Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 109

#109 A Stroke of Luck at the Summer Sea (12)

Beep, beep—

“Hey, Sang-hyun. What’s wrong?!”

“Huff, huff…”

The patient’s face contorts.

His lips are also turning blue, little by little.

At the same time, the oxygen saturation level displayed on the monitor begins to drop.

“Saturation is dropping! I’ll increase the oxygen supply!”

The emergency medical technician watching shouts.

Soon, an oxygen mask is placed over the patient’s mouth.

“What should we do, doctor?”

The emergency medical technician’s expression becomes urgent.

I turn my head and look around the station and the emergency room.

Chief Kim Gi-hoon is nowhere to be seen, probably went to the restroom.

The emergency medical technician is only looking at me.

The patient’s fate depends on my judgment.

I calmly calm my mind and assess the situation.

‘The situation has changed.’

The situation unfolding is completely different from before when his vital signs were normal.

Air is filling his body, starting to compress vital organs like the heart.

If the patient’s internal organs start to be compressed by air, his condition could worsen in a matter of seconds.

‘Since his vitals are starting to falter, a quick response is the answer. If I don’t insert a chest tube now, the patient could die during transport!’

I make a decision in my mind and say,

“I’ll insert a chest tube right here! Can you prepare immediately?”

“Yes? Here? You, doctor?”

“Yes, me!”

At my words, the emergency medical technician’s eyes widen, and he hesitates slightly.

I shout again.

“I think he’s experiencing tension pneumothorax [a life-threatening condition where air accumulates in the pleural space and compresses the lungs and heart]. He might not make it during transport!”

The emergency medical technician looks uneasy but nods.

“Yes, I understand! I’ll prepare right away!”

The emergency room becomes busy.

Preparations for chest tube insertion are quickly completed.

“Please undress the patient.”

Before gowning, I secure the patient in the proper position.

And, thinking of the safety triangle [an anatomical landmark used to guide chest tube placement], I consider the precise location for the procedure.

‘Good. I can insert it here.’

I wash my hands and put on a cap and mask.

Soon, a tray with the chest tube insertion kit is placed next to me.

“Open the lidocaine and 18Fr. [French gauge, a unit of measurement for medical tubing] chest tube.”

I say, putting on surgical gloves.

Meanwhile, Geun-wook looks as nervous as he did during the Gangnam Station incident.

“Shin Seon-han, you crazy bastard, what are you doing…”

Geun-wook looks at me, dumbfounded, as I put on the surgical gown.

He seems very worried.

“Doctor, blood pressure is 88/60!”

In that instant, even with the oxygen supply, the patient’s blood pressure starts to drop.

At this rate, the patient seems like he will quickly go into an even more dangerous situation.

“Starting chest tube insertion.”

I assemble the scalpel.

And, as I learned from Ma Dong-seop, I begin the chest tube insertion procedure.

‘Let’s stay calm. I remember every step exactly.’

Thinking that, the moment I try to bring the assembled scalpel to the patient’s skin.

Flash—

Time seems to slow down to 0.1 speed.

And, like a slideshow, unfamiliar scenes pass before my eyes.

‘Wait. This is… a phenomenon I’ve experienced once before?’

A phenomenon where I can quickly experience the procedure in advance.

It’s different from . [likely referring to a previously mentioned skill or ability].

Only the situation of the procedure taking place in this location appears before my eyes.

Because it’s a different phenomenon from , I arbitrarily named it and had forgotten about it for a while, but it has started again.

‘Is it trying to give me a hint?’

I focus on each and every screen that passes quickly.

Incision.

Creating a path inside the body.

Inserting the chest tube.

All the processes of fixing that chest tube passed by.

The recovered blood pressure and oxygen saturation are visible on the monitor.

‘There doesn’t seem to be a big problem…’

But at that moment.

From the moment I insert the chest tube and connect the chest bottle and suction, the patient’s condition looks unusual.

“Cough—”

Suddenly, the patient grabs his chest, and his face turns red.

Then, the patient starts to spit out thin phlegm.

In the next scene, the oxygen saturation drops to 73, and the monitor flashes as an alarm sounds.

‘What, why is he like that? It’s strange that the phlegm looks so watery!’

With the last sound of someone shouting urgently, I snap out of the vision.

Flash—

All the images disappear.

I was still holding the scalpel.

As I remain silent for a while, the emergency medical technician asks with a puzzled expression.

“Doctor?”

“…Just a moment.”

Clang—

I put the scalpel back on the tray.

And I thought.

In the future I just saw, it was implied that the patient would have a big problem after the chest tube insertion.

‘The chest tube definitely went in well, but the patient ends up having a problem. What on earth is the cause?’

This is a warning sign.

It feels like a big red sign has been erected on the bridge I was about to cross.

Caution, this area is dangerous, it says.

It’s as if someone is saying that to me.

Even though you wasted time, the patient is in more danger now.’

Also, it sounds like that kind of voice is coming from somewhere.

Suddenly, my heart wavers.

At that moment.

What Baekui Shin said in his autobiography came to my mind.

The greatest virtue for a doctor is composure.’

Yes.

I need to be even more composed in times like these.

Because the patient’s life is more important than anything else.

I saw what kind of future will unfold, so let’s just calmly think about it for a moment.

‘Blood pressure is still maintaining in the 80s, so I have time to think.’

I focused my concentration.

And I retraced my memories.

One by one.

I mentally checked the possibilities that could worsen the patient’s condition.

At that time.

Suddenly.

One possibility came to mind.

It was like a pleasant feeling, like a key that fits perfectly into a keyhole with a click.

“I think I know.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll start again.”

I start the chest tube insertion again with confidence.

Let’s do it.

Let’s see who wins, you or me.

I will definitely make this procedure a success and save the patient safely.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the intersection in front of Gokdam First Hospital.

Brrr—

Doctor Jang Poong is riding his bike to work at the hospital.

Unaware of what is happening inside the emergency room, he changes his clothes and enters the emergency room, humming a song as usual.

“Cutting through the hot court~ I’m going to you~” [Likely a reference to a popular song].

As he enters the emergency room, he looks around and says.

“What. Why is it so chaotic?”

Somehow, the atmosphere felt busier than usual.

Is there some kind of urgent patient?

He tries to grab someone and ask, but there is no one at the station.

“Let’s see… let’s see what kind of patient is waiting for me today.”

Click, click.

Chief Jang Poong opens the chart.

And, while identifying the patient, his eyes widened.

He was surprised to see the X-ray of patient Seong Sang-hyun.

Poong’s eyes became serious for once.

At that time, he ran into Chief Kim Gi-hoon, who was returning to the emergency room after going to the restroom.

“Dr. Kim! This patient here.”

“Ah, that tension pneumo patient?”

“This patient needs a chest tube inserted, or at least a needle aspiration before sending him?”

Then Gi-hoon said.

“I told them to send him to Gokdam General Hospital quickly. Has the chart not been pulled yet?”

“It hasn’t been pulled.”

“What are you doing? It’s been several minutes since I told you to send him.”

The chief’s eyebrows furrowed.

Soon, their eyes turned towards the emergency room bed.

At that time, they found Geun-wook looking restless.

“Hey, big guy.”

“Yes?”

“There was a tension pneumo patient, what happened? Did you send him for transfer?”

“Well, that’s… he’s currently undergoing chest tube insertion.”

“What?”

The eyes of both chiefs widened.

It’s understandable.

It was shocking that an intern was performing the procedure independently.

And it’s not a simple procedure.

Chest tube insertion?

Isn’t that a skill performed by a thoracic surgeon?

As it is an advanced skill, it requires experience with various patients.

It’s not something an intern can do.

Of course, the story changes if the patient’s condition changes rapidly.

However, it seemed natural for Kim Gi-hoon, who did not know that the situation had changed, to be agitated.

“No, this guy… did he turn a deaf ear to what I said?!”

Chief Kim Gi-hoon’s face turns red.

On the other hand, Chief Jang Poong calmly asked back.

“Is it bed number 7?”

“Yes.”

The bed is covered by a curtain.

Tap, tap.

Doctor Poong runs towards bed number 7.

Others also followed him.

Swish—

When he gently opens the curtain of bed number 7 and looks inside, Shin Seon-han is performing chest tube insertion.

Shin Seon-han was so focused on the procedure that he didn’t even realize that someone was watching from behind.

“Dr. Shin, what on earth…!”

“Shh.”

Doctor Poong said to the chief who was about to shout from behind him.

“He’s in the middle of a procedure. Be quiet.”

After saying that, he looks at the monitor and checks the patient’s vital signs, which are stabilizing.

Then he watches Seon-han’s focused appearance.

‘Look at this guy.’

Jang Poong looked at Shin Seon-han with an interesting face.

Before he knew it, Shin Seon-han was almost finishing the chest tube insertion and connecting the chest tube to the chest bottle.

‘He’s quite calm. He’s still an intern, so he doesn’t have much experience, but there’s no hesitation in his hands at all.’

As the saying goes, a promising tree is recognizable from its sprouts [a Korean proverb meaning potential is evident from the beginning]?

This situation was exactly like that.

Jang Poong’s eyes sparkled with interest as he watched Shin Seon-han.

But then.

The patient, who seemed to be stabilizing after the chest tube insertion, suddenly complains of pain.

“Doctor… my left chest suddenly hurts more…!”

Beep beep beep—

Suddenly, an alarm goes off.

The patient is sweating profusely and is in so much pain.

The emergency medical technician assisting from the side shouts urgently.

“Doctor, BP (blood pressure) is 110/70, Heart rate is 120!”

Whirr—

Air bubbles were rising in the connected chest bottle.

The patient suddenly started coughing severely, and his face turned red.

Every time he coughed, the air rose more violently in the bottle.

‘Oh no, we can’t just leave it like that!’

Doctor Poong thought he had to step in himself.

But.

It was unexpected.

Because there was no wavering in Seon-han’s eyes.

‘He’s not panicking?’

As if he had expected this situation, he is about to take the next action immediately.

Doctor Poong’s eyes briefly observed Seon-han.

So, what are you going to do?

Do you even have a plan?

Soon, as if answering that question, Seon-han reached out to the emergency medical technician and said.