Perfect Surgeon

Mother was screaming. She was crying desperately and with all her might to save her husband. In a normal place, everyone would have helped her with her pitiful appearance, but this place where she is now was an exception. Hard-faced doctors in white robes and nurses examining the busy crowd of patients. And each patient’s family, each with a dark expression, treated the screaming mother as if they were everyday and turned away from it. Everyone glanced at each other, but no one listened to the voice of the child being cut off. Only the young doctor who was dealing with her mother had an embarrassed expression on her face. It was an unfamiliar situation and an unfamiliar space for Kim Do-yoon, who had just entered middle school. It was unfamiliar to his mother, who usually only showed her smile and didn’t show her other emotions. When he caught a bad cold, he was also unfamiliar with the space called the emergency room of a general hospital that was full of doctors and a large building that was incomparable to the local clinic he had been to. At first he didn’t know exactly what had happened. However, while traveling to and from the hospital, he found out that his father was seriously injured. In a frightening and chaotic situation, Do-yoon was trembling moment by moment, but he tried not to be anxious. He resolutely held the younger brother’s hand tightly and tried not to be a burden to his mother. Do-yoon looked up at the doctor explaining the situation to his mother. Was this their fifth hospital? Although the names of the hospitals were different, the doctors who treated the mother showed the same reaction and expression as if they were one person. “Sorry. We don’t have an operating room right now, so we can’t take it. I will look for another hospital.” “Oh, no! You can’t go to another hospital! Teacher! Please take care of my husband! please! please!” As her mother ejaculated, she grabbed the hem of the young doctor’s gown. “That is… … . According to the results of the examination at the hospital before transfer, the most serious place right now is an open fracture of the right ankle. A pelvic fracture was also seen on CT, but it doesn’t seem to be serious. Even if you don’t get treatment here… … .” “My husband is in a very strange state! They say that his stomach and buttocks hurt so much… … Please heal him here! Teacher!” The mother’s opinion, who had been watching her husband for decades, was immediately dismissed because she was unprofessional. “Ha, sorry. We want to do that too, but it’s not something I can decide… … . There is no operating room. Wait. I will come back when a transfer hospital is decided.” The doctor glanced at his cell phone for no reason and left quickly. “Teacher! Teacher!” His mother, who had her legs loose while trying to grab hold of the empty space, slumped down. “Mom, are you okay?” “… … Yes. Do-yoon-ah. Mom is okay. It’s okay.” “Mom, sit over there.” After seeing Do-yoon’s worried expression, his mother barely sat down on a chair on the other side of the emergency room. “… … I wish my mother was a doctor. She says her dad is sick, but she doesn’t know where and how it hurts, so she can’t explain it well.” Her mother’s self-help, mixed with frustration, planted something that made Do-yoon cry. Eight hours had already passed since the accident call. After going through several hospitals, he got used to waiting, but his father’s condition continued to deteriorate as much as the waiting. But nothing could be done and time passed. Do-yoon, who watched his mother’s pale face anxiously, could not understand the current situation. Wasn’t a hospital a place to treat sick people? Wasn’t a doctor’s job treating people? That’s definitely what he was taught in school. It had already been several times since they’d been from hospital to hospital. Doctors reflected in his young eyes were nothing but people who rejected patients or passed them on to other doctors. Do-yoon, who gave his brother’s bracken hand to his mother, walked to the center of the emergency room. “Doctor.” “Yes?” The female doctor, who was looking at the chart, widened her eyes at the sudden child’s voice. “Are you a doctor? If you are a doctor, please fix my dad.” “What? Dad? How is your father?” “He was in a car accident, and no one is treating him.” “… … Yes?” The female doctor who understood the situation roughly called a nearby nurse and comforted Do-yoon. “You can’t fix a car accident because you’re a physician. Go back to your parents, because staying here will disturb others.” Do-yoon didn’t understand the doctor’s words. “You’re still a doctor.” “Not all doctors can cure all diseases. Nurse, please find the parents of this child.” The female doctor handed Do-yoon to the nurse without saying any more. But Do-yoon didn’t give up. He grabbed every doctor who went in and out of the emergency room and asked him to treat his father. The reactions were varied. An angry doctor. An ignoring doctor. A doctor who responds recklessly. He was grateful for the kindness of the female doctor he asked at first. The reasons for rejection were as varied as the reactions. Because it’s a gynecologist. Because it’s plastic surgery. Because I’m an intern. Because I’m a resident… … In the end, Do-yoon was forcibly moved to the chair next to his mother. ‘I’m going to be a doctor. A doctor who never rejects patients who come to me. I will become a doctor who can cure all diseases.’ Looking coldly at the busy doctors in white gowns, Do-yoon wrapped the small seeds his mother had planted in his arms. How long had they been so helpless? The doctor who had been dealing with his mother a while ago came to them. “There is a hospital that will operate!” “Yeah? Really? Iced coffee… … . Then let’s go quickly!” “They said they would send a helicopter, so they will be there soon.” “Hey, a helicopter?” “Ah, your husband will be transferred to Daehan University Hospital. There is no place to receive him at the regional trauma center.” “If it’s Daehan University Hospital… … in Seoul… … .” They couldn’t be ignorant of the best hospital in Korea. Although it was far away, it seemed that a ray of hope was revived. It was just absurd that they had to go all the way to Seoul with so many hospitals in the area. “Yes, that’s right. The guardians will have to go up separately.” “Mom, are we going to Seoul?” Her mother’s gaze turned to his bright younger brother. “Do-yoon, wake up. Take your brother’s hand.” “Umm… … .” Do-yoon tossed and turned and slowly opened his eyes. When he touched his back with a damp feeling, cold sweat was still dripping from his palms. “… … Why am I like this these days? Am I worn out?” It was the same dream again. No, it was more of a memory than a dream. What happened when his father passed away has been appearing in his dreams again and again recently. “A doctor who can cure all diseases. Big dream.” Do-yoon checked the time on the desk, wearing glasses, and got up to get ready for work. Along with the watch, a small picture frame flashed past it. Do-yoon’s high school graduation photo. With Do-yoon’s awkward expression in the center, his mother and younger brother were standing on either side. After all, his father died that day. He was taken to Daehan University Hospital, but died in a cold operating room. Three hours after surgery. It had been twelve hours since the accident. The direct cause of death was excessive bleeding, and the preceding causes were open fractures of the lower extremities including pelvic fractures, massive peritoneal hemorrhage, rectal injury, and bladder and urethral ruptures. At the local severe trauma center where he was first treated, it was revealed that the pelvic fracture was confirmed and fixed with CT, but organ damage was not properly treated. The irresponsible emergency medical system was once again on the boardwalk, but that too was only for a while. As always, the world returned to its original form. Only his father did not return. “Whoa… … .” Do-yoon, who wiped off cold sweat by pouring a bowl of cold water in the cramped washroom, put on his clothes and left the gosiwon. He didn’t know why things of the past kept coming to mind in his dreams, but they were literally things of the past. In front of the harsh reality, Do-yoon did not have time to ponder the past and immerse himself in emotions. When he left Seohyeon Station and looked up, he saw the sign of the hospital where he works. – Bundang Arum Clinic. Department of Dermatology.