Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 46

#46 The Marine Corps in the ICU (6)

My vision blurs.

Like a scene reflected on glass on a rainy day, my sight sharpens and blurs repeatedly.

‘This is… the surgical ICU where I work, isn’t it?’

I focused my mind and looked around.

A quiet night.

Only the intermittent sounds of machines fill the ICU.

The calm before the storm.

A chilling atmosphere hangs in the air, as if something is about to happen any moment.

Swish—

At that moment, the patient in bed number 2 raises his head.

It’s Grandpa A-ttack.

His face is much thinner than before.

His cheeks are sunken, and he has a ventilator attached to his mouth.

It seems his condition has worsened since then.

Wheeze— Wheeze—

The old man’s eyes gleam as he breathes heavily.

Like the eyes of a beast?

He doesn’t seem like a person.

His arms and chest are tied down, preventing him from getting up completely, but that seems to be agitating him even more.

Clunk, clunk—

The patient starts twisting his body violently.

Crunch—

He is biting the ventilator protection device in his mouth so hard that his teeth are grinding.

Delirium has started again.

‘This is a disaster. The nurses need to see this…!’

I looked at the station urgently.

But, at this late hour,

the nurses are momentarily distracted.

It’s only natural; medical staff can’t watch patients 24 hours a day.

“Guh…!”

The old man puts all his strength into his arms.

He’s about to break the restraints right away.

How can such strength come from his frail body?

As he exerts so much force that every ligament in his wrist seems about to break through the skin, the restraints on his wrist loosen slightly.

Thwack!

The old man contorts his face.

And turning his head towards his hand, he roughly pulls out the ventilator tube attached to his mouth!

Beeeep?!!

Soon, the oxygen saturation plummets.

The nurses at the station are surprised and rush over belatedly.

“Patient in bed 2 pulled out the endotracheal tube [e-tube]!”

“Call thoracic surgery quickly! If they don’t answer, broadcast a code blue [CPR]!!”

The nurses shout.

The on-duty doctor urgently examines the patient.

But the patient’s condition is already deteriorating rapidly.

I was overwhelmed by the shocking situation unfolding before my eyes and was speechless.

‘Good heavens. Self-extubation?’

And, the next moment—

Suddenly, the screen warps.

Whoosh, I was moving to another place as if being sucked in.

…It’s a funeral hall.

A portrait of Grandpa A-ttack is visible.

There are no mourners, perhaps because it is late at night.

The chief mourner is… a face I’ve never seen before.

He’s a man in his 40s, standing alone in front of the photo.

“I never thought you would pass away without even leaving a will.”

The chief mourner continues quietly, his face red and his eyes bloodshot.

Of course, the dead cannot answer.

Forever, he will not be able to hear that answer.

“You know? I resented my father all my life. Honestly, I still hate him….”

The chief mourner seemed to choke up and swallowed.

Thud—

Finally, tears fall.

Unstoppable hot tears flowed down his chin.

He said without even thinking of wiping away the tears.

“I should have at least seen your face before you left. Then I wouldn’t have any regrets….”

* * *

Flash!

I came back to reality.

My chest is churning.

…Damn it!

I feel strange.

I even have the illusion that the smell of the funeral hall is still on my body.

Ma Dong-seop looks at me with a bewildered expression.

“Why the sudden change in your expression?”

“It’s nothing.”

I shook my head.

I needed time to readjust to reality.

How many times do I have to experience this to get used to it?

I barely calmed my confused mind and organized my thoughts.

Hoo.

So, to summarize….

The old man’s condition worsens, and he seems to be intubated.

But in that state, he pulls out the tube that is in his airway and eventually dies.

In other words, he cut off his own oxygen supply.

A self-harming act that would never be done in a sane state of mind.

But it is entirely possible if delirium occurs.

‘Another death?’

I clenched my fist tightly.

I feel competitive.

I’m going to change the future this time.

I will somehow find a way to prevent the patient’s death!

Just as I was thinking that,

a nurse in the ward hurriedly ran out and shouted.

“Doctor, please take a look here!”

The nurse’s voice is urgent.

What’s going on?

Thud—

We ran to the ward.

Then, it can be seen that the old man’s condition has deteriorated rapidly while he was eating.

“Cough, cough…!”

His face is pale, and he is coughing violently.

Ma Dong-seop asked urgently.

“What happened?”

“It seems the patient aspirated while eating!”

“Oh no…!”

Ma Dong-seop’s expression turned serious.

Aspiration.

It means that food goes into the lungs instead of the esophagus.

In simple terms, it means choking.

It may sound trivial at first, but it is a serious situation.

Foreign substances that enter the lungs easily cause pneumonia.

This is why pneumonia is among the top three causes of death in the elderly.

It is especially dangerous for patients like Grandpa A-ttack, who are receiving treatment in the ward after lung surgery.

“What’s the saturation?”

“It’s 85!”

Even after the patient stopped coughing, the oxygen saturation did not recover easily.

Beep— Beep—

Beep— Beep—

Ma Dong-seop reaches for the monitor with the alarm ringing, presses the silence button, and says firmly.

“Let’s move the patient to the treatment room and prepare for intubation.”

“Yes!”

Thud—

Soon the ward began to get busy.

The nurses’ movements become faster.

One side of the station is busy preparing equipment.

And on the other side, preparations are hectic to move the patient to the treatment room.

Ma Dong-seop looked at me and said.

“My friend. I’m sorry to bother you during your off-time, but I need a hand.”

“Yes. I will help too!”

I nodded.

Of course, I am not an intern belonging to the Department of Thoracic Surgery.

But right now, I don’t care about that.

The patient’s condition is critical, so what does affiliation matter?

Of course, if Doctor Byun saw it, he would have said,

Of course, I am an ordinary human being like Doctor Byun.

I hate going to work, and there are many times when I don’t want to work.

But at least, I don’t want to ignore the pain of the patient in front of me.

I must help Doctor Ma Dong-seop until the thoracic surgery interns arrive.

“Is there anyone outside? Please check for an ICU bed!”

Ma Dong-seop shouts.

Soon, a nurse brings an oxygen tank to supply oxygen.

And the rest of the people secure the path for the bed to go out.

“Okay, let’s go!”

Whirr—

Soon the patient begins to be moved on the bed.

I also helped move the patient by pushing the bed.

“Doctor. Is intubation really necessary?”

“That’s my judgment.”

“Is there any chance of recovery without a ventilator?”

I asked, just in case.

Could it be because of the shocking scene I saw in my dream just now?

I couldn’t hide my hopeful thought that there might be other methods besides ventilator treatment.

Then Ma Dong-seop says firmly.

“My friend. Have you ever read a book called *The ICU Book*?”

*The ICU Book*?

I recalled my memories.

It is the name of a textbook for the intensive care unit.

I’m sure I’ve seen it on display where I work….

Why is he suddenly talking about a textbook?

“It says something like this about intubation.”

And Ma Dong-seop says in a clumsy English pronunciation.

“Hesitation invites trouble.”

In other words, delaying an important decision can cause bigger problems for the patient.

“Vague hope is forbidden for doctors. This is the best way to prevent it from worsening into aspiration pneumonia.”

“I understand.”

I nodded.

And I was impressed by Ma Dong-seop’s decisiveness and charisma.

Is it because I’ve been with Doctor Byun all day….

He feels so much cooler that it can’t even be compared.

‘Should I go to thoracic surgery after all?’

It was a moment when I had such thoughts, even for a short time.

Whirr—

The patient was soon moved to the treatment room.

Ma Dong-seop instructs without hesitation.

“Okay, give me midazolam 3mg and cisatracurium 10mg here.”

Soon, a sedative and muscle relaxant were injected into the patient.

Now, the patient’s body must be supplied with enough oxygen.

Ma Dong-seop began to press the face mask with one hand and squeeze the ambu bag [bag valve mask] with the other.

Poosh poosh—

He presses the mask around the patient’s mouth with his left hand, ensuring no air leaks due to his tight grip.

And he starts squeezing the ambu bag powerfully with just the strength of his right hand.

Soon, oxygen enters the patient’s body violently.

‘Wow….’

I was mesmerized by the sight for a moment.

He’s as tough as a beast.

Originally, a normal adult should hold and press the ambu with both hands….

Is physique everything for a doctor after all?

It is a scene that evokes admiration once again.

Looking to the side, the nurses are also shooting hearts from their eyes at his masculine appearance.

“Okay, my friend? Squeeze the ambu like this here. A tempo of once every 3-4 seconds is enough.”

“Yes!”

I took over the ambu.

While I was slowly squeezing the ambu next to him, Ma Dong-seop was holding the face mask.

Soon, the oxygen level pointed to 99%, and he confirmed that the patient was fully asleep and anesthetized.

Now, he has to insert a tube into the airway in earnest.

“My friend. Have you ever done intubation?”

“No, not yet.”

“You’ll do it someday, so watch carefully.”

Ma Dong-seop glanced at me and then reached out his hand to the nurse as if demonstrating.

“Laryngoscope, please.”

“Yes.”

‘Laryngoscope’.

It is a medical device that allows you to see the airway inside the throat.

Soon, Ma Dong-seop tilts the patient’s mouth with the laryngoscope he received and glances inside the throat.

Then, with his eyes fixed inside the throat, he reaches out his right hand and says to the nurse.

“E-tube.”

The nurse puts the tube in Ma Dong-seop’s right hand.

At that time, Ma Dong-seop frowns and tilts his head slightly.

“Tsk….”

Why does he look like that?

Is there something wrong?

I quickly racked my brain to figure out the situation.

‘There’s a problem with his vision!’

There must be a lot of phlegm inside the patient’s throat.

Moreover, there may be food as he was eating.

Then, what I, as an assistant, have to do is clear.

I reached out my hand.

And after a while,

Ma Dong-seop looked at me with surprised eyes.