Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 23

Fifth Vital Sign – Episode 23

23. Positive

Shinhwa University Hospital.

“Ugh! This is so frustrating.”

The head nurse, exiting the operating room, frowned and sighed.

“Teacher, shouldn’t we say something to those upstairs?”

“Ha!”

“What is this, really?”

The head nurse vented her frustration to the doctors who came out of the operating room with her.

“I want to say not just one thing, but ten things.”

“Honestly, putting us through endless shifts in the OR is one thing, but for a professor to have such poor surgical skills…”

The person who cut off the head nurse was none other than the doctor who had taken Tae-kyung’s place.

A friend of the chairman and the son of a congressman, he was a troublesome case in many ways, despite his title of professor.

“If you’re not skilled, at least have a good personality; if you don’t have a good personality, at least have skill.”

“Why not? He doesn’t have either.”

“As fellow doctors, we’re embarrassed to death.”

“Seriously, I’m so worried a patient might collapse in the operating room.”

The new professor was more focused on the appearance of being a ‘doctor’ than on his sense of duty to patients.

A doctor is someone who should study for the sake of patients throughout their career.

However, he focused more on getting his face out in the media than studying for his patients.

“If a university hospital professor lacks skill, they usually study out of embarrassment in front of their juniors. But this professor doesn’t even know that.”

Choi Dong-hoon from anesthesiology, who was on good terms with Tae-kyung, agreed with them as he washed his hands.

“Dr. Choi, you see it that way too, right?”

“Isn’t that something everyone in every department knows, not just me?”

“But there’s nothing we can do by saying this.”

Another colleague next to Choi Dong-hoon chimed in.

“With that great chairman and hospital director backing him, what can we do?”

“Sigh! I miss Dr. Kim Tae-kyung. He was our department’s savior.”

In fact, they hadn’t said it openly, but everyone greatly felt Tae-kyung’s absence.

“Why look for someone who’s doing well in a new place? As if this is a good place.”

“It’s just so frustrating.”

“There’s someone who’s more frustrated and misses him more than we do, right?”

“Don’t tell me! The hospital director?”

Everyone knew the person they were implying was the hospital director.

“What’s there to say?”

“He got him a professorship through connections and is trying to make him a star doctor, but he didn’t know he’d be this unskilled.”

“Serves him right. I don’t like our hospital director. He’s too calculating.”

The medical staff at Shinhwa University Hospital were displeased with the hospital director who had driven Tae-kyung out.

* * *

“Hello.”

“Hello, Doctor.”

Lee Chan-hee greeted as he entered the hospital.

“But you’re here a bit early today.”

“It’s Friday.”

“Ah!”

Nurse Lim Jung-sook nodded briefly at Lee Chan-hee’s words.

“I was so out of it yesterday that I didn’t even realize today is Friday.”

Friday, which could be considered the start of the weekend, was a day when more people visited the hospital than usual.

In particular, it was also a day when the number of patients visiting the emergency room surged.

“It’s going to be even more hectic today.”

“He hasn’t come to work yet, I guess.”

“Who? Dr. Kim?”

“Yes.”

“He hasn’t come to work.”

“Really? He tells me to be diligent, though.”

“He’s here? Go to room 307. Dr. Kim told me to tell Dr. Lee to come when he gets here.”

Doctor Lee, who was passing by, greeted Lee Chan-hee and told him.

“He hasn’t come to work yet…”

“That’s because he hasn’t left work, so he hasn’t come to work.”

“Huh?”

“Go up there quickly.”

Only then did Lee Chan-hee understand Nurse Lim Jung-sook’s words and head to the ward.

“Doctor?”

Tae-kyung, who had given up his *toegeun* [leaving work], was still by the side of the patient in room 307, whom he had saved with CPR.

“He’s stable now.”

Lee Chan-hee looked around at the patient’s monitor and said to himself.

“It’s too early to be relieved. We need to watch him for a few more days.”

“I thought you were dozing off.”

“Who’s dozing off? I just had my eyes closed. Dr. Lee?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why I called you as soon as you came to work?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? After killing a patient, you say that?”

“Yes? K-killing a patient, you say.”

Lee Chan-hee reacted greatly to the shocking words.

“Did you properly review the stomach cancer surgery?”

Of course, he hadn’t actually killed a patient.

“If you do it like that, the patient will die on the table.”

Tae-kyung had performed a stomach cancer surgery with Lee Chan-hee’s image training the day before.

Lee Chan-hee, who had *toegeun*, had written a review note and sent it by email, but there was a mistake in it.

“No. I definitely did yesterday… !”

Lee Chan-hee quickly looked at his email inbox on his phone and discovered his mistake.

“Can you see what’s wrong?”

“I can see it.”

He was so sleepy that he had completely skipped the final part of the surgery.

“I told you to review it with the same mindset as performing the surgery, right?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll finish it again and send it to you.”

“Forget it, rewrite it properly from the beginning.”

“Yes? No, do I really have to rewrite it from the beginning…”

“Why? Don’t you want to?”

“Of course not. I should definitely write it.”

Lee Chan-hee, who met Tae-kyung’s eyes, quickly agreed, fearing he would receive a more difficult assignment if he argued further.

* * *

A man in work clothes was sitting on a bench near the public health center.

“Ah, yes, Manager.”

With anxiety and unease written all over his face, he was startled by the ringtone and answered the phone.

-What is it, Assistant Manager Jeon? Where did you go?

“I came out for a bit on business.”

-We were about to have a Chinese food party, so are you going to come back after lunch?

“Yes, don’t worry about me and enjoy your meal.”

-Then I’ll see you later.

The man hung up the phone and suddenly started repeatedly standing up and sitting down on the bench.

“Ha!”

After repeating the same action, he seemed to make up his mind, put on a mask, and entered the public health center.

“Welcome.”

“Excuse me…”

“What can I help you with?”

He went straight to the clinical pathology lab, hesitated, approached an employee, and barely managed to speak.

“I, a rapid…”

“I can’t hear you well, can you speak a little louder?”

“I want to get a rapid test.”

“Ah! Yes, I’ll help you right away.”

Shortly after-

An employee approached him as he sat in a chair after the test.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“How did it go?”

“The test result came back positive. We’ll help…”

“… !”

Upon hearing the employee’s words, the man, with an expression as if he was about to collapse, stormed out of the place.

* * *

“Alright! If we just work overtime until today, there won’t be any overtime for a while.”

“Manager, do you know you said that last week too?”

“Sorry. It’s all because you guys make good products.”

“My wife is complaining that the kids are forgetting what their dad looks like.”

“Instead, the president has definitely promised bonuses and salary increases.”

“Then we have to cheer up right away.”

Unlike the other employees who were excited about the salary increase, one employee’s expression was not so bright.

“Hey, Assistant Manager Jeon?”

The manager called out to him, who was staring blankly at the endlessly running machine.

“Assistant Manager Jeon?”

“… Yes, Manager.”

“What’s wrong, son?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“You’ve been acting strange lately. If you’re not feeling well, don’t overdo it and go in.”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Don’t daydream in front of the machine and focus.”

“Yes, Manager.”

Just then, as the manager, worried about Assistant Manager Jeon, who was different from usual, was turning around.

Thud- Thud-

“Ugh!”

“Manager!! There’s been an accident.”

Assistant Manager Jeon, who couldn’t concentrate because he was daydreaming, had an accident.

“I told you to be careful. Are you okay?”

“Manager, Assistant Manager Jeon is bleeding a lot?”

“Let’s stop the bleeding first.”

“I brought the first aid kit here.”

“Look at Assistant Manager Jeon’s arm.”

“Don’t touch it!!”

Assistant Manager Jeon screamed as the manager and colleague tried to touch his arm to stop the bleeding.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“No, I’m worried about the blood, it’s dirty.”

Assistant Manager Jeon’s face was contorted with the pain.

“What?”

“I was worried you’d get your clothes dirty.”

“The injured person is worried about everything.”

Strangely, he wrapped the injured arm tightly with a towel so that no one else could touch it.

“Let’s go to the hospital first. Quickly!”

“No. I’ll go alone.”

“How can a person with an injured arm go to the hospital alone?”

“I can go alone.”

“Hey. You. If you keep doing this, I’ll get angry. Get up quickly.”

The manager, who cared for his employees, took him to the hospital, dissuading him.

* * *

Tae-kyung, who had finished gallbladder surgery and was seeing *yeyak* [appointment] patients in the *jinryosil* [examination room], headed to the emergency room.

“You punk!”

As befitting a Friday, the sounds of various patients filled the emergency room.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Waaah! I don’t like it! It’s scary.”

“Hey, bring me more *sul* [alcohol], you son of a bitch.”

“Oh, I’m dying. I’m dying.”

From a drunk patient to a young patient bleeding from falling off a bicycle to a patient screaming from kidney stones.

All the patients were showing off their presence.

“Mom! Where did Mom go?”

“Patient, I’m not your mom.”

Amidst the chaos, doctors and nurses alike, the veteran Tae-kyung approached a patient with a calm expression.

“Doctor! I think I’m going to die.”

The patient cried out as soon as he saw Tae-kyung.

“I can see my ancestors in front of me.”

“Patient, you’re not going to die. The person next to you is not your ancestor but our medical staff.”

“What if I die like this?”

“Patient, you’re still in your mid-30s. Don’t worry. You’re in severe pain, but you’re definitely not going to die.”

“Really?”

“Of course. We’ll give you a strong painkiller.”

“Yes, please. Please stop the pain.”

The kidney stone patient’s face was pale with pain.

“Prescribe a painkiller and finish up the enteritis patient I mentioned earlier when they’re done with the IV fluids.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Doctor, please take a look here.”

Nurse Lim Jung-sook called Tae-kyung, who had finished prescribing.

“This friend is hurt.”

Tae-kyung immediately knew that the patient was someone who worked in the field when he saw the two men in work clothes.

“He’s an employee at our factory, and he cut his hand during work.”

There were often cases where people visited the hospital due to accidents such as being cut by a grinder at a factory or construction site.

“Manager, I’ll get treatment and go, so you can go now.”

“Quiet and get treatment first.”

“Patient Jeon Geon-myeon?”

Tae-kyung called out the name of the patient who was holding his injured hand tightly wrapped in a *geojitdaegi* [rag].

“We’ll move to the treatment room next door.”

Tae-kyung, who moved to the treatment room, guided the patient to the bed.

“Your head is this way. Let me take a look at the injured area for a moment.”

“Wait a minute!”

Patient Jeon Geon-myeon, who had *beoltteok* [suddenly] gotten up as Tae-kyung tried to touch his injured arm, leaned into a corner.

“Can’t I just go?”

“… !”

It was an unexpected outburst from the patient.

“Assistant Manager Jeon, what’s wrong? Huh?”

“I’m okay, Manager.”

“What do you mean you’re okay?”

“Doctor, I don’t have such a big injury. Just give me a painkiller.”

That’s a lie. Blood was slowly seeping through the *geojitdaegi* that hid his arm.

“I think the patient is surprised because of the injury. I’ll help you so you’re not uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine. I’m really okay. Really.”

“Yes, then let’s do this. I’ll just take a quick look at the wound.”

“…”

“I need to see the wound to determine whether to give you a painkiller. That’s okay, right?”

“… Yes.”

Patient Jeon Geon-myeon nodded at Tae-kyung’s persuasion.

“I’ll take a good look so it doesn’t hurt.”

When the cloth was removed, one blood vessel stretched out to the side, and then stretched out again.

“Oh! Oh!”

The patient’s pupils trembled as he was surprised by his own blood vessels.

“B-blood…”

“Patient, you’re okay. Don’t move.”

Anyone could see that the *dongmaek* [artery] was damaged by the way it was pumping like that.

Moreover, the wound area is dirty overall because it is wrapped in *cheon* [cloth].

There was concern about infection.

“Give me saline solution.”

“How much should I bring?”

“Bring about 20.”

“Yes.”

Tae-kyung wiped the wound area with sterile saline solution.

Due to concerns about infection, a large amount of saline solution is poured to primarily resolve germs and impurities.

“Doctor, I’ll do it.”

The emergency medical technician who resides in the emergency room came into the treatment room and said.

“I’ll look at the wound and do it. It’s okay, so help with other things.”

Tae-kyung wanted to quickly check the wound because he thought the *dongmaek* was damaged. The wound area was about 15cm below the lower right arm.

‘Fortunately, it’s smooth.’

The muscles were also slightly damaged, but the boundary was smooth.

“Are you going to *suchi* [suture]?”

“I think it’s possible.”

It seemed that *bonghap* [suturing] was also possible when saline solution was continuously poured.

In the case of dirty wounds, delayed *bonghap* was sometimes performed due to concerns about infection.

“Prepare povidone.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

In the case of patient Jeon Geon-myeon, it was decided to disinfect with povidone and *bonghap*.

“Give me gauze. I’m going to do that surgery quickly here. Call Dr. Jung and tell him to come.”

“Ah, no, it can’t be!”

“Yes!?”

“It can’t be!”

Everyone in the treatment room was momentarily embarrassed.

“Assistant Manager Jeon, what’s really wrong?”

“Patient Jeon Geon-myeon?”

“It can’t be.”

Even Tae-kyung, who rarely gets flustered, was slightly embarrassed.

“What do you mean it can’t be? Patient, do you have a reason?”

“Ah, no… it’s not that. Money!”

Something is wrong.

“I don’t have money.”

“Assistant Manager Jeon, what are you talking about?”

Amidst something strange, the patient’s firm next words followed.

“I don’t have money, so it can’t be done. So please finish it roughly here quickly. Quickly!”