed in the past week was that I had become close to Grandma Kim Hye-jung.

In addition, as I became more accustomed to the work, the speed of dressing also increased.

“One, two, three!”

As the nurses turned her body, I disinfected her faster than usual.

The grandmother lay back in place and regained her composure, raising her hand to show her gratitude.

The grandmother, who had a ventilator inserted into her neck, couldn’t speak, but she tried to communicate with her mouth.

She waved her hand and suddenly pointed at something diligently.

“Grandma, do you have something you want to say?”

Nurse Cha Yu-ri brings an A4 board and a pen attached to a string that was prepared next to her.

Then, the grandmother raised her skinny hand and diligently wrote something on the paper.

< Thank You >

The letters were so crooked that they were difficult to recognize, but I could tell what the letters were from the grandmother’s smile and mouth shape.

Then, laughter spread among the nurses.

“Oh my, our grandma. She must be happy that a young, handsome doctor is treating her!”

“Our grandma is so cute.”

The grandmother smiled like a girl.

A smile spread across my face as well.

I held the patient’s wrinkled hand tightly without taking off my VRE gown [gown used to prevent the spread of Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus].

“Grandma, stay strong. You’re getting better.”

I told her in the grandmother’s ear.

Whether she understood or not, the grandmother smiled shyly and nodded.

Seeing Grandma Kim Hye-jung’s cute smile was the most rewarding moment of the day.

* * *

After finishing work and returning to the station to put in a few prescriptions.

Dr. Byun Gyu-nam, who was sitting next to me looking at his smartphone, said to me.

“Coffee?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Is this person possessed by a ghost who died because he couldn’t drink coffee?

Anyway, it was hard to refuse twice, so I took care of a few urgent prescriptions and followed Dr. Byun.

A little later.

We sat in the cafe.

For some reason, I was able to get a cup of coffee from Dr. Byun today.

Since I bought four times out of conscience, he buys me one time…….

Dr. Byun turns on a smartphone game and asks.

“How’s work?”

“Yes. I think I’ve become close to the patients too.”

“Which patient?”

“Grandma Kim Hye-jung.”

I said with a smile.

But, Dr. Byun’s expression suddenly becomes strange.

What should I say?

It’s a complex expression with all sorts of emotions mixed in.

“You’re doing a good job, but don’t get too attached to the ICU patients.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll regret it later.”

Dr. Byun says without taking his eyes off his smartphone.

It’s a slightly different tone than usual.

……Is he being serious?

While I was thinking about what to answer.

Flash—

My vision went dark.

And, a scene from the future began to appear.