Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 136

#136 Another Level (8)

I listened intently.

From inside the ward, the voices of several people were noisily intertwined.

“No, why is this person acting like this!”

“Mom, put it away!”

“Just accept it. We don’t know what will happen after the surgery, that’s why.”

“I said I don’t need it!”

“Honey, don’t be so ominous before the surgery!”

What’s going on?

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like they’re fighting out of animosity…

I carefully approached the bed and pulled back the curtain.

“Excuse me.”

At that, the people inside the curtain all turned their heads towards me.

Husband, son, and daughter.

The three guardians have bloodshot eyes.

For some reason, it feels like they’re about to burst into tears.

In the midst of them, the female patient asked with a calm expression.

“Doctor, what’s the matter?”

“I need to get a consent form…”

I said that, then trailed off.

Because I discovered something placed on the bedside table.

Three letters folded neatly.

On the cover, it was written in neat handwriting like this:

‘A will.’

I quickly grasped the situation.

She wrote a will in preparation for possible death during surgery.

The family members who had to receive it must have felt suffocated.

“I said I don’t need it, Mom! I won’t read this!”

“Just put it in your pocket quietly. If the surgery goes well, you can return it without reading it.”

“Ugh, really…!”

Thud!

The daughter finally burst into tears and stormed out, passing by me.

Then, the seated patient quietly clicked her tongue.

“Oh my… I wonder who she takes after to have such a fiery temper.”

Jeong Sun-rye.

A 72-year-old female patient who was very gentle.

I remember she requested a pen and paper very politely during the day.

At that time, her husband grabbed my arm, sobbing.

“Doctor.”

“Yes?”

“My wife is worrying for nothing, right? Please tell her she doesn’t need to write a will.”

I couldn’t answer easily.

Because Jeong Sun-rye’s illness was not something to be taken lightly.

Ovarian cancer.

Jeong Sun-rye is expected to be in stage 3 now.

The 5-year survival rate for stage 3 patients varies slightly depending on the cell type, but it’s roughly 50%.

In other words, half of them won’t be alive in 5 years.

I said to the guardian.

“Are you worried after hearing the explanation about the possibility of death in the surgical consent form?”

“Y-yes…”

“Don’t worry too much. From what I’ve seen here, most patients undergo surgery and are discharged without any problems.”

I reassured the guardians with the usual words.

But of course, I couldn’t erase the family’s anxiety.

In particular, the husband already had tears welling up in his wrinkled eyes.

“No, how great would it be if you could say for sure that it’s safe. Talking about the possibility of death and making people anxious…”

Then, the patient quietly scolded him.

“Oh, stop it. Is it up to us to decide who lives and dies? Everyone goes when their time comes.”

“Why are you saying that!”

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“Aish… If you die, I’ll die too!”

“Oh my, why are you being so embarrassing? The doctor is listening.”

Jeong Sun-rye blushed.

They were a couple that warmed my heart just by looking at them.

It’s not easy to have such a good relationship even at their age.

“Don’t worry too much. If you receive treatment as guided by our hospital, you will definitely get better.”

I said that and carefully handed over the consent form that needed to be signed.

IV PCA (Painless Injection) [Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia].

Consent forms must be obtained for patients who need painless injections after surgery.

The attending physician directly receives important surgical consent forms, but these minor consent forms were my responsibility.

“If you have any discomfort, please tell me immediately.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I received the consent form and moved away from the bed.

At that time, the patient’s son followed me out and asked.

“Excuse me, Doctor.”

“Yes?”

“I’m asking as a son of my mother, but please tell me honestly. What is the reputation of the professor who will be operating on my mother?”

He asked, looking around.

He is asking me for honest information.

I smiled and replied.

“Professor Yang Pil-soon has been performing surgeries in gynecology her whole life. She is highly respected within our hospital, so you can trust her.”

My words were true.

Professor Yang specializes in ovarian cancer surgery.

People come from far away to receive surgery from her.

Only then did the son show a slightly relieved expression.

“My mother’s health hasn’t been good, so she’s been hospitalized here several times.”

“Ah…”

“I thought she was getting better this year, so I booked a plane ticket to send her on a trip abroad this winter.”

The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke.

“My mother was so happy, like a child, that she was going to see a foreign country for the first time in her life. Doctor, so please…”

He couldn’t continue speaking.

I could fully understand his feelings.

He must be very worried about his mother’s surgery.

Although surgery is performed several times a day in the hospital, it is a momentous event for those involved.

“Don’t worry too much. It will be fine.”

I reassured the guardian.

Despite my consolation, the man sobbed for a long time in the hallway, his shoulders shaking.

* * *

Shortly after, 8 PM.

The gynecology ward was filled with sounds coming from TV dramas here and there.

―Ttan ttan ttaradan~

Today’s drama is 『A Woman to Be Cursed by Heaven』, which is approaching 30 percent in viewership ratings.

It was a makjang drama [Korean melodramatic television drama] where you couldn’t let your guard down every episode and was popular in living rooms.

Two actresses on the TV screen were passionately acting with bloodshot eyes.

Slap slap!

The protagonist slaps the villain’s cheek back and forth.

Then, as if a sports game’s winning goal had been scored, cheers erupted from the women everywhere.

“Oh, well done!”

“That bad one should be hit more!”

“It’s so refreshing!”

This was a unique scene in the gynecology ward.

When there is a popular drama, patients and guardians all gather together to watch it.

Whether it’s inside the ward or in the lounge between stations.

I had even seen it a few times while passing by, so I was able to grasp the story.

The female protagonist screams and raises her hand.

At that time, the handsome male protagonist appears in a hurry.

<...Actually, I'm your hidden half-brother!>

Koo-oong―

Pabam pparababam―

This episode ends with majestic background music.

The mothers who were gathered together stood up and couldn’t hide their shock.

“What the heck?!”

“What crazy talk is that?”

“Oh my, I’m going crazy. I’m never watching such a makjang drama again.”

The mother patients grumbled and scattered.

Of course, I know. They will watch the next episode while cursing like that.

I asked Nurse Mi-seon, who was sitting at the station.

“Is that drama popular?”

“Oh, it’s no joke. It’s completely thrilling.”

“Do you watch it too, Nurse?”

“I have a bit of an *ajumma* [middle-aged or married woman] taste, although I really am an *ajumma* now. Hehehe.”

Nurse Mi-seon laughed, covering her mouth.

At that time, someone approached us.

Patient Jeong Sun-rye.

She must have felt stuffy in the ward, so she came out to the lounge to watch TV and was going back in.

“Doctor, I should return this.”

“Ah, yes.”

I wondered what it was, but it was a pen.

She had borrowed it during the day to write letters to her family.

I smiled as I received the pen that the patient handed me.

“Are you uncomfortable with anything?”

“Yes, I’m fine… I’m sorry that my family made a fuss earlier.”

I shook my head.

“No, Mother. Don’t forget that you shouldn’t drink water from 12 AM.”

“Of course.”

“You have to get up early in the morning to do an enema, so it’s good to go to bed early.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Patient Jeong Sun-rye smiled softly and bowed her head.

She should be afraid of tomorrow’s surgery, but she seemed to be very calm and strong-willed.

Watching the small back of Patient Jeong Sun-rye returning to the ward, I felt complicated.

‘Come to think of it, she said that she had been hospitalized several times before because her health wasn’t good. What was wrong with her?’

Click, click―

I moved the mouse to check the chart.

I tilted my head as I scrolled down the EMR (Electronic Medical Record) screen.

‘This is… a bit different from the cases of patients I’ve seen so far?’

Jeong Sun-rye

F/72

[Past History]

s/p PCI (6 months ago, our hospital) [Status post Percutaneous Coronary Intervention]

on DAPT [Dual Antiplatelet Therapy]

6 months ago.

The patient had a stent inserted into her coronary artery because her heart function was declining.

And because of this, she was taking antiplatelet agents.

‘She already had a problem with her heart, but now it’s cancer surgery…’

I felt sorry.

Sometimes I think the world is so cruel.

It can give a barrage of misfortune to someone who has lived a good life.

‘By the way, in this case, the postoperative course could be dangerous…’

I pressed my temples with a pen and pondered.

Ttok, ttak―

Just in time, Doctor Cheon Sa-yeon was passing in front of the station.

I quickly got up from my seat and followed Doctor Cheon Sa-yeon.

“Doctor.”

“What is it?”

“About the ovarian cancer surgery patient tomorrow morning.”

“Patient Jeong Sun-rye?”

“Yes. I was wondering if the PCI history (history, past history) could be intertwined with tomorrow’s surgery and have a negative impact.”

Suddenly.

Cheon Sa-yeon stops walking.

Then, she looked at me up and down and asked.

“Why is an intern worrying about that? It’s not like anything changes if you worry about it?”

“Even if it doesn’t change…”

“You’re just curious?”

“Yes. I’m also worried. I think the risk of stent thrombosis could be greater after surgery.”

Thrombosis [formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system].

Human blood basically has a tendency to clot when blood vessels are damaged.

It’s easy to think of a scab forming on a wound. That scab is blood that has clotted.

This phenomenon of blood clotting inside the body is called .

The problem is that this thrombus can kill people.

What if a thrombus forms and floats around the body, blocking an important blood vessel?

Big trouble happens!

(1) If a cerebral blood vessel is blocked = stroke.

(2) If a heart blood vessel is blocked = myocardial infarction [heart attack].

(3) If a pulmonary artery is blocked = pulmonary embolism [blood clot in the lungs].

All three of the above are scary things that threaten the patient’s life.

The same goes for a thrombus forming in the stent in Patient Jeong Sun-rye’s heart blood vessel.

“Did you hear something that the professor said during rounds?”

I answered Cheon Sa-yeon’s sharp question.

“No, I was just worried while looking at the chart.”

“The chart?”

“Yes.”

“…So, you looked at the chart of the patient who will be assisting tomorrow in advance?”

“…?”

I tilted my head at her question.

Isn’t that obvious?

I have to participate in the surgery tomorrow, but I can’t just go in without thinking.

Of course, interns are so busy that they often go in without looking at the chart in detail.

Since you only have to do what you’re told, it’s okay to just know what kind of surgery it is.

But I didn’t do that.

Should I call it stubbornness?

Before assisting, I couldn’t feel relieved unless I carefully read the patient’s chart.

“Hmm…”

Cheon Sa-yeon was silent for a moment.

It was a face I had never seen before.

I felt a slightly different atmosphere from how she had treated me so far.

“Would you like to come here for a moment?”

For what purpose, Cheon Sa-yeon gestured to me.