Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 359

“That’s a relief. The hospital is in a state of near-emergency right now, so I need to get to the ER quickly.”

“Has that patient already arrived?”

Oh Chang-gyu, who had been listening to Euijin, asked with a calm and indifferent expression.

“Patient?”

“The prison patient.”

“Oh, you’ve already heard about it, Osam [Oh Doctor]?”

“Ah, yes… I overheard Team Leader Choi talking in the restroom earlier.”

“Really? Then you roughly know the situation?”

“Yes.”

“They’ll probably arrive soon. Listen to Soo-ssam [Soo Doctor] when you get to the ER, and go quickly.”

“Understood.”

“And don’t forget to take your antibiotics.”

“Yes, Doctor. Thank you.”

After finishing his conversation with Euijin, Oh Chang-gyu quickly headed to the ER and approached Nurse Lim Jeong-suk.

“Oh-ssam [Oh Doctor], are you feeling better? I got a call from Jung-ssam [Jung Doctor]. Did you take your medicine?”

“I just took it. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer the call.”

“You were sick, so there’s no need to apologize. Don’t worry about it. And if you feel anything strange with your body, tell me immediately.”

“Yes, I will.”

After their conversation, Oh Chang-gyu stood by with the other medical staff.

“A lot of people seem tense.”

Choi Mona, who had been seeing a patient in the ward, said to Nurse Lim Jeong-suk at the station.

“I know. I think everyone is more nervous and concerned because it’s a prisoner patient.”

“That’s right. It’s not like in movies or dramas; we have to face a real person from prison who committed a crime. How can we not be nervous?”

“Still, there’s one person who doesn’t seem nervous at all.”

At those words, Choi Mona’s gaze turned to Taekyung, who was standing a little apart.

It was no exaggeration to say that he was seeing patients with the same smiling face as usual. There was no sign of tension on Taekyung’s face.

“Sometimes, when I see you, Doctor, I feel like you’re a detached person. I think you’re like that now. How can you be so calm?”

“Maybe it’s because he’s seen so many different patients. There’s a calmness that comes from that experience, and also, if you get agitated, the patients might notice. So, I think he just sees them as patients.”

“Listening to you, Soo-ssam [Soo Doctor], you’re right. That vibe that comes from experience must be something like that.”

“Choi-ssam [Choi Doctor], you have that too.”

“I’m still far from it. Then, I’ll go fill up my vibe and check on the patient in bed 11.”

“Okay.”

The medical staff gathered in the ER tried to suppress their tension and treat the patients as normally as possible.

A little later-

“Woah, Director? They’ve arrived.”

At the words of the medical staff, Taekyung walked towards the entrance of the ER. An inmate was being transferred from a prison vehicle on a stretcher.

Number 1137 was fixed to the stretcher with handcuffs on his right hand and leg, and two guards were beside him.

“Hello. We’re transferring a patient from Yeonseon Prison.”

“Yes, welcome. I’m Kim Taekyung, the person in charge at our hospital. Let’s go inside first.”

To prevent patients from being alarmed by the sight of the handcuffed inmate, they quickly covered the handcuffed areas with a thin cloth and moved him to the treatment room inside.

Clatter-

“First, please remove the handcuffs.”

“Ah, the handcuffs…”

Having heard Taekyung’s words, the guard looked at his senior guard and trailed off. Then, the senior guard nodded, and soon the handcuffs on 1137’s right hand were removed.

“Thank you for your cooperation. First, let’s get a line and check the vitals. Yes, hello?”

Taekyung, who had given the order, answered his vibrating cell phone from his gown pocket.

“Okay? I’ll be right there.”

“Director, what’s wrong?”

“It’s an ICU call. I’ll be back, so Lee-ssam [Lee Doctor], proceed with the examination.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Oh my!”

“What’s wrong?”

As Taekyung left the treatment room, the nurse who was drawing the line exclaimed in a small voice, and the nurse next to her asked in a whisper.

“It’s not that, but his arm muscles are amazing, even though he’s thin.”

As the nurse said, 1137 was a thin person, but he had surprisingly solid muscles.

1137 didn’t say a word and was dazed, probably because the impact and pain he had suffered were quite severe. He didn’t say he was in pain or having a hard time; he just stared at the ceiling.

“And he must have been beaten a lot. His whole body is covered in bruises.”

“Let’s focus on the patient.”

“Yes, Soo-ssam [Soo Doctor].”

Nurse Lim Jeong-suk, who was nearby, gave a small warning to the nurses.

“Vitals are stable.”

“Still, prepare a rapid transfusion of O-type blood just in case (when the blood type is unknown, a certain amount or less can be replaced with O-type). Let’s go to CT right away. We’ll take a full body scan.”

“Oh-ssam [Oh Doctor], please move to the CT room with him.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

At Nurse Lim Jeong-suk’s words, Oh Chang-gyu pushed the bed with 1137 lying on it and left the treatment room with the guards.

Several tens of minutes later-

Taekyung, who had gone to the intensive care unit, returned to the emergency room and took a seat in front of the monitor at the station.

“How did it go?”

“The vitals remained stable, so we immediately took a full-body CT scan.”

“Oh! You did it with contrast? Did you check the eGFR (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate – a measure to check kidney function; kidney function may be fatal if kidney function is low when contrast agent is administered)?”

“Actually, there was a bit of a communication error in that part.”

Lee Chanhee said with a heavy expression.

“Communication error?”

“Yes, I forgot to check the eGFR before going to the CT room because I was nervous. So, I called the CT room right away, but Dr. Oh mistook it for me telling him to use contrast, so the CT scan was already in progress.”

Lee Chanhee had clearly told them to wait until the patient’s condition was checked, but Oh Chang-gyu proceeded with the scan even after receiving the call.

After that, Oh Chang-gyu was at a loss and apologized repeatedly, saying he was sorry for making a mistake because he was nervous.

If we were to pinpoint the fault in detail, this was Oh Chang-gyu’s fault rather than Lee Chanhee’s. But Lee Chanhee didn’t want to blame him.

The doctor’s responsibility was more important in taking care of the patient, so he thought it was also his fault for not making the delivery clear from the beginning.

And he didn’t want to say anything to the employee who had been suffering from diarrhea all day.

“So, did you check with the patient afterward?”

“Yes, I explained the situation to the guard after the scan. And when I asked the person, he said there were no problems when he had the scan before, and he had no past history either. I should have been more careful; I’m sorry.”

He looked fine on the outside, but in fact, Lee Chanhee was quite nervous inside.

Seeing the prisoner who had committed murder and was handcuffed made him even more nervous.

“Lee-ssam [Lee Doctor], you must have been very nervous. A moderate amount of tension is good, but too much tension can lead to mistakes.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“And don’t forget to always check and double-check.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s already happened. Stop dwelling on it and focus on the future.”

“Understood.”

“So, is there anything special on the CT?”

“Fortunately, there were no signs of bleeding in the abdomen.”

“What about the ultrasound?”

“There was no fluid in the abdominal cavity on the ultrasound either (fluid is visible in the abdominal cavity during bleeding). However, there is a problem with the spine.”

“Spine? Is it a fracture?”

“It’s a bit ambiguous. Here, here…”

Lee Chanhee pointed to the monitor that Taekyung was looking at and continued.

“And there are slight compression fractures from L1 [Lumbar vertebra 1] to L3 [Lumbar vertebra 3], and a fracture line is visible at L4 [Lumbar vertebra 4].”

“Hmm. The patient’s symptoms are the most important. It’s not clear whether the compression fracture was caused by the assault this time or in the past, and you see here, right?”

“Yes, Doctor. I see it.”

“This patient has a very severe disc between L3 [Lumbar vertebra 3] and L4 [Lumbar vertebra 4]… If the patient has no symptoms, we can just watch it, but if there are symptoms, we’ll have to open it up and operate. It’s better to just open it up to perform a procedure on the compression fracture as well. So, first, the symptoms…”

“Director, I’m sorry to interrupt you.”

While Taekyung was talking to Lee Chanhee about 1137’s condition, Oh Chang-gyu, who had been watching 1137 with the other medical staff, quietly approached.

“It’s okay. What’s wrong with the patient?”

“Well, the patient is currently in a lot of pain in his back.”

“Really?”

“Yes, he’s biting his lower lip and is in so much pain that I thought I should let you know.”

“Okay. I’ll go take a look right away.”

“Yes, Director.”

Having heard Oh Chang-gyu’s words, Taekyung headed to where 1137 was.

Clatter-

“Patient, I heard you’re in a lot of pain. You must be very upset right now?”

As Taekyung entered the treatment room, 1137 turned his head. Then, the bruises all over his face were visible.

“Sniff!”

Unlike when he first entered the emergency room, 1137 started to sob as soon as he saw Taekyung.

“Doctor… I’m in so much pain. Sniff!”

“Ah, is that so? Actually, the patient’s current condition doesn’t necessarily require surgery. There are fractures and discs, but we can choose depending on the symptoms. So, we…”

“Ah, no. Doctor.”

1137 hurriedly cut off Taekyung’s words while still crying. At the same time, he strongly appealed to the pain he was feeling.

“Please operate on me. It hurts so much where I was hit earlier. I want to have surgery.”

“This friend must be in a lot of pain.”

“Um, Doctor. We’re not doctors like you, but can’t you just operate on him?”

The guards, who had been watching this scene from the side, added a word each as 1137 was having a hard time.

“That’s right. I’ve been watching this person for a long time, and he’s not a friend who lies or pretends to be sick. He’s been in a lot of pain since prison.”

“Ugh! Doctor. I’m really in so much pain.”

1137 said again with difficulty.

“Okay. Patient. Then we’re going to have spinal surgery, and we’re going to open it up to see the overall outline rather than using an endoscope. If we cut it open, it will be very difficult, and you’ll have to stay in the hospital for a long time.”

“It doesn’t matter. Doctor. I might get hit again when I go to prison anyway.”

“First, don’t worry about safety in the hospital, and I and our medical staff will help you as much as possible.”

“Thank you. Doctor… Thank you so much.”

“I’m grateful too. Doctor, please take good care of this friend.”

1137 and the guards greeted Taekyung and the medical staff and thanked them.

“Lim-ssam [Lim Doctor] and Oh-ssam [Oh Doctor], please take care of the ward guidance.”

“Yes, Director. Understood.”

“The patient will be moved to the hospital room now, and this doctor will explain about the hospitalization.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Taekyung gave the order and tilted his head as he left the treatment room.

“Lee-ssam [Lee Doctor]?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Have the patient fast for about a day and operate tomorrow. He’s in a lot of pain overnight, so give him a narcotic painkiller and take good care of him.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“And there’s no rush, so have him fast for about a day, and let’s operate early tomorrow since it’s too late today.”

“Understood.”

Taekyung, who had given the order to Lee Chanhee, muttered to himself as he headed to the station.

“That’s strange… That’s strange. Was I mistaken?”