Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 487

Fifth Vital Sign – Episode 488

488. One on Each Side of the Pelvic Rim

“Please, save my brother. I can’t live if something happens to him. If he needs any organs, I’ll give them. I can give them.”

Lee Jung-mi was sincere. Her brother was someone she would gladly give anything to.

Whether it was a kidney or a liver, she would give anything if her brother needed an organ.

She desperately wished that only her brother would live, even if it meant something happened to her.

“Director, my brother is the only family I have. So please… save my brother.”

Tae-kyung, who had been quietly listening to Lee Jung-mi’s tearful plea, suddenly turned around.

He turned his back on the guardian, Lee Jung-mi.

“……!”

Lee Jung-mi, who was pleading for her brother’s life, wondered what he was doing when the doctor suddenly turned his back. But Tae-kyung, who had turned around, walked a few steps away, then turned back and bent down in front of Lee Jung-mi.

“Your feet are cold.”

Tae-kyung placed one of his sneakers in front of Lee Jung-mi.

The sneakers he received from the taxi driver were too big, so she had to drag them along as if she was wearing clogs.

Because of this, Lee Jung-mi didn’t even realize that one of her sneakers had come off.

“Put your shoes on. You might get hurt if you fall while barefoot in the emergency room. Put them on quickly.”

“……Yes. Thank you.”

Lee Jung-mi, momentarily flustered by the bewildering situation, quickly stuffed her bare foot, which was clearly visible on the floor, into the sneaker.

“Can you follow me for a moment?”

Tae-kyung moved to the emergency room station with Lee Jung-mi and offered her a chair.

“Sit here.”

“……Yes.”

“You must have been very surprised to hear about your brother’s accident, right?”

“Yes, after finishing my delivery job and coming home, I suddenly got a call from someone I didn’t know saying my brother had an accident… I can’t understand how someone who always follows the rules like my brother could have an accident, and it’s scary… sob!”

At Tae-kyung’s words of comfort, Lee Jung-mi revealed her inner feelings and was once again overwhelmed with emotion.

“It’s okay. I’m going to explain where your brother is hurt from now on. Is that okay?”

Tae-kyung pulled out a tissue and handed it to her. Lee Jung-mi wiped away her tears and tried to calm down.

“Yes, yes. I’m okay.”

“We have something called the hip joint in our body. Do you know what a hip joint is?”

“No. I don’t really know.”

“That’s right. Most people don’t know. Would you like to take a look here?”

Tae-kyung found an image of the hip joint on his phone, turned the screen to Lee Jung-mi, and continued his explanation.

“This is the hip joint, also known as the hip joint, and there is one on each side of the pelvic rim. The area where contact is made is well covered with articular cartilage [a smooth tissue that covers the ends of bones where they meet at a joint]. You can think of the hip joint as supporting a person’s weight and allowing us to walk or run.”

Tae-kyung continued his explanation in a soft and calm voice, making it as easy as possible for the guardian to understand.

“Usually, if the hip joint causes problems due to functional issues as we get older, we perform surgery. Of course, young people can also have problems. One of those cases is when you exercise, or fall, or, like our patient Lee Jung-bon, have an accident that causes problems with the hip joint.”

“So, you’re saying that my brother has a problem with this part?”

Lee Jung-mi pointed to the hip joint image on Tae-kyung’s phone and asked.

“That’s right. Lee Jung-bon’s hip joint was suddenly impacted by a vehicle, and as a result, the hip joint is no longer functioning properly. Now! Shall we look at the monitor together?”

Tae-kyung clicked on Lee Jung-bon’s CT scan video on the PC monitor in the station.

“This is Lee Jung-bon’s CT scan video, and you can see a clear difference between this part and the opposite side, right?”

Tae-kyung explained, comparing Lee Jung-bon’s hip joint image on the right with a normal hip joint image on the left.

“Yes, my brother’s hip joint doesn’t look good.”

“That’s right. So, we’re going to perform a hip replacement surgery to replace the injured Lee Jung-bon’s hip joint with an artificial hip joint. You’ll have to rehabilitate after the surgery and there will be discomfort, but Lee Jung-bon’s current condition is not so bad that it’s life-threatening.”

Tae-kyung always did his best and was always kind, no matter what patient or guardian he met.

But the reason he was particularly reassuring the guardian today, more than other times, was because the patient’s condition was not that serious.

Of course, Lee Jung-bon would be in a lot of pain right now. But as I just explained, the injured area was not causing serious damage to the organs.

When Lee Jung-bon was brought in by ambulance, Tae-kyung quickly examined the patient before going to the intensive care unit.

Before the exact examination was done, he knew that Lee Jung-bon was complaining of pain in the hip joint area. And most of all, his fifth vital sign was at stage 3 [indicating a moderate level of pain or distress].

Since it was not stage 4, which would cause serious problems to his life, Tae-kyung was relieved.

Of course, no matter how simple the surgery is, other variables can occur once you enter the operating room, so you must always be careful and cautious.

But at least Lee Jung-bon’s current condition was not something to prepare the guardian’s mind or talk about seriously.

“You were very worried, right?”

Tae-kyung felt sorry for the young sister, wondering how surprised she must have been.

He also thought it was admirable and commendable that the young guardian, whose brother was like a parent, was so admirable and commendable.

“Director? So, my brother is okay? He’s not going to die or anything, is he?”

“Of course, no surgery is entirely without risk. But in the current state, you don’t have to worry too much. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“……Yes, thank you. Thank you so much.”

The dark clouds that had filled Lee Jung-mi’s face were now gradually clearing.

She was still worried about her brother, but she was really grateful and relieved that at least his life was not in danger and that it was not a serious injury.

“So, is my brother going to have surgery soon?”

“Yes, Lee Jung-bon will be moved to the operating room as soon as the preparation is finished, and I will be performing the surgery.”

She was grateful that Tae-kyung explained everything kindly and that he would be performing the surgery himself.

Most of all, she felt reassured that she could trust and entrust her brother to such a doctor.

“Director, please take good care of my brother’s surgery.”

“Me and the medical staff will do our best. Here, please get the surgical consent form from Lee Jung-bon’s guardian.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Excuse me, Director?”

Lee Jung-mi followed Tae-kyung as he got up from his seat and called him again as if she had something more to say.

“Yes?”

“Can I see my brother for a moment before he goes into surgery?”

“Okay. Mr. Lee? Please guide the guardian to the patient before receiving the surgical consent form.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Tae-kyung left, and Lee Chan-hee took the surgical consent form and guided Lee Jung-mi.

“Guardian, would you like to come this way?”

“Yes. Is my brother okay? He seemed to be in a lot of pain earlier…….”

“He is in pain.”

“Ah!”

At Lee Chan-hee’s words, Lee Jung-mi’s eyes seemed to fill with tears again. Then Lee Chan-hee quickly tried to calm her down.

“Guardian, you must have been surprised. Have you ever had body aches?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“Even if you just have a cold or body aches, your whole body feels stiff and your muscles feel tight. So, it’s natural to have pain because you were injured in a car accident. And the medical staff is operating on the patient to relieve that pain. But now, he’s taking medication, so the pain will be better than before. So, after talking to the patient, I’ll explain the surgical consent form.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Lee Jung-mi approached the bed where Lee Jung-bon was lying.

Earlier, she was heartbroken by her brother’s painful appearance, and on the other hand, she was afraid to approach him. But after hearing Tae-kyung’s explanation, she felt like she had to see her brother’s face before he went into the operating room.

“Brother! Are you okay?”

“Jung-mi……. Were you very surprised? I’m a little better.”

He definitely looked better than before, but Lee Jung-bon’s face was still full of exhaustion.

“I want to say I’m okay, but I’m not okay……. But I feel a lot better after seeing our Jung-mi’s face.”

“That’s why I told you! Quit the delivery job right now!”

Lee Jung-mi, overwhelmed with sadness, raised her voice without realizing it.

“It’s all my fault that my brother had an accident…….”

“Why is it your fault? Stop talking nonsense again.”

“I’m really upset about you, brother.”

“Excuse me, guardian. Now I need to explain the surgical consent form and get your signature.”

“Ah, yes. Doctor.”

Lee Jung-bon had to go into surgery now, so the siblings’ conversation had to stop here.

Lee Chan-hee carefully explained to Lee Jung-mi what could happen during the surgery and received the surgical consent form.

And a little later, a call came in that the operating room was ready, and Lee Jung-bon was moved to the operating room.

“Brother, the director is going to perform the surgery himself. The director explained everything carefully and seems like a good person.”

Lee Jung-mi walked alongside her brother, who was lying on the bed and being moved to the operating room, trying to relieve his tension with good stories.

“So, don’t worry about anything, just think of it as taking a nap and waking up, and have a good surgery. Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll do well. Don’t worry.”

“We’re going in now. The guardian should wait in the waiting room.”

Lee Jung-bon entered the restricted area where the operating room was located with the medical staff.

“Brother. I’ll be praying. It’ll be okay.”

Lee Jung-mi could not take her eyes off the sight of her brother disappearing through the closing doors for a while.

‘Dad, Mom! My brother just went into the operating room for surgery. You’re watching from above, right? Mom and Dad, please watch over my brother so that he can have a safe and successful surgery.’

Since she was a child, Lee Jung-mi believed that her parents in heaven were watching over her and her brother.

She clasped her hands together and prayed, thinking that they would surely watch over her brother’s surgery today.

* * *

While Lee Jung-bon was heading to the operating room, there was another patient who came with him in the ambulance.

It was Im Ma-joon.

He was sitting on the emergency room bed with the curtains drawn, with a serious expression on his face.

“Ha!”

Im Ma-joon’s head, who let out a deep sigh, was a tangled mess.

‘Shit! I’m going crazy. What should I do with this?’

Im Ma-joon’s expression, who was holding his cell phone, was full of anxiety.

‘What should I say? What should I say to get away with it?’

There was a reason why he was so anxious.