Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 162

#162 Happy Birthday (21)

Song Yu-ju tilted her head, considering my overly optimistic words.

“Is that based on anything concrete?”

“No. I just have a feeling it will be.”

“…You’re weird.”

Song Yu-ju muttered indifferently and walked away down the hallway.

I smiled.

Vague optimism?

No, it’s a certainty.

If the future I saw, guided by gravity, unfolds as it was….

No-eul’s bleeding will stop around tomorrow.

‘Thank goodness.’

In the end, the future has changed.

The stones I diligently threw, one by one, have finally succeeded in changing the course of the stream.

This is the first time I’ve felt so relieved after seeing the future.

* * *

Two days after the surgery.

Around noon, Jung No-eul opened her eyes.

“……”

She groped for her memories.

The last thing she remembered was the ceiling of the operating room.

After that, an endless darkness covered her eyes.

At the same time, many memories flashed through her mind like a panorama.

A warm touch, the affectionate voices of her family, the first fetal movements she felt, and so on….

The longing sensations gradually scattered and faded away.

Her whole body felt languid, and she felt like she could relax if she just gave in.

A feeling of slowly sinking into the deep sea, never to rise again.

But then.

An unknown force grabbed her and pulled her above the surface of consciousness.

“……”

The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was a grayish-white ceiling.

It hurts….

She felt unbearable pain all over her body, including her abdomen.

Ironically, that intense pain was proof that she had survived safely.

“Jung No-eul, can you hear me? Are you awake?”

She heard the familiar voice of her doctor.

No-eul quickly came to her senses.

She felt that a part of what she had been carrying in her belly was gone.

She wanted to say that, but no sound came out.

A long tube was inserted from her mouth to her throat.

Her lips, tongue, and throat were parched as if dried with a hair dryer.

Turning her gaze, she saw several lines of intravenous fluids coming out of her body.

‘Oh my gosh, I really came back from the brink of death….’

No-eul was struck by a fresh realization.

“Patient, the surgery went well. You are in the intensive care unit. If you can hear me, can you nod your head?”

Swish―

She tilted her head slightly back and forth.

The doctor and nurse next to her made eye contact and nodded with happy faces.

She, the patient, could sense how worried the medical staff had been about the unstoppable bleeding.

No-eul went one step further.

With a barely moving index finger, she pointed to her stomach.

As if understanding her intention, the doctor smiled and replied.

“The baby is healthy! It was born prematurely and needs care for a few weeks. So, it’s in the neonatal intensive care unit.”

That’s a relief.

Tension melted away from No-eul’s eyes.

For a moment, she even forgot the pain.

Only then did she come to her senses and look around, and she saw not only the professor but also many doctors and nurses surrounding her.

“The patient is currently being supported by ECMO [Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, a life support machine]. Once that part is resolved, we will remove the tube in your mouth.”

No-eul’s next step was ECMO weaning.

This refers to reducing the dependence on ECMO and removing it by reducing the amount of medication being administered to the patient.

“Don’t worry and just think about breathing comfortably.”

No-eul answered with a look.

If she could have made a sound, she would have said that sincerely, over and over again.

Soon, the people around her moved in a group to the bed next to her.

At that time, one person in a white coat approached her slightly and spoke to her.

“No-eul, you’ve been through a lot.”

A youthful face, a familiar voice.

It was Seon-han.

In that moment, the lights on the ceiling overlapped, and Seon-han seemed to shine in No-eul’s eyes.

He took her hand, as he had done before the surgery, and said playfully.

“I kept my promise from a long time ago, right?”

“……”

“Everything will be alright now.”

No-eul nodded.

Even with a tube in her mouth, she smiled.

Why?

Seon-han’s words had the power to make people feel more comfortable than anything else.

No-eul finally felt relieved and closed her eyes.

She wanted to sleep just a little longer.

* * *

Last night.

No-eul’s bleeding decreased rapidly.

The amount of bleeding through the drainage tube, which had been recorded in large quantities per hour, had decreased to less than 30cc per hour since 4 a.m.

However, ECMO could not be removed immediately.

First, it had to be confirmed whether her heart condition would be stable without ECMO.

Fortunately, various vital signs stabilized after the bleeding stopped, and she was able to get out of ECMO treatment without any major risks.

Five days after the surgery.

No-eul finally had her ventilator removed and was transferred to the general ward.

Close observation was necessary for several months after childbirth due to the risk of thrombosis [blood clot], but in any case, the course so far was good.

In the end, the future I saw had changed.

“You haven’t seen the baby yet?”

I asked in surprise when I stopped by the cardiology ward for a moment.

Then No-eul grumbled in a sulky voice.

“Yeah, I wanted to see it myself… I didn’t know it would be this late.”

No-eul, who was now barely able to walk, said while sitting on the bed.

“No, I’m the one who gave birth, but I’m the only one who hasn’t seen it! My husband has already seen it three times, but I’m the only one who hasn’t! Does that make sense?”

Seeing her say that as a joke, I thought she was really recovering as usual.

“You can see it in pictures or videos now, right? Should I take some and show you….”

Then No-eul hurriedly waved her hand.

“No. Don’t spoil it.”

“Spoil it?”

“I really hate spoilers. So, since it’s come to this, I told my husband not to show me anything. I want to see it myself.”

I chuckled.

I was reminded of how stubborn and patient this sister was.

She laughed as if what she said was funny.

She looked like it hurt more when she laughed.

“Congratulations, though belated.”

I said before leaving the hospital room.

I couldn’t even say congratulations until now.

Probably not just me, but everyone around me felt the same way.

But now, she can receive unconditional congratulations from everyone.

“Thank you… I want to see it soon. I’m going crazy because I want to see our baby.”

.

When she held those words in her mouth, No-eul’s face looked quite happy.

It was as if she had the sweetest candy in the world in her mouth.

* * *

NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).

A space where incubators are lined up along the walls.

It would be rare to find a space with such a unique landscape in a hospital.

“Mom, please come this way.”

No-eul changed her shoes, put on another sterilized gown over her patient gown, and then was able to enter the NICU.

It feels scary for some reason.

Still, I want to see it soon.

I’m getting impatient.

Guided by the pediatrician, No-eul arrived at the place where her baby was lying.

And for the first time in her life, she greets her baby.

“Tteun-tteun-ah……”

No-eul opens her mouth and calls out the baby’s nickname.

But she’s not used to it.

If she called it by its name, she was afraid it would be too sad if she lost it.

So, even though she had given it a nickname, she couldn’t call it by its name often.

She carefully looked into the incubator at her baby.

“……Small.”

It was really small.

The baby, which could fit on the palm of two hands, was quietly closing its eyes.

No-eul silently watched the baby she had given birth to for a while.

She didn’t know what emotions to feel, and right now she just felt amazed.

“Mom, hold its hand.”

“Can I do that?”

“Of course. Put on these gloves and put your hand through this hole.”

No-eul hesitated for a moment.

It was such a small hand that she didn’t even know where to grab it.

Swish―

She put her hand into the incubator.

And carefully stretched out her finger and gently touched the baby’s hand.

It’s amazing that five very thin fingers are in place on that small hand.

But…….

Squeeze―

The baby grabbed No-eul’s second finger.

“Tteun-tteun-ah.”

No-eul’s eyes widened.

She calls the name again.

A stronger force than she expected is felt at her fingertips.

She felt like she could hear the baby’s voice.

“Tteun-tteun-ah.”

No-eul called out again.

This time, it was a little louder.

Then, as if in response, the baby burst into a small cry.

“Wah―”

“Yes, it’s Mom.”

“Waaah―”

“Mom, Mom will do better. As much as I made you suffer… I’ll do that much better.”

Hot tears that No-eul had been holding back fell in drops.

The husband standing next to her hurriedly looked up at the ceiling with reddened eyes.

“Thank you for coming into the world.”

No-eul smiled without even thinking about wiping away her tears.

It was a smile full of happiness that welled up in her heart.

That’s how Jung No-eul became a mother to a baby.

* * *

“Oh my gosh, the baby recognized its mom and held her finger tightly!”

“Really?”

“Jung No-eul also suddenly started crying, and I was so moved when I saw that… Oh my.”

Paeng!

He blew his nose.

Dr. Yoo Jung-nam, who cries a lot, seems to be about to use up a whole box of tissues today.

He seems to be more emotionally invested than me, who is an acquaintance of the patient.

‘Anyway, he’s a tearful doctor.’

I smiled and tore off more tissue for him.

The eventful obstetrics and gynecology internship was coming to an end.

During that time, I had a lot of experience, especially in obstetrics, and learned a lot.

‘Those were unforgettable days.’

Of course, it’s not over yet.

Before the obstetrics internship is over, there is one thing I have left to finish.

I had been thinking about it all along, and I was determined to put it into action.

But then, I suddenly remembered Song Yu-ju’s warning.

Is this also meddling?

Well, I guess so.

For an intern to call a patient who has already been discharged is nonsense to anyone.

‘But… in the golden future I saw that day, the two of them looked really happy.’

I recalled the memory.

If I deviated just a little from the dark future led by gravity, there was a brightly shining future connected by lines.

In other words, if I make some changes… the probability of that future coming will increase, right?

Judging from No-eul’s case this time, I became even more convinced that my idea was correct.

‘Okay, let’s do it.’

After much deliberation, I boldly made a phone call.

* * *

Beep―

The phone on the table rings.

The voice of a man cooking in the kitchen was heard.

“Honey, I think the phone is ringing in the living room?”

“Okay, just a moment.”

Soon a woman appeared in the living room.

An Young-hee.

She had lost her baby at Yeon-guk University Hospital not long ago.

She even had surgery to tie her cervix [cervical cerclage], but in the end, she couldn’t hold on and the baby came out too early.

The moment she held her dead baby with her husband and said goodbye that day is still vivid.

She was now trying to erase that sadness.

“It’s an unknown number?”

“Then don’t answer it.”

“Yeah… should I?”

She tilted her head and put the phone back down.

Beep―

The phone keeps ringing.

She would normally ignore it without answering, but for some reason, she felt strange today.

She felt like she had to answer this call.