Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: What Got Stuck In There? (1)
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After sending the TTP patient up to the ICU, I sank deep into the chair at the station.
As the tension drained from my body, an intense wave of fatigue washed over me, mingled with a bizarre surge of confidence coursing through my veins.
Yeah, I did it again!
The gallery ghosts' help had been crucial, but in the end, it was me who made the call, shouted it out, and took action.
Laparotomy, dragged before the disciplinary committee, diagnosing the TTP patient.
In just a few days, I'd been through every major incident that other first-years might only see once—if at all—during their entire residency.
Haha!
I'm a madman! The hospital's official lunatic!
Grinning with deep satisfaction, I waited for the next patient.
Right then, the triage nurse poked her head out from the intercom and called for me.
There was a subtle note of distress in her voice, unlike her usual tone.
"Dr. Han, we've got... um... a pretty serious patient in Zone B. I think you should take a look."
A serious patient?
I tensed up reflexively.
What the hell happened now?
But her voice didn't sound all that urgent.
If it was so serious, why assign them to Zone B in the first place?
I got up from the chair and headed to Zone B.
As I approached the curtained bed, I heard a man inside groaning in pain.
I took a deep breath and pulled back the curtain.
On the bed lay a man in his thirties, curled up on his side.
His face was flushed beet red with agony.
"What brings you here? Where does it hurt?"
At my question, the man couldn't meet my eyes. He clutched the blanket and mumbled.
"Um... Doctor... I, uh, accidentally... got something... in my butt."
...
Yeah.
I couldn't believe my ears. What did he just say? Butt?
"Can't it... come out? It really went in by accident."
The man asked, on the verge of tears.
I froze for a second.
Every differential diagnosis list I'd run through my head a thousand times over the past few days vanished in a puff of white smoke.
It felt like my brain had reset.
"Ah. Got it."
The legendary ER case, straight out of the myths.
My newfound confidence and medical insight were utterly useless against this primal problem.
What the fuck did he shove up there?
I forced my lips into the kindest smile I could muster and turned to the patient.
"Ah, yes... Just a moment, sir. We'll take care of it right away. Please wait here."
I drew the curtain shut and stepped out.
Fuck. Oh my God. Please.
I scanned the ER sharply.
Hmm.
Let's see.
Aha! There!
My radar locked onto a fresh-faced intern diligently charting in the corner of the station.
Name... right, Park Seong-jeong.
"...Hmm, intern? Where'd the intern go?"
I muttered casually to myself as I snuck up right behind him.
Then I gave Park Seong-jeong's shoulder a friendly pat.
"Seong-jeong-ah."
"Yes? Dr. Han Hyun-jae?"
Park Seong-jeong whipped around, startled. His eyes still burned with the pure enthusiasm of someone untouched by the world's bitterness.
Yeah, that's the look.
I can trust eyes like that.
I placed a hand on his shoulder, beaming like a benevolent senior.
"Seong-jeong-ah, we've got a new patient in Bed 8, Zone B. It's a super educational case. Something you might never see again in your whole career if you don't handle it now as an intern. Want to take it? I'll be right there supervising, of course."
"Yes? Really? What kind of case?"
Park Seong-jeong's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Rectal... foreign body."
"...Pardon?"
The pure passion drained from Park Seong-jeong's face in an instant, replaced by 100% pure despair.
"Please."
I squeezed his shoulder hard one more time.
Yeah, tough luck, Seong-jeong-ah. You got this.
"Yes? Dr. Han Hyun-jae? Wait, hold on!"
Ignoring his panicked cry, I tossed back some hearty encouragement.
"You can do it, Seong-jeong-ah! Fighting!"
I bolted.
Faster than I'd ever moved in my life, I fled the scene.
A wail close to a sob echoed behind me.
"Dr. Ha-an!"
Sorry, Seong-jeong-ah.
But it can't be helped.
That's the intern's fate.
I'm a first-year now; time to see the bigger picture.
Rationalizing it to myself like that, I strolled leisurely back to the station.
***
I savored the sweet aroma of my freshly brewed mixed coffee, marveling at my own judgment.
Yeah, this is all for education.
You have to experience a primal case like that firsthand to grow into a real doctor.
As a first-year, I'd just given my junior a golden learning opportunity. What a great senior I am.
Praising myself, I took a sip of coffee.
But the peace didn't last.
"Dr. Han!"
Moments later, Park Seong-jeong returned from Zone B, face flushed, calling out to me.
Hmm, did something go wrong?
I greeted him with the warm, magnanimous smile of a generous senior.
"Oh, hey, Seong-jeong-ah. How'd it go? Pretty enlightening and rewarding, right? How's the patient?"
At my question, Park Seong-jeong's lips quivered.
"Doc..."
"Yeah?"
"When I got there... they'd only done history taking, nothing else..."
His voice dripped with resentment.
"The chart just says 'R/O Rectal foreign body (*suspected rectal foreign body)'—one line. Patient's still in pain, no orders at all... I didn't know what to do..."
I listened to the intern's plea without batting an eye.
"Oh, really? I must've spaced out earlier; things were hectic. Haha. Sorry, Seong-jeong-ah. You saved my ass by speaking up. You're so sharp; I love it."
I patted his shoulder and smoothly guided him to the station computer.
"Come on, Seong-jeong-ah. Sit. I'll teach you the basic orders for cases like this, step by step."
I stood him beside me and opened the orders screen.
"First, NPO (*nothing by mouth). Basic of basics. Why? We don't know yet if we can pull it out by hand, or if we need endoscopy or surgery. Anesthesia might be required, so fasting is non-negotiable."
I clicked the NPO order.
"Next, IV line. Fluids—why? Can't eat. And secure a route for meds in case of emergency."
I entered the fluids order.
"And most important: tests."
I pulled up the radiology orders.
"Now, Seong-jeong-ah. What's key in these patients? Perforation. Has the bowel torn or not?"
Park Seong-jeong shot me a look like 'Do I look like an intern who doesn't know that?' but I ignored it.
"If the foreign body pierces the bowel wall and shit leaks into the abdomen, it's peritonitis, septic shock, dead. So abdominal X-ray. One supine, one upright. Know why upright is essential?"
"Uh... to see gas distribution in the bowel...?"
"Ding ding ding. Specifically, free air under the diaphragm. If there's a crescent sign under it? Game over—call surgery and rush to the OR."
Park Seong-jeong gave me that look again. Whatever.
"Yeah..."
I smiled with great satisfaction and entered the X-ray order.
***
Moments later, the X-ray results popped up on screen. I tapped Park Seong-jeong's shoulder.
"Come take a look."
We stood side by side, peering at the monitor.
Fortunately, no free air under the diaphragm.
No perforation.
I sighed in relief and scrolled down to enlarge the pelvic area.
And there it was.
A clear, unmistakable silhouette deep in the rectum.
My mind flooded with medical knowledge mixed with internet horror stories.
'Hmm, not radiopaque. Not metal or glass. Density-wise...'
This is... that... exactly that.
Fuck.
What the hell do you have to do for something like that to go in "accidentally"?
I couldn't hide my shock.
"Doctor... what is that...?"
Beside me, Park Seong-jeong asked innocently.
The intern hadn't recognized the holy object's identity yet.
I hesitated on how to answer.
How do you explain this?
Just then, two female nurses walked by, chatting.
I flinched involuntarily.
Somehow... embarrassing. It's just my patient, not me, but I felt like I had to preserve some dignity(?).
I grabbed Park Seong-jeong's shoulder and pulled him close.
Then, whispering right in his ear, very quietly, I gave the precise medical term(?).
"..."
As my whisper ended, Park Seong-jeong froze solid.
The intern's pupils dilated wider than any I'd ever seen.
He slowly turned back to the X-ray, then to me.
Yeah, the ER's that kind of place.