Chapter 22 – Passenger Ship Sinks (1)

A horrific passenger ship shipwreck disaster!

Reality was already devastated by the war. To make matters worse, a passenger ship sinking accident occurred.

Since there were almost no hospitals that could treat them, all hospitals in Busan mobilized. Among those hospitals, the UN Hospital, which was the largest and equipped with the newest(?) medical equipment, had no choice but to accommodate the most patients.

The sinking of the Yanggang-ho was, as always, a man-made disaster.

Although high waves were the main cause, it ran aground after encountering a storm because it was carrying passengers and cargo far exceeding its proper capacity of 100 tons.

Furthermore, even rescue equipment was not properly prepared, and the damage was horrific because it was not discovered immediately after the accident but belatedly by a fishing boat sailing nearby.

Most of the passengers drowned, and the crew members, including the captain who was the first to escape, were all rescued safely.

Leaving the dying passengers behind, they were the only ones who survived.

Just like the horrific passenger ship sinking accident that would occur sixty-two years later.

In any case, the crew, including the captain, were all safe, and among the few passengers who held out with superhuman will, Kim Ji-hyuk and Kim Yun-seok took charge of a young girl patient who had survived dramatically.

The hospital corridor.

While the emergency room was full, there was a lack of space for treatment, so Kim Ji-hyuk and Kim Yun-seok laid a mattress in the hospital corridor and were treating the girl patient.

“Putting the foreign doctors aside, how can even the Korean doctors be like this?”

Kim Yun-seok wore a blank expression. He was red-faced and boiling with rage.

The reason he was gritting his teeth so hard was simple.

Because only Kim Yun-seok and Kim Ji-hyuk, just the two of them, were treating this patient.

“What else would the doctors do? They are looking after patients.”

However, Kim Ji-hyuk paid no attention to the other doctors and was fully occupied examining the patient’s condition.

“I know! They are looking after the Yankee patients. Not caring whether the Korean patients live or die.”

Mrs. Alex and her son Mitchell were on board the Yanggang-ho.

They were Americans who had been volunteering in the Jeolla Province region under the UN Forces during the Korean War.

Moreover, they were the wife and son of Governor Alex, who wielded powerful influence in the United States.

Despite the horrific accident, the two were able to dramatically escape with their lives, but their lives were in jeopardy due to severe injuries.

Once this fact was reported, not only the Swedish doctors but also the Korean doctors rushed and clung to the two patients.

They were struggling desperately to save these two.

So, would they have any spare time to pay attention to this frail, young patient?

“…….”

“How can they be like this? They are opportunists to the bone. When their own compatriots are dying like this…”

“Kim Yun-seok! Does that make any sense right now? Then, should they abandon them to save this child? You and I are doctors, and they, including this child, are patients. In saving them, nationality has no meaning whatsoever. Do you understand?”

“Even so…”

“We just need to save this child! Yun-seok, let’s concentrate on the patient. We must save her. We have to grant this child’s mother’s wish no matter what, shouldn’t we?”

The child’s mother who had passed away just moments ago, who had clung to Kim Ji-hyuk and Kim Yun-seok’s sleeves and pleaded to save her child.

Kim Ji-hyuk closed her eyes, promising over and over that he would definitely save the child.

“Y-yes, got it!”

“She lost too much blood. Give me more gauze!”

“Yeah.”

Kim Ji-hyuk was desperately compressing the patient’s abdomen with gauze. Beside him, gauze soaked bright red with blood was piling up before long.

‘A sharp rebar penetrated vertically about seven centimeters! Ischemia could easily occur… Judging by the severe bleeding, it seems the small intestine to the duodenum have ruptured. Damn it, she lost too much blood! If even about twenty percent of the total blood volume is lost, there is a risk of shock death! Still, it’s a great relief that although she spilled a large amount of blood, it hasn’t reached that point. Though faint, her breathing is still alive, and her pulse is not completely gone either. If only we perform surgery, she can live! If only we can perform surgery!’

Kim Ji-hyuk carefully examined the patient’s abdomen. However, he and Kim Yun-seok could not perform the surgery with just the two of them.

“What should we do, Ji-hyuk?”

Kim Yun-seok also had a troubled expression, knowing the patient’s serious condition.

It was right at that moment.

“We will help too!”

It was Shin Jung-eun, who had helped Kim Ji-hyuk and Kim Yun-seok during the last surgery, and nurses Erika and Ena. Just having them come was welcoming enough, but their hands held first-aid kits that seemed to contain medicines and medical tools.

“How did you all get here?”

Both Kim Ji-hyuk and Kim Yun-seok were surprised, but their faces were bright as if they had gained a powerful army. Kim Ji-hyuk stood up from his spot and welcomed them.

“How can we just stay still when there is a critical patient!”

They offered a gentle smile.

“I’m sure they are very short-handed inside as well.”

Of course, they did not have the leisure to come here. That made them even more precious.

“Should we go then?”

Shin Jung-eun pointed to the emergency room with a hand gesture.

“Ah, no! It’s not that, but I just never imagined that you all would come.”

At that, Kim Ji-hyuk waved both hands repeatedly.

“Head Nurse Joan told us to help Doctor Kim Ji-hyuk! She said it would be hard for you.”

Head Nurse Joan.

She was a veteran nurse who had been the very first to see the patient when this girl arrived at the hospital. Although she had been forced by circumstances to leave the patient to Kim Ji-hyuk and be deployed to treat Mrs. Alex and her son. It seemed her mind was troubled over this young girl patient.

“Nurse Joan?”

“Yes! So there is no need to worry. We are fine, so do not pay it any mind.”

“Thank you!”

“And we brought as many medicines as we could pack!”

Erika and Ena spread the emergency box containing medicines on the floor.

“Thank you so much! By the way, what about you, Senior?”

“No one pays any mind to a novice like me. Besides, won’t those lofty professors take care of saving those people? It seems we need to go into surgery, is that correct?”

“Yes. I was planning to go straight into surgery as soon as the emergency measures are finished.”

“I understand. I will set up the operating room, so come in as soon as you are ready. Ah, it seems you can use Operating Room 10!”

“Thank you!”

“No need for thanks. Let’s make sure to save this child!”

“Yes!”

With that, Shin Jung-eun hurriedly left the spot.

‘Good! With them, it’s worth a try!’

Kim Ji-hyuk gained confidence with their arrival.

“Erika, is there more gauze?”

“Of course.”

Kim Ji-hyuk requested gauze from Erika.

Kim Ji-hyuk took the gauze from Erika.

After rolling the gauze into a round, dumpling-like shape,

he inserted his finger into the torn abdomen.

‘Found it!’

After stirring his finger a few times, Kim Ji-hyuk immediately found the point of bleeding, and then pushed in and packed the hemostatic gauze rolled like a dumpling.

Once the bleeding site was blocked, the effect was immediate.

“Wow, it seems the bleeding stopped now?”

At that, Kim Yun-seok’s complexion began to brighten.

“It has stopped to some extent now, but it’s too early to be relieved. Ena! Please give me some saline!”

“Yes, doctor!”

Once the packing was completed, Kim Ji-hyuk received physiological saline and washed the area around the wound clean.

“Please give me more gauze. Sterile ones!”

After soaking additional clean gauze in saline, he carefully placed it on the wound area.

He then wrapped the abdomen with a bandage again and secured it tightly with adhesive tape to prevent blood from leaking.

It was a perfect emergency measure by anyone’s standards.

Hope was in sight. That she could be saved.

Now, if they moved to the operating room and performed emergency surgery, they could save the life of this frail girl who was barely holding on.

“Can we do intubation?”

Kim Ji-hyuk had a half-doubting expression.

“Of course! I brought it ready!”

Nurse Erika threw open the emergency box with a bright expression.

“That’s a relief!”

Kim Ji-hyuk immediately attempted to secure the airway.

He secured the airway skillfully.

“By any chance, do you have sedatives and muscle relaxants?”

Before his regression, this would have been nothing to worry about, but now, it was a situation where even simple medicines could not be obtained so easily.

“Yes, we do.”

It was fortunate.

“Fortunately, you had them! Give them to me. The patient is unconscious, but she must be enduring immense pain. This little thing…”

Kim Ji-hyuk looked pityingly at the girl lying helplessly on the surgical bed.

Receiving the sedative and muscle relaxant, Kim Ji-hyuk administered them to the patient to stabilize her from shock.

And immediately, Kim Ji-hyuk placed an oxygen respirator over her.

‘The duodenum is an organ located deep in the center of the retroperitoneal cavity, and even if it is damaged, it is hard to show noticeable findings. However, once it ruptures, there is no remedy for it. Moreover, the probability is high that the small intestine and even the kidney have taken a hit. Can I really save this child?’

The treatments and surgeries he had done so far were managed somehow by quick wits. However, this surgery required high-level skills, to the point where nothing could be done with wits alone.

On top of that, the surgical equipment was also outdated.

‘Nevertheless, I must save her!’

However, Kim Ji-hyuk did not have the slightest intention of giving up on the patient.

‘So let’s save her this time too! First, since stopping the bleeding is the urgent priority, if I just block what needs to be blocked, cover what needs to be covered, and temporarily close the abdomen, we can save her somehow!’

“Yun-seok, check on how the operating room is!”

“Yeah.”

A moment later, Kim Yun-seok, who had checked the operating room situation, ran over panting.

“Ji-hyuk! They say surgery is possible now!”

“Okay! Let’s move the patient now!”

In this way, the four of them loaded the patient onto a stretcher car and headed to the operating room.

* * *

The operating room.

Fortunately, Shin Jung-eun had prepared the surgery perfectly.

“Let me see the phot—”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, that’s not possible right now. No. It is nothing.”

Kim Ji-hyuk momentarily let a slip of the tongue escape. He quickly took back his words.

Although there was an X-ray at the UN Hospital, it was useless right now. Of course, emergency CT scans were out of the question.

Kim Ji-hyuk was in a situation where he had to resolve everything with his own medical knowledge and intuition.

A moment later.

“Senior, what about the blood?”

“I did my best to prepare it. Eight packs over there!”

Eight blood packs.

In a situation like this, Shin Jung-eun had exerted two hundred percent of her capability.

Though not sufficient, it was blood as precious as a mountain of gold.

“Thank you!”

“No need for thanks. Let’s do our best to save this patient!”

“Senior, may we start now?”

“Okay! You may start now.”

Shin Jung-eun, who had finished administering the anesthesia, gave an OK sign and nodded.

“Yes, I will begin! As soon as we open the patient’s abdomen, there will be a lot of bleeding. Please prepare the blood!”

Kim Ji-hyuk bit his lips firmly.