A Surgeon Who Uses Martial Arts [EN]: Chapter 448

Chapter 87: Cold Wave (4)

The air in the shelter was taut.

Filled with tension and the looming threat of death, it felt like it would explode at any moment.

Several patients watched the CPR [Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation] scene with wide eyes.

The medic was performing CPR.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Each time he pressed down on the patient’s chest with his clasped hands, the patient’s body heaved like a wave.

The stretcher the patient was lying on danced along.

It was fortunate.

The chest compressions were being done correctly.

When someone collapses, it takes great courage to attempt chest compressions.

People are afraid of hurting the patient with their own hands and having to take responsibility for it.

The reason the medic could perform chest compressions without hesitation.

It was definitely because this friend was a medic. Medical duty was his duty.

“Get the defibrillator ready.”

“Yes, sir.”

After giving instructions to the medic following behind, Jun-hoo approached the patient.

“Let’s switch.”

“Haa… Haa… Haa… Understood.”

The medic who had been attempting chest compressions stepped back, and Jun-hoo took over.

Jun-hoo knelt beside the patient.

He straightened his clasped hands vertically and began chest compressions.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The patient’s body surged again.

Trained in martial arts, Jun-hoo took over the chest compressions alone.

An ordinary person would have a hard time lasting even a minute, but Jun-hoo could do chest compressions all day long if he set his mind to it.

‘Good. Keep going with this feeling.’

Jun-hoo’s eyes gleamed sharply as he found the golden ratio for chest compressions.

Let’s say the force needed for chest compressions is 100.

Giving a force of 100 would provide enough pressure to the stopped heart, allowing it to pump blood throughout the body.

However, giving a force of 100 would inevitably lead to rib fractures.

But.

Are rib fractures a big deal? Shouldn’t we save the person’s life first?

That’s right.

The heart beating is the priority, and rib fractures come later.

However, it would be a problem if Jun-hoo’s CPR, who had learned martial arts and possessed internal energy from the Murim [a fictional martial arts world], was the same as everyone else’s.

Jun-hoo performed chest compressions with 60 percent of his strength.

He replaced the remaining 40 percent with internal energy.

This way, he could make the heart beat again without causing rib injuries.

This way, he could also enhance the benefits of the defibrillator’s electric shock.

“I’ve brought the defibrillator. I’ll set it up.”

The medic took his place opposite Jun-hoo. He removed the defibrillator from its case and peeled off the packaging from the pads.

But that’s when it happened!

“Ugh… Ugh… Ugh…”

A faint groan escaped from the patient’s mouth, who had been unconscious. The fingertips that had been stiffened began to move.

“That’s enough. We don’t need the defibrillator anymore.”

“But…”

“You’ll know soon enough if you watch.”

Jun-hoo, who had stopped chest compressions, reassured the medic and those around him.

“What happened to me?”

The patient, who had struggled to lift his eyelids, frowned and asked.

Jun-hoo replied.

“You came back from the brink of death.”

* * *

2 AM.

A time when the night was at its deepest.

The medic, Kim Hae-in, took Oh Seong-jin, who was on duty with him, outside the shelter.

The mountain breeze blowing in the early morning was a blade itself.

The expression ‘cutting the skin’ wasn’t for nothing. The face that the wind directly touched and passed by was painfully stinging.

The hooting of an owl could be heard from somewhere.

Click!

Hae-in shielded the wind with his hand and lit a cigarette. The cigarette he smoked for the first time during his shift tasted like honey.

“It’s been spectacular since the first day, right?”

“Yes. When I saw the CPR earlier, I felt like my heart was sinking. But, Sergeant Kim Hae-in.”

“Why?”

“You were really cool earlier.”

Seong-jin said, raising his thumb.

“I was so flustered that I couldn’t do anything…”

“That’s why experience matters.”

“Have you ever done chest compressions before?”

“No. Never.”

Hae-in shook his head. Although he was a medic, it was his first time doing chest compressions.

Even for medics, dealing with patients with acute heart attacks was extremely rare.

“I just did it instinctively because it was urgent. But honestly, I don’t know if I could do it outside [without the pressure of the situation].”

Hae-in said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

“Is it because of the story that you could be sued for doing chest compressions?”

“You could say that.”

The conversation stopped, and a long silence followed.

“Still, this company commander is reliable. He feels different from the previous company commander.”

“Sergeant Kim Hae-in, did you feel that way too?”

“You too?”

“Yes. Of course.”

The two exchanged glances and nodded.

Hae-in, who was from the 1st Division, saw the company commander for the first time today. Unlike his youthful appearance, the company commander was said to be in his late 30s.

His specs and career were also said to be impressive.

That’s why he was more worried.

He was worried that he would be consumed by elitism.

He was worried that he would ignore patients and treat them carelessly.

Would such a great person even care about the soldiers in the army?

Especially since the salary of a military doctor was only a fraction of that of a regular doctor.

But what?

The company commander was always sincere with the patients. Despite the division commanders being present, he directly provided treatment.

His attitude toward treatment was also kind and gentle.

He was even more enthusiastic when it came to treatment.

It was the same with the hypothermia patient.

While the 3rd Division commander, who was on duty, moved the patient near the heater and played games on his phone.

The company commander stayed by the patient’s side and watched over him. He administered IV fluids and checked his temperature frequently.

Perhaps thanks to that, the patient regained his normal body temperature in just 30 minutes.

It was the same when he did CPR.

Even though he did chest compressions alone, he didn’t seem tired.

Even before using the defibrillator.

He restored the patient’s consciousness to its original state.

Because of the company commander, Hae-in saw doctors in a new light.

He thought that not all doctors in the world were obsessed with money. He thought that doctors with a strong sense of professional ethics did exist.

“I hope the patient will be okay.”

“I hope so.”

Hae-in and Seong-jin looked down at the mountain and said.

The night was not over yet.

* * *

At that time.

Jun-hoo was driving down the national highway in the 3rd Division commander’s car. Seong-tae, who had been a hypothermia patient and a heart attack patient, was in the passenger seat.

“…”

“…”

The car was silent without conversation. Only the exhaust sound of the car and the sound of the wind passing by could be heard.

“Company Commander, I’m really okay.”

Seong-tae carefully spoke.

“I don’t need to go to a big hospital.”

“That’s what you think.”

Jun-hoo smiled wryly.

Even if he had regained consciousness, hospital treatment was essential since he had collapsed from a heart attack.

It was necessary to check his health condition through tests.

‘Something feels strange.’

Jun-hoo muttered to himself.

The earthworm wrinkles on his forehead didn’t seem to smooth out.

Jun-hoo succeeded in restoring Seong-tae’s body temperature to normal with the ‘Warm Internal Energy Method.’

But why?

The reason why Seong-tae suddenly had ACA (Acute Cardiac Arrest).

Was it because the body temperature returned to normal?

Was it because the blood flow suddenly increased in the dilated blood vessels?

Or…

Conversely, was it due to a temporary blockage of blood vessels?

Even if there were no underlying heart conditions, heart attacks sometimes occurred due to stress or unusual blood flow abnormalities.

Several reasons flashed through his mind, but there was no answer that strongly appealed to him.

“Seong-tae.”

“Yes, Company Commander.”

“I’m going to ask you a few questions from now on, and you have to answer honestly.”

“Understood.”

“Are you being bullied or abused in the platoon?”

“Me? Not at all.”

Jun-hoo turned his head for a moment and looked into Seong-tae’s eyes.

They weren’t the eyes of someone who was lying.

“Actually…”

“Actually?”

“There is a junior I bully a little. But I’m not being bullied.”

“If you bully others, you may feel proud for now, but you’ll be punished later. Be good to them when you get back.”

“Yes, Company Commander.”

“Do you have any heart-related diseases or other underlying conditions?”

“No. I’m healthy.”

“Do you know about anaphylaxis [severe allergic reaction] syndrome, an allergic reaction? Have you ever fainted from eating peanuts or being stung by a bee?”

“I don’t have that either.”

Jun-hoo asked persistently, but he didn’t get any helpful answers.

At least according to Seong-tae’s own claims, Seong-tae was healthy itself.

Maybe this was just a random occurrence.

Seong-tae was in his early 20s.

He was still too young to have any fatal diseases.

Then why did he have a heart attack?

The question grew even bigger.

Perhaps he was being too sensitive, he suddenly thought.

Was it because he was from Murim to the bone?

Jun-hoo always had a tendency to assume the worst.

That was the only way he could survive.

Vroom.

The car sped down the road.

Because it was such a late night, it was hard to find other cars on the road. It even felt like he had rented the road.

Jun-hoo, who was driving, glanced at the navigation.

There were 40 minutes left to the destination.

The destination was, of course, the Korean Manual Therapy Hospital.

“Ah. I didn’t ask the most important thing?”

Jun-hoo chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re the first hypothermia patient of this cold wave. How did you get hypothermia?”

“I don’t know either. I tend to get cold easily.”

“…”

“I took off my innerwear for a while before standing guard on night duty and couldn’t put it back on, so I think that’s why.”

Seong-tae scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression.

Jun-hoo nodded instead of answering.

How much time had passed?

Finally, he arrived at the Korean Manual Therapy Hospital. Jun-hoo took Seong-tae straight to the emergency room.

Everything from registration to treatment was done quickly.

The university hospital emergency room was overflowing with patients even at dawn, but the military hospital was not.

After the emergency medicine doctor’s examination.

Seong-tae underwent basic tests.

Chest X-ray, blood test, urine test, electrocardiogram.

Seong-tae, who had finished the tests, returned to the emergency room.

There were no abnormalities in the test results.

Even normal people can rarely suffer from acute heart attacks, and it seemed that Seong-tae was one of those rare cases.

The treatment seemed to be over with receiving nitroglycerin sublingual tablets [medication placed under the tongue to treat chest pain] from the in-hospital pharmacy.

“Seong-tae. Just stay there for a second.”

“Why is that?”

“There’s something I want to check for a moment.”

Jun-hoo stood behind Seong-tae and placed his hand on Seong-tae’s left shoulder blade.

He infused internal energy towards Seong-tae’s heart.

The internal energy that passed through the skin and fascia advanced towards the heart.

The internal energy that reached the heart permeated the coronary arteries, groped the blood vessels, and spread around the heart in concentric circles.

He wasn’t using the ‘Internal Energy Infusion Technique,’ but he was using the ‘Internal Energy Ultrasound Technique.’

Although there were no abnormalities in the test, he wouldn’t feel relieved until he had done an internal energy ultrasound.

There was a limit to identifying heart disease with just an electrocardiogram.

‘I had a bad feeling for some reason.’

Jun-hoo frowned as he took his hand off Seong-tae’s back.

Wrinkles formed on the bridge of his nose.

The shape of his eyes became as thin as a thread.

He wasn’t a cardiothoracic surgeon, so he couldn’t make a detailed diagnosis, but there was definitely a problem with Seong-tae’s heart.

Jun-hoo immediately called Ah-young, who was on duty.

“Ah-young, I’m sorry, but I’m going to give you a patient notification.”