Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 390

391. More Mass? Then Is It Cancer?

“Benefactor?”

“Yeah. At first, I thought it was nonsense, but now I think there were three benefactors.”

“Who are they?”

“The taxi driver, the old man who scolded me to wake up in the emergency room, and the doctor here.”

“Who’s the old man? And doctors naturally treat patients, so I don’t think they’re benefactors.”

“Is that so?”

“I don’t know about benefactors or anything, just take care of your health.”

“Okay. When I get discharged, I’ll follow you and exercise regularly.”

“Really? Walk with me for an hour every evening.”

“An hour? I’ll walk for two hours.”

“Okay, don’t overdo it.”

Having lost a lot of money and contemplated bad thoughts, Jo Eung-gi ended his wandering and started anew.

He listened to Tae-kyung and the medical staff while hospitalized, focusing on recovery, and gradually improved. After a five-day hospital stay, he was discharged.

Returning to his daily life, Jo Eung-gi did not go to the scheduled outpatient appointment after recovering.

It wasn’t that he canceled the appointment altogether, but he had something important to do and planned to go later.

It wasn’t a serious illness, and he hadn’t had major surgery, so he didn’t think the appointment was urgent.

Several days passed after his discharge.

“Honey, dinner’s ready. Honey?”

The wife, who had finished preparing dinner in the kitchen, called her husband.

“Where are the kids?”

“They went to tutoring and part-time jobs.”

“We should take the kids out for something delicious when they’re home.”

“Let’s go on the weekend.”

“Okay. Honey, I’m not hungry.”

Jo Eung-gi stopped his wife from putting rice in the bowl.

“Why? Aren’t you eating dinner?”

“Yeah, I don’t feel like it.”

“You said you didn’t eat lunch either? You’re usually hungry if you skip meals, why aren’t you hungry?”

“That’s why I should be hungry… Honey, I think something’s wrong with me.”

“What’s wrong?”

The wife put down the spoon and focused on her husband’s words.

“What’s wrong?”

It was strange that someone who loved to eat didn’t have much of an appetite.

“I think something’s wrong here.”

Jo Eung-gi pointed to his stomach.

“That’s right! You were supposed to go to the hospital after discharge, but you didn’t go, did you? It’s been several days… You should have gone then.”

“I had something important at work that day, so I couldn’t go. And I felt okay, so I wondered if I really needed to go again, and I was going to go later.”

“Going? It sounds like you weren’t planning to go at all.”

“…….”

“No, if the hospital tells you to go, you should go. They told you to go to see if you’re okay after discharge, why are you deciding on your own? I thought you said it was okay to go later because the hospital said so.”

“I didn’t know it would be like this.”

“Does it hurt a lot? They said the emergency room is open at night too. Let’s go now.”

“No, I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow.”

“You said it hurts? Are you sure it’s okay not to go now?”

“It’s okay. You eat quickly. I’m going to go rest.”

Jo Eung-gi, who didn’t have the extreme pain that would require him to be taken to the hospital by 119 [Korean emergency services number, similar to 911], decided to go to the hospital the next day and went into the room.

Right now, he just wanted to lie down and rest.

* * *

The next day-

Jo Eung-gi told his company about his situation and came straight to our hospital.

“Jo Eung-gi?”

“Yes.”

“Go into the examination room.”

Guided by the nurse, he went straight into the examination room.

Clang-

“Hello, doctor.”

As soon as Jo Eung-gi opened the door and entered, Tae-kyung, who had paused for a moment, tilting his head, greeted him.

“Welcome. How’s your stomach pain?”

“Thanks to your good treatment, doctor, the pain is gone. And I’ve almost quit drinking now.”

“That’s good to hear. How did you quit such a difficult thing?”

He had seen many patients whose bodies were ruined by alcohol, but not many patients said they had quit so resolutely, so Tae-kyung was very happy to hear that he had quit drinking.

Jo Eung-gi said he would quit drinking when he was discharged, but he didn’t expect him to really quit.

“There was that old man. After listening to him, I couldn’t drink anymore.”

Jo Eung-gi, who was taken to the hospital by ambulance, received life advice from a somewhat eccentric terminally ill old man in the emergency room.

After listening to his words, he felt a deep realization as if he had been hit on the head and decided to come to his senses and quit drinking.

“You did a really good job. The old man spoke a little harshly, but don’t be upset because he said it for the patient’s sake.”

“Upset? He’s a grateful person. Rather, I should be grateful because I was able to come to my senses thanks to his harsh words. But doctor, something’s wrong with my stomach.”

Tae-kyung had already expected it before Jo Eung-gi said something was wrong.

Just now, when he entered the examination room, he felt a different fifth vital sign than when he was discharged.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s not that it hurts or anything, but my stomach keeps feeling bloated, full even when I don’t eat, and I feel like my stomach is full of gas.”

“Lie down here first.”

Tae-kyung first had Jo Eung-gi lie down on the examination bed. He pressed around his stomach and then pressed around the solar plexus where the pancreas is located. Then he felt a mass.

“Patient, I feel a mass here?”

“A mass? Then is it cancer?”

Jo Eung-gi asked with a very surprised expression when he heard that a mass was felt.

“Cancer doesn’t grow this quickly. It’s probably a complication of pancreatitis, but I’ll take a video [CT scan], do some tests, and see you again right away.”

“It’s not cancer, is it? Doctor, I’ve decided to live really hard from now on. Whatever it is, please treat me well.”

Jo Eung-gi said with an earnest look.

“Don’t worry too much, first do the test and then I’ll tell you for sure after seeing the results.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After leaving the examination room, Jo Eung-gi headed straight to the CT room after hearing the explanation from the medical staff.

In a general university hospital, it takes several days to take a CT scan, and it takes several more days to see the results and see a doctor again. The situation was similar in any university hospital.

But our hospital is a little different. The reason was that Tae-kyung was the decision maker in the hospital.

Therefore, if a patient needs a test, almost all tests are done on the same day.

The reason was simple. It was because of the patients.

He knew that patients were mentally anxious and struggling while waiting for tests and results, so he wanted to reduce the waiting time.

It would be difficult for university hospitals due to the system, but it was possible for our hospital, so the waiting time for patients could be significantly reduced.

When Tae-kyung first came to our hospital and changed to this system, the employees did not understand him. Some people said he was making a fuss, and some people opposed it, but in the end, the employees who understood his heart for the patients understood and cooperated.

After Jo Eung-gi left the examination room, Tae-kyung immediately called the radiology room.

-This is the radiology room.

“Yes, this is the doctor. Jo Eung-gi will be down there soon, please do the CT scan quickly.”

-Yes, Director. I understand.

“Thank you.”

After that, CT scans and tests were conducted over several hours, and Jo Eung-gi, who had finished the tests, returned to the examination room.

Clang-

“You worked hard to get the test. Sit down.”

“I worked hard. Doctor, did the results come out?”

“Yes, it just came out.”

Tae-kyung’s gaze, which had been looking at the results on the monitor until just before Jo Eung-gi came in, turned back to the monitor.

When he moved the screen with the mouse, there was a large cyst right next to the pancreas.

“Oh! This is big…….”

Tae-kyung, who was looking at the video, blurted out his thoughts without realizing it.

“Jo Eung-gi, can you see here?”

“What is this?”

Jo Eung-gi, who felt something strange even though he was not a doctor, could not take his eyes off the monitor with a nervous look.

“It’s a cyst.”

“A cyst? No, why is this……?”

“It’s a complication of pancreatitis.”

When you have pancreatitis, there are cases where you are completely cured without any complications, but some patients also get complications such as pseudocysts.

The most common complication is when a cyst is formed due to the accumulation of pancreatic fluid due to pancreatitis.

If it progresses further, necrosis may occur, and the necrosis may become dangerous, so the accumulated fluid must be removed.

The important thing here is how to remove it.

The best result is to open the pancreatic cyst completely by surgery. However, to connect the cyst to the intestine and open it, it must first be determined whether the cyst wall has stabilized.

‘Okay, this is fine.’

Tae-kyung, who carefully examined the patient’s CT, explained the current condition and the reason why surgery was necessary to Jo Eung-gi. Then he showed a very active attitude.

“So the patient needs surgery now.”

“I see. If you think so, doctor, I’ll just have surgery. I’m okay even today. If I have to have surgery anyway, it’s better to do it quickly.”

“You’re very proactive.”

“Yes. I’m just going to live hard and actively now. You only live once. You have to live to the fullest.”

“You’ve thought it through really well. Then, let’s schedule the surgery for two days later…….”

“Doctor, can’t we do it sooner?”

Jo Eung-gi said while Tae-kyung was looking at the surgery schedule. He wanted to have surgery as soon as possible.

“As I said before, I don’t mind doing it right away today. And since I have a cyst in my body, I want to get rid of it quickly.”

“Then let’s do it early tomorrow morning? How about it?”

“Yes, that’s good.”

Tae-kyung, who was going to do it in two days due to the existing surgery schedule, adjusted the schedule after seeing Jo Eung-gi’s active attitude and decided to proceed with the surgery tomorrow. And fortunately, the cyst wall in the video was stabilized, so the surgery could be done right away.

After the surgery was decided, Jo Eung-gi moved to the ward and completed the hospitalization procedures.

“What? Did Jo come back again?”

“People whose pancreas is damaged by alcohol shouldn’t drink again, did he drink again?”

When he entered the hospital room where he was hospitalized when he first came to the hospital, the long-term hospitalized patients who recognized him said a word.

“That’s not it. I was hospitalized to have surgery because a cyst formed due to pancreatitis.”

“Oh, really? It’s a relief that it’s not a serious illness. Our director will take care of the surgery, so don’t worry.”

“Of course. I’m not worried.”

Jo Eung-gi, who had a conversation with the people in the ward, received the necessary clothes and items for hospitalization from his family who had heard the news of the surgery.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I’m not here?”

“Of course. It’s surgery tomorrow, why are you here today? It’s uncomfortable to sleep here.”

“Then I’ll be here, so Mom and sister go home.”

“What!”

The eldest sister scoffed when her high school son next to her spoke.

“Aren’t you going to school tomorrow?”

“Is school the problem now? My dad is having surgery tomorrow, so I, his son, have to be by his side.”

“Don’t be silly. I can skip class tomorrow, so I’ll be by Dad’s side today.”

“Why are you skipping school? Don’t say strange things, both of you, and take Mom home quickly.”

“I’ll take care of Dad.”

“I don’t need it. Honey, take these guys home quickly. They’re a mess.”

Jo Eung-gi spoke as if he was annoyed, but he was grateful to his children for thinking about his incompetent father.

“Okay. Dad needs to rest, so let’s go now. Do you need anything?”

“What does a person having surgery need? It’s hard to drive if it’s late. Go quickly.”

“Okay. I’ll come early tomorrow.”

“It’s okay. You have to go to work.”

“I have to come anyway. Is work the problem? Call me right away if anything happens at night.”

“Don’t worry, lock the doors and sleep well with the kids. I’m going.”

“Dad, I’ll call you.”

“Okay, go carefully.”

After finishing the family’s visit, Jo Eung-gi went to bed in a good mood.

The next day-

He finished preparing to move to the operating room early in the morning.

“Honey, I’m going.”

“Don’t worry about anything and have a good surgery.”

“Okay.”

“We will move the patient to the operating room.”

“Yes.”

Jo Eung-gi headed to the operating room with his wife’s support.