Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 146

#146 Happy Birthday (5)

“Intern, you worked hard!”

It was Dr. Yoo Jung-nam.

After taking off his surgical cap, his hair was pressed flat.

Only the strands of hair sticking out from under the cap were slightly curled up, which felt endearing.

“Let’s have a cup of coffee!”

“I’ll make it for you.”

“Oh no, it’s okay. Just sit still. I’m an expert at making instant coffee.”

He said, showing his teeth and smiling.

He really is a cheerful doctor.

I followed him into the break room next to the station.

“That was your first C-section, right? What was it like experiencing it firsthand?”

“It felt like I just witnessed something incredible.”

“Haha! Right? I felt the same way at first.”

He ruffled his hair like a playful puppy and laughed cheerfully.

Meanwhile, I was still dazed.

I had seen many surgeries, but C-sections were truly unique.

I never knew that seeing another person come out of someone’s body would be such a miraculous experience.

“I see it every day, but I’m still amazed sometimes.”

Pour, pour—

Dr. Yoo pours hot water into a paper cup.

He meticulously adjusts the water level to the exact millimeter.

It was the first time I had seen someone make instant coffee with such sincerity.

“By the way, there’s a rumor that you’re an intern for the second time, Dr. Sunhan. Is that true?”

Huh?

What did I do?

I don’t remember receiving any special praise.

As I looked puzzled, he added with a smile.

“Your hand movements were extraordinary. Like you’ve assisted in a C-section a few times? The way you gently pressed the abdomen, too.”

“Ah….”

“Where did you learn that?”

“I imagined the operating room and read the handover notes [detailed reports passed between medical staff] several times. I also watched some C-section-related videos for a few days.”

“Wow, you even watched videos to do a two-week rotation in obstetrics? That’s touching!”

It wasn’t just lip service.

He seemed genuinely touched by me.

Perhaps because he was a very emotional person, his eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at me.

I decided to take this opportunity to ask something I was curious about.

“But are 34-week-old babies usually that small? I was surprised at how tiny it was.”

“Haha, it was actually quite big for 34 weeks.”

Tear—

He skillfully tore open two packets of instant coffee.

Then, he poured them into the paper cup and stirred both cups of coffee simultaneously, saying,

“Each week is incredibly important for fetuses. That’s why we try to keep them in the womb as long as possible… Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

I drank the coffee Dr. Yoo handed me and was surprised.

It’s delicious!

Is he really an expert?

It was the first time I realized that even the same instant coffee can taste different.

“You’re really an expert.”

“Haha. I only get better at things like this after becoming a resident.”

Dr. Yoo scratched his head.

Judging by his good relationship with the nurses, I could tell he had a good personality.

“You must have seen many different cases in obstetrics, Doctor.”

“That’s right. Especially, I remember one case from around this time last year….”

Slurp—

He sipped his instant coffee, reminiscing.

“There was a mother who suddenly gave birth in the hospital bathroom and dropped the baby in the toilet.”

“Excuse me?”

My mouth dropped open.

Is that a true story?

If it weren’t for an obstetrician telling me, I would have thought it was a lie.

“Surprising, right?”

“Wow….”

“We were surprised too, and of course, the mother was terrified. Imagine how shocked she must have been when the baby suddenly came out in the bathroom.”

“So, was the baby okay?”

To my astonished question, he scratched his cheek.

“We were very worried. There was a risk of infection… But surprisingly, it was very healthy!”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

“When I went to see the baby, it was so strong. It looked like it was about to kick the newborn bed and jump out. Hahaha.”

Life force is amazing.

I also thought that many dynamic things happen in obstetrics.

“Well, even with all sorts of things happening… when you see a baby born healthy, it’s the most rewarding thing in the world.”

He smiled, showing his gums.

I could tell from that smile.

This doctor loves his job.

“Well, in the opposite case, there are times when I regret coming to obstetrics,”

I tilted my head at his bitter mutter as he sipped his coffee.

Regret?

What kind of case would that be?

I would soon find out what he meant.

* * *

Ann Young-hee.

A 37-year-old patient.

She had been hospitalized for a week due to the risk of premature birth caused by cervical incompetence [weakness of the cervix].

She was also a pregnant woman who had already experienced two miscarriages.

‘She’s only 21 weeks along and she’s been hospitalized without being able to leave….’

I couldn’t help but feel sorry as I looked at the patient’s chart.

21 weeks.

That is, still in the second trimester [second three-month period of pregnancy].

It is the period when the fetus develops its skeleton in the womb, but the most important lung maturation has not yet occurred.

What if there is a premature birth at this time?

The baby, born too early, cannot survive.

To have even a sliver of a chance, it must survive at least 24 weeks.

The record at Yonsei University Hospital for saving a baby is known to be a 25-week-old, 380g baby.

So, to save this patient’s baby, it had to be kept in the mother’s womb at all costs.

“Ms. Ann Young-hee, the professor will be here soon.”

“Yes….”

I was able to meet Ann Young-hee every time I did the rounds.

The patient was always lying down.

Except when going to the bathroom or eating.

“How was today?”

“It was okay, Professor….”

The mother’s diagnosis was cervical incompetence.

During pregnancy, the cervix, the entrance to the uterus, must be firm.

That way, the baby will not come out of the uterus prematurely.

However, patients with cervical incompetence do not have strength in their cervix.

In other words, the baby can be pushed out without labor, even when it is not time.

“The surgery went well, so let’s try to hold on as long as possible.”

The surgery the patient received was the McDonald cerclage [a procedure to stitch the cervix closed].

It involves sewing the cervix shut, as if tightening the string of a fortune bag.

As I moved away after the rounds, I overheard Ann Young-hee’s conversation with her guardian behind the curtain.

“Honey, I’m sorry….”

“No, don’t say that. Why do you keep saying you’re sorry when you haven’t done anything wrong?”

.

It was a very common expression I heard from obstetrics patients.

There were so many patients who said that even though it wasn’t their fault.

The causes of diseases that can cause miscarriage are often unknown. Cervical incompetence is the same.

However, from the perspective of a mother carrying a child, it was easy to see cases where everyone said it was their responsibility.

“There are many people who are hospitalized for three months and still deliver successfully. Let’s hang in there, honey.”

“I really want to have a baby this time, it’s the third time….”

“You can do it.”

Third pregnancy attempt.

How desperately she must want a child?

Having experienced multiple failures, she must be thinking this is the last time.

Hoping that heaven will give her a gift this time…….

She is enduring day by day.

However, the incident happened that night.

I was in the high-risk maternal intensive care unit for another patient’s EKG (electrocardiogram) [a test that records the electrical activity of the heart].

At that time, I suddenly heard a surprised voice from the opposite bed.

“Ah… no…!”

It was a voice full of despair.

I got goosebumps.

Could it be?

I paused the electrocardiogram machine for a moment and slightly opened the curtain of the bed where the sound was coming from.

“……!”

I was so surprised by the situation unfolding before my eyes that I froze.

From the center of the bed where the mother was lying, towards her legs, the sheet was turning red.

“D… Doctor!”

The patient looked at me with eyes full of fear and sadness.

What should I do?

Vaginal bleeding after McDonald op [McDonald cerclage surgery] due to cervical incompetence…….

‘……Something’s wrong with the stitched cervix!’

I pressed the call bell to quickly inform the station of the situation and contacted the resident doctor as well.

“Doctor, there’s bleeding with Ms. Ann Young-hee here!”

* * *

……I couldn’t go into the delivery room, but I was able to hear about what happened afterward.

The hospital did its best.

But it was no use.

The tied cervix could no longer hold.

Dr. Yoo had to make a decision, even before the professor arrived.

He quietly explained to the mother.

<……I’ll have to untie the thread.>

No matter how much uterine contraction inhibitors and other drugs were applied, they didn’t work.

For the sake of the next pregnancy, she had no choice but to untie it and accept the loss of the baby.

So, at 21 weeks.

The baby came out into the world.

No, the expression ‘pushed out’ would be more accurate.

The baby’s body, smaller than the palm of a hand, was completely still.

<…….>

A heavy silence fell in the delivery room.

In these cases, the baby is usually not shown to the mother.

Because the family may be shocked, it must be quietly wrapped in a blanket and sent outside.

But then.

The patient, who was lying down, grabbed Dr. Yoo Jung-nam’s sleeve with a weak hand.

<…….>

Dr. Yoo hesitated.

It could hurt the family’s feelings, and they could even become depressed.

However, he couldn’t refuse the patient’s desperate request.

<……I’ll step out for a moment. Take some time to sort things out…….>

After saying that, he waited outside.

The nurses also waited silently.

The husband spent time inside the curtain with his wife, saying goodbye to the baby.

Dr. Yoo Jung-nam said that it was the first time he had ever heard such a quiet and sad cry.

5 minutes later.

The husband came out from behind the curtain, wiping away tears.

He said in a low, trembling voice.

* * *

There is a story.

It is an anecdote related to the great American writer Hemingway.

One day, his friends made a bet with him at a drinking party.

If he could write a novel in six words that would make them cry, he would win.

After thinking for a moment, Hemingway immediately made up this novel.

―For sale: baby shoes, never worn

He won the bet.

Although the authenticity is unclear, the meaning of this story is clear.

The grief of losing a child is the greatest grief in the world.

“Ugh, can I have some tissues?”

Paeng!

Dr. Yoo blew his nose.

In the break room next to the station at 3 a.m., I tore off a few more tissues for him.

He was about to use up a whole box of tissues.

“This is what I’m talking about. Sometimes when I see patients and babies like this, I really…… wonder if I should have come to obstetrics.”

He said, wiping his nose with a wad of tissues.

Doctors are also human.

They see countless patients every day, but they cry when they see patients who are particularly unfortunate.

……Of course, you can’t empathize with every patient.

Because it’s a job.

So sometimes doctors may seem unemotional or blunt.

But they definitely have emotions.

Especially when a young baby dies without even opening its eyes, it’s not easy to hold back tears.

And Dr. Yoo was the most emotional doctor I had ever met.

“Then, should Ms. Ann Young-hee consider the possibility of another pregnancy?”

I asked cautiously, feeling sorry for her.

Until the last moment when a mother delivers a baby, there are many dangerous things that can happen during the 10 months.

Gestational hypertension [high blood pressure during pregnancy].

Cervical incompetence [weakness of the cervix].

Premature rupture of membranes [when the amniotic sac breaks early].

Placental abruption [when the placenta separates from the uterus].

Uterine inversion [when the uterus turns inside out].

Etc…….

Some mothers stumble and fail to complete this thorny path.

But on the other hand, there are many cases where they overcome it with the help of the hospital.

Ann Young-hee may have had several miscarriages, but there may be another chance.

“Well, Ann Young-hee probably…….”

To my question, Dr. Yoo answered with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

(Thank you to Dr. Lee Kyung-no, an obstetrician and gynecologist, for his help with the consultation.)