Chapter 61 – Young Patient with No Guardian (3)

“I will go out, check the blood type, and come back!”

Kim Yun-seok shouted with a bright face.

“Okay! It seems we finally found a way to live! Hurry back, Yun-seok!”

The surgery, which had fallen into a deadlock, finally began to open up as the patient’s parents appeared.

Kim Yun-seok hurriedly went outside along with the nurse.

“Nurse! Where are the patient’s parents?”

Yun-seok looked around the surroundings.

“O-Over there!”

At that, the nurse pointed to two people with her finger.

Looking at them stamping their feet with faces turned pale, anyone could tell they were the patient’s parents.

However.

“Th-those people are the patient’s parents?”

Yun-seok had a startled expression.

“Yes. That’s right!”

“Ah… I see.”

Yun-seok tilted his head, then trudged toward where the two were standing.

‘Those people are the patient’s parents? But why on earth did the patient come to our hospital?’

Near Seoul Station, where the patient met with a hit-and-run accident, there was Director Jung Won-ho, the director of a large surgical hospital. As one of the few surgical specialists in the country, he was close with Professor Chung Ki-ryeo, and was also acquainted with Kim Ji-hyuk and Kim Yun-seok.

“Director Jung?”

Therefore, Yun-seok seemed to already know these people.

“Dr. Kim Yun-seok?”

The patient’s father also knew Kim Yun-seok.

“How did this happen? What brings you to our hospital, Director…”

Perhaps because of a bad premonition, Kim Yun-seok’s voice trembled.

“B-By any chance, Dr. Kim Yun-seok, are you the operating surgeon who operated on… our Sang-ho?”

The eyes of the man, filled with tears, wavered.

“Currently, Dr. Kim Ji-hyuk is operating.”

“…”

Thud—

Perhaps because the strength left his legs, the man collapsed onto the floor.

“Is… is our Sang-ho alright? He can survive, right?”

At that, the patient’s mother ran over and clung to Kim Yun-seok.

‘How on earth did this happen? The father is a surgical specialist, but why was the son an unidentified patient without a guardian, and how is his son undergoing surgery at our hospital?’

It was certainly strange, but now was not the time to ask about the details. Since the patient was placed at the crossroads of life and death.

“Yes. For now, the surgery is underway, and because blood is currently lacking…”

“Our child’s blood type is O! W-we are also type O. We brought the blood we had at our hospital. Of course, please draw our blood too!”

The patient’s mother pleaded while holding Kim Yun-seok’s arm with a half-distracted face.

‘Sigh, because we didn’t know the blood type, we consumed even more of our scarce time doing tests… If we had known the blood type in advance, it would have been much easier!’

“A-Alright. First, please draw blood! The patient’s condition is urgent right now!”

“Yes! Understood! What should we do?”

“First, follow me.”

In that way, following the nurse’s guidance, the patient’s parents, namely Director Jung and his wife, hurriedly moved to the blood drawing room.

A moment later.

Operating room.

“Ji-hyuk, I secured blood.”

With the blood Director Jung brought and the blood secured from the patient’s parents, surgery was possible even if it was barely enough.

“Good job! But why is your expression like that?”

“No, it’s nothing. First, let’s proceed with the surgery.”

“Right. There is no time! Two hours from now! We must finish it within two hours!”

“Yes! Let’s do our best.”

The surgery began again, and as Kim Ji-hyuk, Kim Yun-seok, Shin Jeong-eun, and the surgical team desperately clung to the patient, the surgery was finally completed successfully.

* * *

A major surgery that sutured the ruptured blood vessels, matched the fragmented liver pieces, and resected the ruptured spleen.

It was a desperate surgery using poor surgical tools and equipment to the maximum.

Even so, it was a situation where they could not be relieved yet.

The patient, who was moved to the ICU, had to have his progress monitored for a few days. However, at any rate, it was true that he had passed the dangerous crisis.

“Hmm… Senior! Using a muscle relaxant during the surgery was a stroke of genius.”

Kim Ji-hyuk gave a thumbs-up toward Shin Jeong-eun.

Even at that time, the concept of anesthesia was unfamiliar and anesthesia technology had not developed. Because of the strong insistence of Ji-hyuk, Yun-seok, and Professor Chung Ki-ryeo, who recognized the importance of anesthesia, the department of anesthesiology was newly established at the National Medical Center for the first time.

If one went straight into surgery after simple anesthesia, the patient’s muscles were bound to stiffen, and in that case, the operating surgeon had no choice but to go through tremendous trouble to perform the surgery.

Shin Jeong-eun administered a muscle relaxant to such a patient.

By doing so, if the stiffened muscles relaxed, the surgery was bound to become that much easier.

It would be a matter of course now, but even in 1954, it was a method difficult to approach easily.

“It’s a relief. That it was helpful.”

“It wasn’t just helpful. It was truly the best!”

“Hahaha, it’s good that I learned it from Professor Svensson! By the way, what is the patient’s schedule in the future?”

Perhaps tired from the long surgery, Shin Jeong-eun tidied her disheveled bangs that fell down.

“Uh? Senior, your hand…”

At that moment, Shin Jeong-eun’s palm caught Kim Ji-hyuk’s eye.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Shin Jeong-eun quickly hid her hand behind her back.

“No! Wait a minute. Let me see your hand.”

At that, Kim Ji-hyuk approached and checked her palm.

“How did this…”

Ji-hyuk examined Shin Jeong-eun’s palm in detail. Her palm was cracked and rough, just like a paddy field in a drought.

“Hehehe, that’s why I wish our hospital would introduce a new model of ventilator!”

“Ah!”

Only now did he understand the reason why Shin Jeong-eun’s palm became rough and thick. The reality was that because of financial problems, ventilators were lacking, and they had to use a manual resuscitator, namely an Ambu bag, even in the operating room.

Therefore, because they had no choice but to maintain the patient’s breathing by doing Ambu bagging throughout the surgery time. There was no way the palm of Shin Jeong-eun, the anesthesiologist, would be fine.

Ji-hyuk recalled the memoir of Shin Jeong-eun’s daughter, who said her mother had stated that if she were born again and could be a doctor again, she would be an anesthesiologist even then.

Although Shin Jeong-eun spoke with a bright smile, Ji-hyuk’s heart felt like it was breaking.

‘You are right, Senior! Simply being faithful to my role as a doctor is not enough to solve this. I know the future. I know what will happen in the future. If I get a chance, I will make money. With that money, I will pour it into the medical advancement of this country, this land! In order to keep your noble will from fading!’

“Oh dear, once I get my salary this month, I should buy a hand cream for my senior!”

“Gasp! Are you flirting with me now?”

“If I flirt, will you fall for it?”

“Pardon?”

Momentarily, Shin Jeong-eun’s face turned red.

“Hehehe, it’s a joke, a joke!”

At that, Kim Ji-hyuk waved his hand and made an awkward smile.

“Oh dear, really! I was also joking, you know? Phew, that aside, what happened to the patient’s parents? How did they know and come to the hospital?”

Shin Jeong-eun quickly changed the subject.

“Who knows? I was also curious about that.”

“What is there to be curious about? Parents came to find their son.”

At that moment, Kim Yun-seok entered the department office.

“Yun-seok!”

“Yes. Your friend is here! By the way, what is this atmosphere? Why is Senior’s face red? You too, Ji-hyuk? This is very suspicious. I have a strange hunch about this.”

Yun-seok pointed his finger at the two and rolled his eyes.

“Nonsense! Keep your crappy hunch to yourself. What is suspicious about this?”

“Your reaction is excessive, isn’t it?”

Kim Yun-seok still did not withdraw his suspicious look.

“Dr. Ji-hyuk is right. What is there to be suspicious about!”

Shin Jeong-eun flared up no less than Kim Ji-hyuk.

“Haha, is this what they call ‘like husband, like wife’? Now the two of you are attacking as a pair?”

“Oh dear, Dr. Yun-seok always jumps to conclusions like this. Stop talking nonsense and tell us what the story is. The patient’s parents…”

Shin Jeong-eun tried to change the subject with a straight face.

“Hmm, it’s certain that there is a suspicious smell, but we’ll find out if we dig later… Anyway, I should satisfy your curiosity, right? Don’t be surprised, everyone! The patient’s father was Director Jung Won-ho!”

Finally, Kim Yun-seok dropped the bomb.

“What?”

“What did you say?”

Since he was someone Kim Ji-hyuk and Shin Jeong-eun also knew, they reacted with surprise.

“How could such a thing happen?”

Kim Ji-hyuk asked, still surprised.

“I was also completely dumbfounded. But it’s true! The patient’s father is Director Jung Won-ho!”

“Wait! Yes. Let’s assume Director Jung is indeed the father. But this is too strange, isn’t it? The place where the patient met with the traffic accident was near Seoul Station, right?”

“Yes. That’s right!”

“But Director Jung’s hospital is right there, isn’t it? And it’s the largest hospital in that area? Besides, there are no proper surgical clinics other than Director Jung’s hospital, right?”

“That is also true!”

Kim Yun-seok nodded firmly.

“Sigh, I don’t understand. Does it make sense that he didn’t go to that hospital and came to our hospital, which is far away? A taxi driver would know the geography of the vicinity well, wouldn’t he? It makes sense to transport him to Director Jung’s hospital first.”

“Naturally, the driver transported him to Director Jung’s hospital first.”

“Wait a minute! Then… Director Jung’s hospital rejected the patient?!”

“…”

Kim Yun-seok nodded at Kim Ji-hyuk’s words.

“This is truly absurd. How can such a thing happen? He is not anyone else, but his son.”

Shin Jeong-eun also found this part completely incomprehensible.

However.

Since it was 1954, it was fully possible, and it was something happening frequently in hospitals everywhere even at this moment.

The current reality where there was no such thing as medical insurance.

Sick patients could not visit hospitals because of the excessively high hospital bills, and even patients who had no choice but to be admitted to hospitals often climbed over the wall and fled secretly because they could not afford the bills.

In the end, it was certain that this patient had also been turned away from the hospital for that reason.

Of course, if they had known the patient was the director’s son, such a tragedy would not have occurred.

“If they had known the patient was the son, they wouldn’t have done that.”

Kim Yun-seok shook his head with a sorrowful face.

“Ah… then Director Jung did not know that the patient kicked out of his hospital was his son?”

“Yes. It seems so. It seems the hospital administrator turned away the patient cold-heartedly just because he had no money. Having been turned away, the taxi driver wandered from hospital to hospital, and brought him all the way to our hospital.”

“…”

“…”

Kim Ji-hyuk and Shin Jeong-eun, who learned all the circumstances, dropped their heads powerlessly.

‘I must take some measures starting from the excessively expensive hospital bills! Otherwise, this kind of thing will keep repeating in the end, and countless patients will die without even crossing the hospital threshold. I must hurry!’

It was the moment Kim Ji-hyuk gathered his mind once again.

A young patient who was kicked out cold-heartedly just because he had no money. The hospital director and his wife who learned that the patient was their son.

Director Jung Won-ho almost committed a mistake he could never wash away in his life.

Of course, even looking at the current situation, it was something that would cause him to suffer from guilt for the rest of his life.

* * *

A few weeks later, the surgical department office.

“Hey! Kim Ji-hyuk!”

Yun-seok finished his treatment and ran into the department office in a hurry.

“Uh? Why?”

“You, keep your promise!”

“What promise?”