A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 185

Chapter 34. Completion (5)

“You were here resting first.”

The door to the lounge opened, and Chief Chanyeong appeared. Chanyeong took out a canned coffee and sat next to Junhoo.

Ever since they performed the Awakening surgery together.

Junhoo and Chanyeong had become even closer.

A kind of camaraderie had developed.

There are two main ways to become close to someone.

One is to share enjoyable experiences, and the other is to endure hardships together.

And surprisingly, the latter had a better effect.

“Are you coming from assisting in surgery?”

“Not assisting, but I was operating with Professor Shin watching. As a fourth-year, I do a lot of surgeries.”

“You’ve worked hard. It seems like you even did CPR.”

“How did you know that?”

Chanyeong tilted his head at Junhoo’s words.

“I can smell a slight scent of sweat.”

“Sweat? I can’t smell it?”

Chanyeong brought his nose to his body and sniffed, answering.

It was possible that Chanyeong couldn’t smell it.

Because you quickly become accustomed to the smell of your own body.

However, Junhoo, whose five senses had developed through various martial arts training, was sensitive to smells. He could even smell blood on Chanyeong.

“Anyway, you guessed CPR from the smell of sweat?”

“Yes. Brain tumor surgery doesn’t involve strenuous activity that would make you sweat. And the operating room temperature is low.”

“What if I just sweat a lot?”

“I already know that Chief doesn’t sweat much.”

“You’re a psychic. A psychic.”

Chanyeong said in admiration.

“Anyway, did you see the article?”

“What article?”

“The Awakening surgery article. The head of department seems to have been doing some heavy media play.”

“I’ll check it out.”

Junhoo searched for Myunghan on his phone.

[Korea’s top pianist, Myunghan, successfully undergoes Awakening surgery.]

[Pianist dreams of comeback after brain tumor surgery.]

[Shinwon University Hospital Neurosurgery Team succeeds in high-risk Awakening surgery.]

Upon checking, there were more than 10 articles related to the Awakening surgery. It was clear that the head of department’s influence was involved, as Chanyeong had said.

A proverb that one is more interested in the ritual food than the Buddhist chanting [meaning someone is more interested in the benefits than the actual task].

What proverb could be more fitting for the head of department than this one?

Even as a doctor, the head of department valued his own reputation more than the patient’s recovery.

“It would have been a disaster if the surgery had failed.”

“Not only the professor, but you and I would have been done for.”

Chanyeong made a gesture of slitting his throat with his hand.

“How is Myunghan doing?”

“He just regained consciousness. He had a brief episode of delirium, but he’s back to normal now.”

“Delirium can’t be treated that quickly, can it? Even with medication, it usually lasts three to four days, right?”

Chanyeong asked suspiciously.

“Could it be because the surgery was so successful? And the patient is young.”

Junhoo casually brushed it off.

He couldn’t say that he had treated him with internal energy.

“So, I was wondering, shouldn’t we transfer the patient to a general ward? If he’s conscious, he won’t be able to endure the ICU.”

“It would be hard to endure it with a clear mind. And there’s the bowel movement issue.”

“That’s my biggest concern too. Especially since he’s already mentally weak.”

Surprisingly, the neurosurgery ICU didn’t have a toilet.

Most of the patients were in a coma and couldn’t control their bowel movements, so a toilet wasn’t installed.

The staff used the toilet outside the ICU.

“Who would comfortably poop in a diaper with a clear mind as an adult? Just imagining it is terrible.”

“I couldn’t stand that either.”

“Anyway, I’ll talk to the professor about the transfer. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Thank you, Chief. I’ll go upstairs first.”

“Okay. Good work.”

Junhoo said goodbye to Chanyeong and left the lounge.

* * *

Arriving at the ward, Junhoo started his rounds.

Ward rounds were the responsibility of the intern.

ICU rounds were the responsibility of the first-year resident.

Although the roles were divided, Junhoo often visited the general wards as well. This was to carefully manage the patients and guardians for whom he was the attending physician.

While making his rounds.

Junhoo encouraged patients and guardians who were about to undergo surgery.

And for patients who had finished surgery, he meticulously asked about any aftereffects or unusual symptoms to ensure a smooth recovery.

There is a saying that rice grows by listening to the farmer’s footsteps [meaning that attention and care lead to success].

This meant that farming would only be successful if the farmer showed interest and affection for the rice.

The same principle applied in the hospital.

The patient recovered by listening to the doctor’s footsteps.

Screech.

Junhoo visited the last room with a heavy heart.

Moving towards the window, he saw the patient and the guardian.

The patient’s name was Min Tae-woong.

He was a vegetative state patient who had been transferred from the ICU to a general ward six months ago.

His condition wasn’t good enough to warrant a do-not-resuscitate order, but the patient was holding on relatively well.

By assigning him a room by the window.

Junhoo was romantically thinking that the patient was enduring well because he could bask in the warm sunlight.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello, doctor.”

When Junhoo greeted, the guardian returned the greeting.

The patient’s wife looked haggard.

Taking care of the patient would be difficult.

But what was more difficult was the endless waiting.

“I guess your parents didn’t come today?”

“Yes. My in-laws are coming this evening instead.”

“Both families are going through a lot.”

“It’s nothing compared to what my husband is going through.”

The wife smiled weakly and gazed at the patient.

The patient wasn’t wearing an oxygen mask.

Unlike brain-dead patients, vegetative state patients could breathe on their own.

However, his lung function had deteriorated significantly, and the patient looked like he was in pain every time he breathed.

The rib cage rose and fell laboriously, and his breathing was rough.

The patient was barely surviving another day with nutrients supplied through a nasogastric tube [a tube inserted through the nose into the stomach] and various IV fluids.

“Oh, and doctor. I always appreciate your sponsorship.”

“Don’t feel too burdened. I’m doing it because I have enough to spare.”

Junhoo waved his hand.

Junhoo was depositing several hundred thousand won into Min Tae-woong’s account every month.

Since his NewTube revenue averaged 3 million won, he didn’t have to worry about money even with the support.

However, the problem was…

How much more pain would the guardian and the patient’s family have to endure.

Even for vegetative state patients, one shouldn’t give up on treatment and should dream of a miraculous recovery.

This was Junhoo’s position, but he fully respected the opposite position as well.

The pain that the patient’s family and guardians experienced because of the patient was like hell. They were economically and psychologically on the brink.

So Junhoo broached the subject with difficulty.

“I apologize for asking, but… will you continue with the life-sustaining treatment? It’s been six months since the patient became vegetative.”

“…”

“The guardian has faithfully stayed by the patient’s side during that time. With this much devotion, wouldn’t the patient understand?”

“No. I can’t live without my husband.”

The guardian rejected Junhoo’s suggestion outright.

Her drooping voice suddenly gained strength.

“My husband stopped me from trying to commit suicide and embraced me. I can’t give up on him.”

“But…”

“There’s still a chance of recovery, right? Isn’t there?”

“The probability is very low, and I’m saying this because the guardian is suffering too much.”

“Let’s pretend you didn’t say that. I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”

The guardian hurriedly left the room.

It seemed like she didn’t want to show Junhoo her crying face.

She couldn’t give up on her family.

But she also couldn’t keep bleeding for her family [financially supporting them] .

Junhoo was also tormented as he watched the guardian’s situation, which was a dilemma.

Junhoo took another step closer to the patient and stared down at him.

Then, he placed his palm on the left side of the patient’s neck.

Whoosh.

Internal energy flowed from his dantian [energy center in the body] to his palm, and from his palm back to the patient’s neck.

The final destination of the internal energy was the vagus nerve.

Vagus nerve.

This was the tenth cranial nerve out of the 12 pairs of cranial nerves, and it affected the heart, lungs, stomach, kidneys, etc.

I remember reading a paper recently.

A French medical team stimulated the vagus nerve of a vegetative state patient for three months, and the patient miraculously recovered.

Then, shouldn’t I be able to do it too?

Junhoo stimulated the vagus nerve with internal energy, hoping for such a miracle.

Even after about 5 minutes of treatment, there was no significant improvement, but Junhoo wasn’t disappointed.

The guardian showed a firm determination to wait for the patient until the end.

If so, Junhoo couldn’t give up on the patient either.

Perhaps the patient would recover miraculously if he continued to stimulate the vagus nerve with internal energy.

Shortly after, the guardian returned to the room.

Junhoo took his hand off the patient’s neck, bowed to the guardian, and left the room.

But while returning to the on-call room.

The scene in one room caught Junhoo’s attention.

Near the entrance of the room.

The patient lying on the bed had his gown pulled up and was arching his back like a shrimp.

Beside him were his classmate Kyungsoo and intern Hojin.

Hojin’s hand, holding the syringe, was trembling pitifully.

* * *

‘Ha… this guy’s got a chicken heart [meaning he’s easily scared].’

Kyungsoo shook his head, watching Hojin.

Kyungsoo was teaching Hojin how to perform a lumbar puncture.

A lumbar puncture was a procedure in which a needle was inserted into the lower back to collect cerebrospinal fluid, and it was a difficult but essential skill to learn.

After finishing the necessary explanations.

He was about to go into practice, but Hojin’s condition was terrible.

He was too scared to use the syringe.

Hojin kept playing push and pull with his trembling hand.

He teased Kyungsoo by pretending to do the puncture with the syringe.

“You’re going to neurology, right? Then you’ll have to do lumbar punctures every day. If you’re like this, you’ll be eaten alive by the interns and get on the seniors’ bad side as a resident, you know?”

Kyungsoo whispered in Hojin’s ear so that the patient wouldn’t overhear the conversation and become anxious.

“Ah. Yes.”

“Don’t just answer, stab it quickly. I even told you the puncture point. The spinal canal between the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae.”

“I’ll take a deep breath for a moment.”

“How many deep breaths have you taken? I’m starting to wonder if this is a hospital or a meditation center. Come on.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t do things you’ll be sorry for at the time you say you’re sorry.”

Kyungsoo pounded his chest and expressed his frustration.

He couldn’t understand why a guy who wasn’t even a complete failure was so intimidated.

Screech.

Just in time, the door opened and Junhoo appeared.

He took a seat next to Kyungsoo.

As a result, Kyungsoo’s already narrow brow furrowed even more.

He knew exactly what the meddler Junhoo was going to do.

“Senior, you’re here?”

Meanwhile, Hojin’s face lit up when he found Junhoo.

It seemed like Hojin was thinking the same thing as Kyungsoo.

That Junhoo would directly perform the lumbar puncture instead of the nervous Hojin.

“Yeah. Are you learning lumbar puncture?”

“Yes. I’m nervous because it’s my first time.”

Hojin said quietly, conscious of the patient.

“Don’t meddle and stay still. If you do the procedure for him, he’ll develop bad habits. Hojin needs to learn step by step.”

“I know.”

“Huh?”

“I just came to watch,” Junhoo said with his hands behind his back, unlike usual. It was a completely unexpected reaction for Kyungsoo.

The meddler wasn’t meddling…

It was like the sun had risen in the west [something very unusual happened].

Or maybe he had eaten something wrong.

“I won’t do the puncture for you. But it’s okay if you two talk for a bit, right?”

“That’s fine.”

“Hojin, come outside the room for a moment.”

“Yes, senior.”

Kyungsoo stared intently at Junhoo and Hojin as they went outside the room.

Junhoo, that guy.

What on earth is he up to?