Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 274

Fifth Vital Sign – Episode 274 (274/502)

274. Tae-kyung’s Silence

“Quickly! Go to the blood bank and get some! Hurry!”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Doctor, scalpel!”

Tae-kyung inserted the instrument into Gu Min-woo’s mouth for endotracheal intubation [inserting a tube into the trachea to help with breathing] and pushed it deep into his throat.

He lowered his head to see clearly, carefully examining the inside of his throat. He lifted the inside of the mouth with the instrument in his left hand, then adjusted his grip.

“Ah, damn it! Get me the camera. The blade won’t work. Weren’t you supposed to bring it earlier?”

Normally, endotracheal intubation would be possible by lifting the neck with the instrument. However, it was unclear whether Gu Min-woo had any external injuries to his neck.

Applying excessive force to the neck at this time could put the patient at risk of immediate death.

Therefore, using the instrument with only a slight force made it difficult to secure a clear view.

“The videoscope [a device with a camera at the end to facilitate endotracheal intubation] is here.”

Tae-kyung held the instrument in his left hand again and the endotracheal tube in his right hand, and he inserted the instrument into Gu Min-woo’s throat without hesitation.

“Fix it at 24cm.”

“I’ll secure the central venous catheter. Get ready.”

“Director, I’ve secured a line in his right hand.”

“First, infuse blood through that line. Has it arrived yet?”

“Yes, it’s here now.”

“Administer it. And squeeze it. Infuse it with pressure.”

“Doctor, norepinephrine [a medication used to raise blood pressure] is currently being infused at 10 micrograms, and the systolic pressure is 70 after 5 minutes.”

“It should go up now.”

Tae-kyung, who had brought the ultrasound machine next to him, placed the probe [the part of the ultrasound machine that is placed on the area to be examined] on Gu Min-woo’s side.

“Is there any blood pooling?”

“No, not the liver or kidneys, nor the spleen… not the bladder or below it… where is it? Where is it?”

“Doctor, the systolic pressure is dropping again to 68.”

“Give him a double dose of norepinephrine first.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Damn it!”

Suddenly, an urgent sound burst from Tae-kyung’s mouth.

“Cardiac tamponade [a condition in which blood accumulates in the sac around the heart, preventing it from pumping effectively].”

Along with Tae-kyung’s surprised expression, the gazes of Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona, as well as the nurses, turned to the ultrasound monitor.

On the ultrasound screen, the heart was beating, and transparent blood around the heart was filling the pericardium [the sac around the heart].

“Ha!”

The pressure from the bleeding within the pericardium was compressing the heart, which could lead to the patient’s death.

The expressions of the gathered medical staff darkened rapidly.

“Doctor! I’ll prepare for pericardiocentesis [a procedure to remove fluid from around the heart].”

Unlike Choi Mona and Lee Chan-hee, who were moving busily as soon as they checked the ultrasound screen, Tae-kyung was standing there, surprisingly blank.

He was literally standing still, having stopped all actions.

“……!”

Lee Chan-hee was bewildered by Tae-kyung’s behavior, which was so different from his usual self.

Tae-kyung was the one who would perform the necessary actions for the patient faster than anyone else in an emergency.

But the fact that such a person was not doing anything in this most urgent of situations was very strange.

‘Why? What’s wrong with him?’

‘What is it! Why is he just standing there?’

Lee Chan-hee and Choi Mona thought inwardly, quite puzzled.

Not only the two of them, but all the medical staff in the intensive care unit were feeling something was wrong and were looking at Tae-kyung.

Everyone had no words to say, but they exchanged glances and didn’t know what to do.

It was a truly embarrassing and anxious situation.

It was like a ship drifting in a rapid current, and the most important captain was standing still, letting go of the helm.

“Doctor!!”

Nurse Lim Jung-sook, unable to bear the uneasy silence any longer, shouted.

“The patient’s systolic pressure is 60, and the heart rate is 130. Pericardiocentesis is ready.”

“Doctor, I will do it now.”

Lee Chan-hee’s heart was not only anxious but also felt like it was shrinking. But she couldn’t bring herself to say anything to Tae-kyung, and she had to do something, so she stepped forward to do it herself.

A person who would do anything for the patient and offer the best help if it was for the patient.

Such a Tae-kyung was now just watching Gu Min-woo die, without doing anything.

“Doctor!!”

“…….”

Tae-kyung, who was looking at Lee Chan-hee with a rather heavy gaze, looked back at the monitor with the loud alarm sound.

“Do it.”

And Tae-kyung, who broke the short silence, finally opened his mouth. In reality, it was only a few seconds of silence, but the perceived time for the medical staff gathered here felt like an hour.

“Yes!?”

“Doctor Lee said she would do it. So, let her do it.”

“I, I’ve never done it before.”

It was a word that came out because she was so anxious, but in fact, Lee Chan-hee had never done pericardiocentesis before.

“Wait a minute!”

Tae-kyung, leaving behind Lee Chan-hee, who was embarrassed by the words to do pericardiocentesis, suddenly picked up two bottles of povidone [an antiseptic solution] and placed them right next to Gu Min-woo.

“Now, look at the ultrasound and insert it slowly.”

It was an incomprehensible action.

No one knew why he suddenly brought the povidone bottles.

Moreover, it didn’t make sense that he was ordering Lee Chan-hee, not himself, to do pericardiocentesis, which she had never done before.

“I told you to do it slowly.”

“Ah, yes… I understand.”

Like a bolt from the blue, tension suddenly poured over Lee Chan-hee’s face.

Pericardiocentesis is a very dangerous procedure that can lead to the patient’s death if it deviates by even 1cm.

It was by no means easy to avoid the heart, which moves more than twice a second on the ultrasound screen, and accurately pierce the membrane around it.

Tae-kyung should have done such a dangerous procedure himself. At least, that’s what common sense dictated.

‘Let’s do it! There’s always a first time for everything. Let’s stay focused and do it.’

But Lee Chan-hee decided to trust Tae-kyung more than her own common sense.

“I will start.”

With determined words, Lee Chan-hee looked at the ultrasound and slowly moved the long, thick needle towards Gu Min-woo’s pericardium.

“……!”

Then, reaching the membrane and applying a very slight force, she felt the membrane being pierced, although it did not touch the heart. And blood spurted out through the needle.

“The patient’s heart rate is dropping. It’s now pointing to 110.”

“Ha!”

“That’s a relief!”

The medical staff and Lee Chan-hee, who were watching, were feeling a little relieved. But even in that slight relief, there was one person who had a different atmosphere, and that was Tae-kyung.

Even in the moment when everyone was briefly relieved, Tae-kyung’s expression did not change at all.

“Um, Doctor. Can we take the patient for a CT scan now?”

“…….”

Tae-kyung did not answer Lee Chan-hee’s question and was only staring intently at the monitor showing Gu Min-woo’s blood pressure, heart rate, and electrocardiogram.

“Um… Doctor, now…”

Just as Lee Chan-hee was about to speak again, Tae-kyung reached out his hand and stopped her.

“…….”

‘Why is he doing that?’

‘The director is a bit strange today?’

Everyone was just complaining inwardly, and no one could understand Tae-kyung’s actions.

The treatment for cardiac tamponade is, of course, to remove the pooled blood.

This is something that quite a few people would know, even if they are not medical professionals but have watched medical dramas.

But instead of doing that, he was just standing still, and even at this moment, when they had to urgently take a CT scan of the patient and find out the cause, Tae-kyung was only looking at the screen.

If there were other medical professionals who didn’t know Tae-kyung, they would have slapped him on the back of the head and cursed at him.

But the people gathered here thought that there must be a good reason for Tae-kyung’s actions.

Whatever his actions were now, whatever his thoughts were, Tae-kyung was the one who cared most about the patient, and Tae-kyung was the one who knew the patient best.

This was an undeniable fact.

In that way, a minute of silence, much longer than before, passed. One minute in front of an emergency patient is a longer time than you think.

“Doctor, is there any reason why you’re doing this…”

This time, Nurse Lim Jung-sook, who was still frustrated, wanted to know the reason and was about to speak when it happened.

Beep- Beep- Beep- Beep-

Suddenly, a warning sound was heard from the monitor, and Gu Min-woo’s blood pressure began to drop sharply.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

In that moment when everyone was distracted by the sudden warning sound, Tae-kyung tore open two bottles of povidone next to him. And without hesitation, he poured the entire bottle onto Gu Min-woo’s chest.

Then, an amazing sight unfolded.

Tae-kyung, wearing sterile gloves, suddenly plunged the scalpel into Gu Min-woo’s left chest, right below, that is, exactly between the ribs.

“Oh!”

“……!”

“Oh my!”

The eyes of the medical staff who were watching the scene widened. But it was too early to be surprised.

Because an even more shocking sight unfolded right after.

Tae-kyung forcefully pushed the scalpel deep into his chest all the way down. Then, Gu Min-woo’s lungs began to be visible to the naked eye.

That’s how deeply he stabbed the scalpel.

“……!”

“!?”

Even the nurses who had been in the emergency room for a long time had never seen a patient’s chest opened with a scalpel and the lungs and heart seen with their own eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time when everyone was surprised by Tae-kyung’s sudden actions, Lee So-ri had just arrived at the hospital.

“Excuse me, Min-woo! My husband… !”

Lee So-ri, who was asking the reception staff, stopped talking and walked straight to the emergency room.

Her bloodshot, swollen, and tearful eyes proved that she had been crying incessantly while coming to the hospital.

“Min-woo!!”

Lee So-ri, who entered the emergency room, began to call her husband’s name urgently.

Shhh-

“Honey!”

Then, she began to look for Gu Min-woo by opening the curtains on the beds one by one. Lee So-ri was so worried about her husband that she couldn’t see anything.

Shhh-

“Honey?”

“Please calm down, ma’am.”

“Just a moment!”

“Min-woo!!”

“You can’t do this, ma’am.”

“Just once… I’ll just check my husband’s face to see if he’s okay.”

“You can’t do this here, ma’am.”

“Please! I’ll just see my husband’s face to see if he’s okay.”

“Your husband is currently receiving treatment. Please go to the waiting room and wait.”

Two nurses were barely coaxing her and taking her out of the emergency room, and they were able to guide her to the guardian waiting room [waiting room for family members].

“Doctor! My husband! Is my husband okay? Huh? Please just tell me that.”

“The doctors are working hard to treat him now.”

The nurse knew very well the desperate eyes and anxious heart of the guardian who had rushed to hear the painful news of the patient.

She wanted to say something, but she had nothing to say because she didn’t know what condition Gu Min-woo was in or what would happen in the future.

She could only hope that he would receive good treatment in the intensive care unit and that good news would be heard.

“It must be hard for you, ma’am, but please wait a little longer.”

The nurse said goodbye and left the guardian waiting room, and Action Team Leader Kim Chang-hee approached Lee So-ri, who was standing blankly.

“Sister-in-law?”

He had been receiving urgent phone calls about Gu Min-woo’s injury, and he ran to the waiting room after seeing Lee So-ri coming out of the emergency room with a distracted expression.

“Hello. I’m CEO Kim Chang-hee. About Min-woo’s situation…”