Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Not a Cold? (3)
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I hung up with Park Woo-young and immediately looked up the contact for the on-call thoracic surgeon, then dialed.
My heart was pounding even harder than before.
"Yes, this is Kim Do-jin, third-year cardiothoracic and thoracic surgery resident."
"Hello, Doctor. This is Han Hyun-jae, first-year emergency medicine resident. I'm calling about a patient."
I reported it much more concisely than last time.
Surgeons hate long explanations.
"Fifty-four-year-old male with inferior wall infarction accompanied by right ventricular infarction. Currently maintaining blood pressure at 90/60. Cardiology plans intervention, but patient's condition is highly unstable, so high risk of cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest during procedure. Calling ahead regarding standby for VA-ECMO prior to intervention."
There was a brief silence on the other end from the third-year thoracic resident.
Just as anxiety started creeping in that I'd overstepped...
"...Hold on. EM first-year? Not internal medicine?"
"Yes, sir. Calling on behalf of cardiology."
"...Ah, got it. Nothing major. That's the cleanest first-year call I've heard so far. No fluff. Hang in there. We're coming down."
The call ended.
I stared blankly at my phone.
Huh? Suddenly? Praise?
How?
No more questions?
How?
Why from the start?
Why?
I closed my eyes for a moment. My mind spun chaotically, flashing back to that night a few days ago when they'd hijacked my sacred day off—that hellish tutoring session played out in panorama.
***
In my officetel, sprawled corpse-like on the cheap sofa, a blue gallery window floated in the air before me.
LatteIsRight: Idiot! Think myocardial infarction always comes with chest pain? That's bullshit from textbooks! Diabetics and old folks just come in feeling wiped out, or with indigestion! Jaw pain, throat pain, back pain! Suspect them all! The second you take the patient's word at face value, you're not a doctor—you're just a receptionist!
I mumbled soullessly, half-asleep.
ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1: Yeah, yeah, got it. Everything hurts? Must be MI, sure.
The screen shifted, dozens of ECG waveforms flashing by.
CardiologyGhost: Okay, inferior wall infarction. First thing you check? V4R! Right ventricle! Why? Treatment's different! Nitro kills the patient! This one's what? Anterior wall! This? Posterior wall! Leads where? V7 to V9! Burn it into your brain, asshole! Can't memorize? I'll shove electrodes in your heart myself!
I writhed in agony.
And the last comment that night, tossed out indifferently just before my consciousness faded...
Anonymous (223.39): But y'all chatting so chill. MI extending to RV? Arrest hits hard during PCI. Shock too. At our hospital, we always call CTS for ECMO team standby on cases like this. Not prepping is just asking to kill the patient.
***
I'd let it slide past my ears back then...
Experience really counts for something.
But no time to bask in sentiment.
Why? I could hear thudding footsteps approaching from afar.
The ER entrance auto-doors slid open, and a sweat-drenched man dashed in.
It was Park Woo-young from cardiology, the one I'd just spoken to.
I didn't know him by face or name tag. But who else would sprint into this quiet ER but the on-call cardiologist?
"MI...! Where...!"
"Yes, Doctor! Right here!"
I pointed to Bed B-28.
Park Woo-young rushed over, first checked consciousness, then snatched the EKG strip from my hand and scanned it in two seconds flat.
"Blown wide open. BP still in the 90s?"
"Yes, 500cc in, barely holding 90/60. Heart rate down to 50."
"Like this even with fluids? Must be... RV totally out. Complete occlusion."
Muttering to himself, Park Woo-young powered up the portable ultrasound.
He slathered gel on the patient's chest and pressed the probe down.
The monitor showed the heart struggling weakly.
"Look at that motion. Inferior wall and RV... walls barely moving. Diagnosis confirmed."
He set the probe aside and turned to me.
"No nitro, fluids first, called CTS... good calls."
Park Woo-young clapped my shoulder hard.
Then another group barreled into the ER. The thoracic surgery team.
Behind them rumbled the massive ECMO cart. The third-year who'd taken my call led, stopping in front of Park Woo-young.
"Third-year cardiothoracic and thoracic surgery, Kim Do-jin. Got the call. Where's the patient?"
Park Woo-young pointed at once, like he'd been waiting.
"Yeah, thoracic? Patient here. Hanging on, but condition's iffy... Taking to angio ASAP to open it up. If BP drops more or arrest during, we'll call right away. Stand by nearby."
"Got it, Doctor."
The bed started moving.
IV poles galore, beeping monitors, medical staff clustered around.
I trailed at the rear, staring blankly at their backs.
The patient was out of my hands now.
Life or death rested with God, cardiology, and thoracic surgery.
I glanced at the empty spot where the bed had been.
As patient and staff vanished into the elevator, an eerie quiet settled over the ER bed bay.
Just discarded gauze on the floor, a stray syringe cap, and the ownerless empty bed.
Whew.
Tension released, brutal fatigue flooded in where adrenaline had been.
My stomach growled pitifully.
Ah.
Right.
Lunch.
Only then did I remember I'd been heading to eat.
Whatever happened to Kim Ji-hoon... and my pork stir-fry.
I looked up blankly at the station wall clock.
Ah, fuck.
My lunch break.
...Gone to hell.
Hollow.
'Ah... my precious pork stir-fry.'
I bid mental farewell to the cafeteria menu's pork stir-fry and trudged back to the station.
'Gallery.'
Wonder what those ghost bastards are saying right now.
Debating my heroic exploits, maybe.
The blue interface popped up, and I let out a scoff.
Title: [Breaking News] HellSlave1 <<< Caught AMI from sore throat alone lol
Author: OperatingRoomGhost3
Title: HellSlave Daily Highlights.txt
Author: PsychiatryGhost
And the top post with most recs and comments.
Title: HellSlave1 << This guy's got eagle eyes, massive upvote lol
Author: Anonymous (223.39)
I clicked it with a hollow laugh.
The comments were already ablaze.
Anonymous (14.52): Whoa... actually caught it. Respect. How do you spot MI from sore throat? If I were on EM call, I'd have sent him home with cold meds.
HippocratesHeir: Truly, the senses of the living surpass the knowledge of the dead... Most intriguing.
OperatingRoomGhost3: Insane, for real. That instinct's innate ㅇㅇ
PsychiatryGhost: (Mando thumbs-up meme)
GodsScalpel: Lucky. But luck is skill.
What a load of crap.
I'd just not forgotten the crap you ghosts crammed into my brain on my day off.
I kept scrolling. No end in sight.
Anonymous (HalfAnon): So was it really MI?
Anonymous (182.215): When'd you read the EKG? Can't you snap a pic? Show the strip already. Dizzy here.
BloodClotIsHell: Hurry back and post update HellSlave ㅇㅇ
BackGallery (1.234): Not even chest pain, sore throat lmao
BoneFreak88: But calling CTS was overkill, no? Cardiology could've handled.
ㄴ Anonymous (118.235): Clueless. Inferior MI with RV involvement? BP maintenance is life or death. Crashes all the time. ECMO backup was a god move.
I stared at the screen full of praise, analysis, mockery. No emotion.
To these ghosts, it was a juicy case. I was the competent streamer.
They'd never know the price of this hero play: missing today's lunch special pork stir-fry.
Sigh...
I quietly closed the gallery window. Without even checking the bottom-right points.