Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 52

52. No Fifth Vital Sign

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you sitting on a chair today, Senior.”

“I’m sitting on a chair for the first time in six hours.”

Tae-kyung, who had been running around like crazy, was finally sitting down, drinking coffee with Euijin.

“It must be tough without those two, right?”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

“Still, sending them to the conference was a great idea. Oh, right. Ichanhee said he gave them a card? Even your credit card?”

“They’re always working at the hospital; I felt bad for them.”

The day before, Lee Chan-hee had bragged to Euijin that Tae-kyung had given them a card.

“That place is quite expensive… Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“It’s fine.”

“Wow! The *yeoyu* [financial余裕/leeway] of someone who earns well.”

“It’s not that. I don’t think those two will eat beef.”

“How do you know that, Senior?”

“They didn’t even want to take the card earlier. They seemed deeply moved by me.”

“So, you think they won’t buy it because they feel bad?”

“Exactly.”

“What if they actually buy it?”

“It doesn’t matter; I gave them the card for that purpose anyway. How much could they possibly eat?”

Rrrrrrrrrrrr

“Yes, I’ll be right there.”

Tae-kyung, who was talking to Euijin, got up from his seat after receiving an emergency room call.

“ER call?”

“Yeah, I’m going.”

“Senior! Remember the weekend!”

Euijin, watching Tae-kyung’s back as he rushed out, gown fluttering, muttered to himself.

“Well, he even sent them to the conference. I wouldn’t be able to eat beef either if I were them. Seriously! I’m already worrying about his finances.”

* * *

“Is it an emergency?”

“This is 119 paramedics. We found a patient in cardiac arrest in the apartment complex garden and will arrive in about 15 minutes.”

“Apartment complex garden… How old is the patient?”

“They said he’s in his 20s.”

“…….”

The moment he heard the patient’s age, one word popped into Tae-kyung’s head.

‘Suicide!’

It’s probably suicide. It’s rare for a young man to be found in a garden unless it’s suicide. He’s not young enough for it to be an accidental fall, and the possibility of it being caused by someone else is also slim.

Of course, I can’t jump to conclusions, but young men who commit suicide have a much higher mortality rate.

“Okay! Prepare for CPR. As soon as he arrives, do an ABGA [Arterial Blood Gas Analysis], and for vasopressors…”

“CPR patient has arrived!”

Before Tae-kyung’s orders were even finished, a patient on a stretcher entered the emergency room with the paramedics.

“Already? I thought you said it would take about 15 minutes.”

“Sorry. There wasn’t much traffic since it’s early morning, so we arrived quickly.”

“Let’s move the patient first.”

“Yes, Doctor. We’ll go in headfirst here.”

“What was the time of discovery and how many cycles of chest compressions were done? Tell me the medications administered and the times.”

Even as he spoke, the emergency room staff busily found and performed their usual tasks. Tae-kyung stood at the patient’s head to give orders and direct the overall situation.

“We did 5 cycles, and epinephrine was administered 5 minutes and 10 minutes ago. Here’s the EKG (electrocardiogram) from the way here.”

“It hasn’t recovered even once.”

“Yes. He was already in cardiac arrest when he was found and hasn’t recovered in the 20 minutes it took to get here.”

Reality is different from dramas. No matter how quickly CPR is performed, the chances of recovery are very low.

As long as a sliver of life remains, you can risk your life to save the patient, but there’s nothing more you can do in front of a flame that’s already gone out.

At times like this, the profession of a doctor becomes meaningless.

It seems the time between cardiac arrest and discovery was long.

Tae-kyung, with his extensive experience, already sensed that there was no hope.

“Here are the ABGA (arterial blood gas analysis) results.”

As expected, the numbers had already deteriorated to levels where resuscitation was impossible. And one more thing.

‘I don’t smell anything.’

The fifth vital sign was not felt.

From the common ammonia smell to the formalin smell that makes you want to save them desperately. Even taking a deep breath and leaning close to the patient, there was no smell.

‘It really doesn’t smell…’

It was the first time he missed the formalin smell that he hated so much.

It wasn’t a new stage felt only in the deceased, but it felt strongly like it was colorless and odorless.

‘My heart feels heavy.’

It was then, as Tae-kyung, who was standing at the head, began to examine the patient closely.

‘What’s that? Paper?’

A white piece of paper was slightly visible between the fingers of the man’s clenched fist. Tae-kyung used force to open his hand, revealing a small, folded piece of paper soaked with rainwater.

Tae-kyung put the paper in his gown pocket to dry it. After tidying up the shirt and jacket that had been removed during the emergency treatment, he said,

“There are no signs of external injury.”

The man, with his long, unkempt hair and clean suit, was soaked from head to toe as if he had fallen into water. Dirt and grass clung to his bare feet and hands.

“Are the guardians, the family, on their way?”

It was the first deceased patient I had encountered at our hospital. I felt bad, but I had to do what I had to do.

“Doctor, the guardian has arrived. His father is here.”

Even if a guardian arrives, they cannot enter the treatment room to avoid interfering with treatment.

“Don’t close the treatment room door.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Tae-kyung didn’t close the door completely so that the guardians could hear that they were working hard to resuscitate him. That way, it would be easier for them to accept what he was about to say.

‘What was so difficult that he did this?’

Tae-kyung thought to himself as he left the treatment room to meet the guardian.

“Hello. I’m Kim Tae-kyung, a surgeon. What is your relationship to the patient?”

“I’m his father. Seok-ho… Is our Seok-ho okay?”

The father’s eyes were already bloodshot. In those eyes, where all the tears had dried up, only desperation and bewilderment remained.

“The patient was already in cardiac arrest when he was found, and we have been performing resuscitation for over 30 minutes, both on the way to the emergency room and in the emergency room, but his pulse has not returned.”

“Th, th, that’s now…”

It may seem a little cold, but it is most important to accurately convey the patient’s condition. I know the grief the guardian will experience, but as a doctor, I must remain unshaken even in these moments.

“N, no…”

“We will do our best a little longer, but I don’t think he will be able to come back.”

Thud-

“Honey! Honey!”

The patient’s mother, who had been listening to Tae-kyung’s words from behind, suddenly collapsed.

“Here, help me!”

Even in this chaotic situation, Tae-kyung remained calm. He had experienced parents fainting after hearing the news of their child’s death several times.

In such cases, nine out of ten times, it is the mothers who collapse.

Psychiatrically, no matter how great the sorrow, it does not last more than two years, with one exception.

That one case is the sorrow of losing a child. It would be almost impossible to bear that emotion with a sound mind.

10 months. A full 10 months of not eating, not sleeping, and embracing all the discomfort with love, mother and child. That emotion, experience, and connection can only be felt by the mother.

“Bed number 2.”

“Be careful lifting her head.”

In the midst of the busy situation, the medical staff laid the guardian on the bed.

“25-year-old male…”

“No! No!”

The father became desperate as the death pronouncement was about to come from Tae-kyung’s lips.

As a doctor, one thing I never get used to is the death pronouncement. The time to let go of a person’s life.

In that short moment, an indescribable feeling sweeps over me.

“I pronounce 25-year-old male Hwang Seok-ho dead at 6:03 AM on xx/xx/2021.”

Tae-kyung’s gaze, after checking the clock in the treatment room, turned back to the guardian.

“You! You!”

The father began to wail, grabbing his son’s body.

“Seok-ho! You rascal!”

Tae-kyung moved out of the half-open door to give the family time to grieve sufficiently.

“This isn’t right, you rascal. Sob!”

The father, who had been wailing, soon began to cry out loud. Occasionally, he beat his chest hard with his fist, unable to control the rising resentment.

“Seok-ho… Get up, quickly! Get up!”

The father, looking at his deceased son, was dumbfounded, incredulous, and unable to accept the situation.

“How much pain would you have been in with your bare skin… Why did you die? You…”

Parents who lose a child have a large, invisible hole in their hearts. That hole is a hole of sorrow that will never be filled in their lifetime, and it is a longing for their child.

“Seok-ho, it’s not true, is it? You’re playing a prank right now, aren’t you? Please… Get up, please…”

The father stroked his son’s cold face, which was motionless, with his trembling hands. Then, with extremely careful hands, as if handling a baby, he repeatedly caressed his hands and feet. He repeated that action for a long time.

“What about your mother… What about me! Seok-ho, sob! My poor son. Sniff!”

The guardian’s heartrending cries for his son echoed in the emergency room.

“Contact the funeral home staff.”

Tae-kyung, who was standing outside the door, gave instructions.

“Doctor, an emergency room patient has arrived. What should we do?”

“We have to see them.”

Tae-kyung cleared his solemn expression and headed to where the patient was. Although this situation was sad, he couldn’t continue to dwell on his emotions.

Because as a doctor, he had to see another patient.

“What number is it?”

“Bed number 5.”

* * *

“Doctor, Hwang Seok-ho’s guardian has woken up.”

An hour later, the deceased’s mother, who had fainted, opened her eyes on the bed.

“Are you feeling a little better, Guardian?”

“…….”

“You fainted about an hour ago. Do you remember?”

“Yes, my husband…?”

The deceased’s father, who had been expressing his grief for a long time, said he would go home to prepare for the funeral and asked her to take care of his wife.

“Our Seok, Seok-ho…”

The mother, lying neatly on her side, called out her son’s name, her voice choked with emotion.

“Doctor? Where is our son?”

“He is currently in the mortuary.”

“Can I see him?”

“Yes, Guardian.”

“Doctor, I’m sorry, but I’m shameless, but… Could I ask you for one favor?”

“Please tell me.”

The mother, biting her lip tightly, hesitated for a long time before finally opening her mouth.

“I’m scared… I’m too scared, but would you mind going with me? I want to see him… But I can’t see him alone.”