Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 259

259. Inside the Mother’s Womb…

“Something happened? Is it an emergency patient?”

“Yes, but the patient is a pregnant woman who seems to be going into labor soon… It’s an emergency delivery case.”

“Emergency delivery?”

“Yes. They said they received a call a little while ago.”

A little while ago-

A phone call shattered the silence of the quiet emergency room.

‘Yes. This is Our Hospital.’

‘-Is this Our Hospital? We have a 45-year-old pregnant woman experiencing labor pains, and it seems too difficult for our hospital to handle.’

‘Oh my! Really? We have an obstetrician here, so please send the patient over.’

It happened that the medical staff who answered the phone was the youngest nurse.

She was a newbie who had just started her career and hadn’t been working for long.

She had occasionally seen ultrasounds or provided simple care for pregnant women who came to the emergency room. Because of this, the youngest nurse naturally assumed that childbirth was also possible.

Although not all of Our Hospital’s medical staff knew the exact circumstances of Dr. Jin that Tae-kyung had heard about today, they all knew that she didn’t handle deliveries.

Naturally, everyone thought someone would have told the youngest nurse, which is why this happened.

The youngest nurse, who answered the phone, immediately reported to the head nurse, Lim Jeong-sook, and the two rushed to the medical office.

“I should have asked… I’m so sorry.”

The youngest nurse, overwhelmed by the fact that she had made a mistake, hung her head.

“It’s not like you did it on purpose, so don’t worry about it. And right now, the patient is the priority, so first…”

As Tae-kyung spoke, he glanced at Dr. Jin for a moment.

She looked very different from how she had been laughing and joking about the perilla leaf debate just a little while ago.

The moment she heard the words ‘delivery patient,’ the smile disappeared from Dr. Jin’s face.

“Call 119 [emergency services number in South Korea] and apologize, telling them that our hospital doesn’t handle deliveries.”

After thinking for a brief moment, Tae-kyung ultimately decided to transfer the patient.

It had only been a few hours since he had heard Dr. Jin’s story. Therefore, he didn’t want to put undue pressure on his junior colleague.

Moreover, he couldn’t force her to perform a delivery when he didn’t even know the patient’s condition for sure. That wouldn’t be a good choice for either Dr. Jin or the patient.

If he knew a lot about childbirth, he would have stepped up himself, but obstetrics, especially deliveries, was a different field.

No matter how nosy and caring Tae-kyung was, this was something he couldn’t do.

“There’s no time, so call right away… No, it’s okay. I’ll just call.”

“Doctor!”

Just as Tae-kyung was about to take out his cell phone and leave with Nurse Lim Jeong-sook, Dr. Jin, who had been silently quiet, stood up and said.

“What?”

“Don’t call.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Dr. Jung, what did you just say?”

“I’ll deliver that patient.”

“Dr. Jung? Did you really mean what you just said?”

“Yes, I mean it.”

“Eui-jin, you don’t have to force yourself to do that.”

Tae-kyung walked over to Dr. Jin and said in a low voice.

“No, I’m not forcing myself. I’m thinking about what I’m saying.”

As soon as Dr. Jin heard the words ‘delivery patient,’ she was initially a little flustered. But she quickly came to her senses and thought.

Although she hadn’t received an accurate briefing, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook’s words that the baby was about to come out were probably true.

That meant the mother’s delivery was imminent.

Currently, the only hospitals that could handle the transfer and delivery were university hospitals.

If they transferred her to that hospital from here, it would take about an hour.

That meant the mother would likely give birth in the 119 ambulance speeding down the road.

Dr. Jin didn’t want the mother and baby to face such a situation.

And more than anything, she felt like she couldn’t turn a blind eye to that mother. She had revealed the story of Natty Me [likely a personal story or project] for the first time on her own.

That was a big deal for Dr. Jin, like a turning point.

It was like being freed from the memories and emotional pain she had kept in her heart.

Besides, hearing that an emergency delivery patient was coming on a day like this, she couldn’t just stand by.

In a way, it was even amazing.

During her time working at Our Hospital, she had met so many patients, but it was the first time a patient in urgent need of delivery had been brought in by 119.

Of course, there had been cases where paramedics called to ask if a transfer was possible, like today. But at that time, Nurse Lim Jeong-sook or other medical staff would explain the situation and refuse.

But by chance, the youngest nurse answered the phone, and a mother about to give birth was coming urgently. She didn’t want to ignore such a mother.

In Dr. Jin’s heart, the desire to help the mother had overtaken the fear and the desire to run away.

The instinct of an obstetrician drove her.

“Dr. Jung, are you really sure you can do it?”

Tae-kyung asked again firmly, and Dr. Jin answered clearly.

“Yes, Doctor. I’m not saying this out of bravado. I can do it.”

“Okay, good. Go ahead.”

As soon as Tae-kyung gave his permission, Dr. Jin’s eyes changed.

“Yes, I need to know the baby’s condition first.”

Dr. Jin began to ask about the mother and baby.

“Nurse Lim? How many weeks along is she, and is the placenta okay? What’s the baby’s position?”

“Everything is normal, but there’s one unusual thing.”

“Unusual thing?”

“There’s a fibroid in the uterus, and it’s quite large.”

“Okay, I understand for now. Let’s prepare the operating room first since there’s no time. Doctor, let’s move to the operating room.”

“Okay. I understand.”

Tae-kyung hurried to the operating room with Dr. Jin. He naturally thought that he should be the assistant.

‘I’m a little nervous.’

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he had been in an obstetrics delivery room since his internship.

He had been in the operating room more often than his own home, but today he felt a little different.

He glanced at Dr. Jin, and unlike him, who was nervous, she didn’t seem nervous at all.

“Doctor? Just a moment.”

Dr. Jin stopped him as he was about to scrub his hands before the surgery.

“Don’t wash your hands yet. Please help me with something.”

“Okay, I understand.”

At those words, Tae-kyung quickly put on a gown and followed her.

“But having a fibroid doesn’t necessarily mean we have to do a C-section, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. It depends on the size and location of the fibroid.”

Fibroids are tumors that develop from muscle cells, and they refer to the excessive proliferation of a part of the tissue.

Uterine fibroids are benign tumors that occur in the smooth muscle of the uterus and are common in women.

They are sometimes discovered when planning a pregnancy, sometimes they occur during pregnancy, and sometimes they are discovered because of severe menstrual pain. Also, sometimes they are discovered by chance without ever knowing.

Although the exact cause has not yet been identified, it is known to be influenced by female hormones, genetic factors, and stress.

“We can’t recklessly perform a C-section because the fibroid can cause bleeding that can’t be stopped. It’s dangerous if we accidentally touch the fibroid while going in.”

“That’s right.”

“So, we need to check its location and size and then decide whether to proceed with a vaginal delivery.”

“Vaginal delivery…”

Tae-kyung had performed surgery on pregnant patients for appendicitis or other surgical procedures, but he hadn’t seen a delivery since his internship.

That was also a long time ago, so he didn’t remember it well.

Of course, it seemed like there wasn’t much to do besides the obstetrician who was delivering the baby.

Tae-kyung, who was never nervous during surgery, felt a slight tension in the unfamiliar situation of childbirth. But he didn’t show it.

He wanted to be a proper assistant and provide even a little help to Dr. Jin, who was delivering after a long time. Besides, he didn’t want to pass on his nervousness to Dr. Jin.

With all the preparations in the operating room completed, the mother arrived.

“Ugh! My stomach hurts so much.”

The mother, who was brought into the hospital on a bed, cried out in agony, feeling extreme pain.

“Doctor! Please save my wife.”

The husband, who came with the mother, poured out his grievances as soon as he saw the medical staff, as if he had a lot to say.

“This woman is a delivery veteran. This one in her belly is her fourth child. From the first to the third, she didn’t have much pain and gave birth without any problems, but suddenly this is happening with the fourth, I don’t know what’s going on…”

Next to his suffering wife, the husband held her hand tightly, looking perplexed.

The couple, who loved children so much, gave birth with gratitude every time they had a child.

They had three children, which was difficult for others to have even one, so they thought they should raise them healthier and more upright.

The only regret was that the first, second, and even the third were all sons.

They were the type to give birth to whatever came along, regardless of whether it was a son or daughter, but after having three sons in a row, the two secretly wanted a daughter.

‘Honey, should we have one more daughter?’

‘Are you sure? It’s already hard enough with those guys.’

‘You help me a lot. And it doesn’t seem like it would be much harder to add one more to three. Above all, they say raising a daughter is different from raising a son.’

‘Honestly, I wish I had a daughter too. But you’re getting older…’

‘Even though I look like this, I’m good at getting pregnant, and I gave birth to the third child without any problems. Don’t worry. And as you said, I might not even get pregnant because I’m old.’

‘Okay. We’re old, so let’s just try without any pressure. But it would be nice if we had one.’

‘Me too. I wish we had a daughter.’

The loving couple diligently engaged in marital life without any expectations, and thankfully, they conceived a daughter.

But an unexpected situation arose.

The couple planned to give birth at the local hospital they had been going to until the third child, as always.

The doctor there, who had been monitoring the progress through regular checkups, thought it would be okay. But because of the fibroid, they couldn’t give birth at that hospital.

The doctor at the hospital they had been going to also knew about the mother’s condition and thought it would be okay. But when they tried to deliver, it was different from what they had expected.

It was too dangerous to continue the delivery, so the doctor quickly contacted Our Hospital.

“Doctor! I’m in so much pain. Is my baby going to be okay?”

The mother was worried about her baby first, even in the midst of her pain.

“Doctor, why is my wife like this? This has never happened before. We went to give birth to our youngest, and then we came here in an ambulance.”

“Please don’t talk too much, since it’s hard for the mother. And the guardian should wait in the waiting room.”

“Doctor! Please take good care of her.”

“I’ll do my best. Let’s move inside first.”

The husband, who was watching the medical staff urgently pushing the bed with his wife lying on it, reluctantly turned away.

“Ha! This is driving me crazy. Really…”

With a worried and anxious expression, he headed to the waiting room for guardians.

“I need to make a call first.”

The husband took out his cell phone from his pocket to call his family, who must be worried at home.

“Oh!”

But his mother-in-law, who should have been at home, was sitting in the waiting room for guardians.

“Oh, Mother, how did you get here?”

“Don’t even ask. Those kids were so worried about their mom that they kept nagging me. I called OO Hospital [unspecified hospital name], and they said she was transferred here, so I was surprised and came by taxi.”

“Dad!”

“Dad.”

When the husband looked past his mother-in-law, the children sitting in a row called out to their father.

The quiet and reliable high school freshman, the mischievous middle school sophomore, and the gentle elementary school third grader had all come.

“You guys have to go to school. Why are you here?”

“We’ve already prepared everything, and there are still two hours left before we have to go to school, so it’s okay.”

The children came to the hospital wearing their school uniforms and carrying their backpacks, ready for school.

“Dad, I searched on Grandma’s phone while coming to the hospital, and the director here is the person who appeared on that after-school program back then.”

The third grader said proudly, as if he had discovered something great.

“They said he’s very skilled and a genius doctor, so he’ll take good care of Mom and the youngest.”

“Are you stupid?”

The second grader, who was listening to him, corrected his younger brother.

“That doctor doesn’t specialize in obstetrics, so he can’t see Mom.”

“He’s a doctor. Doctors see all sick people!”

The third grader, who was in elementary school, didn’t yet know the details of a doctor’s specialty.

“That doctor doesn’t see people who are pregnant like Mom.”

“Then, what about Mom? Is our mom going to die? Ah! Why are you hitting me!”

At the word ‘die,’ the second grader hit the youngest’s head with his palm.

“Why are you hitting me, hyung [older brother]?”

“I’m hitting you because you’re saying unlucky things. Why would Mom die?”

“You guys, don’t fight here.”

“Grandma, it’s not that, the second hyung hit me.”

“You deserved it.”

The husband, who was already out of his mind because of his wife, was even more out of his mind because of the children.

“Hey! Second, third, come here.”

Just as he was about to say something while holding his throbbing head, the first grader, who fortunately noticed his father’s feelings, controlled his younger siblings.

“Before we came to the hospital, I told you not to fight, not to raise your voices, and to be quiet, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Mom came to the hospital because she’s giving birth to the youngest. So, can you two fight? No?”

“No.”

“Second?”

“I won’t fight.”

“Shake hands with each other. Hyung [older brother] will give you his cell phone, so take turns playing games and sit quietly. Got it?”

The two younger brothers nodded vigorously and followed the first grader’s words.

As the children became quiet, the husband sat next to his mother-in-law, put his hands together, and prayed for his wife’s safety.

‘Please! Help my wife and child be safe. Please… protect them. Save them.’