Trauma Center : Golden Hour - Chapter 114

“Uh, how is he?”

As soon as Baek Kang-hyuk stepped out of the ICU, the patient’s guardian rushed over.

She was a woman with jet-black hair, only just starting to show a few strands of white.

‘His wife…… probably.’

Having seen so many people over the years, he could now tell at a glance what relationship the guardian had.

Her disheveled hair and the panicked look on her face—

It was hard to imagine she was anyone but the wife.

As he saw the guardian rushing over, Kang-hyuk quickly recalled the patient’s name.

Thankfully, the field agent had organized things well, so it wasn’t hard to remember.

“Kim Dong-soo……. You’re his wife, correct?”

“Yes, yes! How is he?”

“Kim Dong-soo fell off a cliff while hiking alone. The cliff was about eight meters high.”

“Eight meters…….”

Her face grew desperate as she repeated the words “eight meters” a few times.

It sounded high, but she didn’t really know what that meant.

Naturally so.

Ordinary people don’t usually fall from such heights.

“He seems to have gotten caught on something on the way down, then fallen again.”

That wasn’t in the field agent’s report.

But Kang-hyuk could recite it as if he’d been there himself.

The long tears in the clothing, stab wounds on the back, and relatively minor injuries to other areas for that height.

And, since Korean mountains tended to have short trees, it was reported that many hiking accident victims sustained injuries and wounds from trees.

Putting it all together, you could draw that conclusion.

“Th-then, that’s good, right?”

The guardian’s face lit up at Kang-hyuk’s words.

Getting caught on something sounded, at least, better than just falling.

Anyone at the scene might wonder if it really was “good.”

But to someone unfamiliar with these things, like the guardian, it sounded hopeful.

“It depends on the situation.”

Any other doctor might have said something reassuring, whether it was strictly true or not.

Of course, “better than just falling.”

But Kang-hyuk wasn’t good at that sort of thing.

He simply wasn’t interested.

“Th-then…… no, but isn’t it still better?”

She pressed desperately, unable to let go of hope.

“Well……. If he’d fallen straight down, he probably would have died instantly.”

“Th-that’s a relief…….”

She finally heard what she wanted to hear.

At least he hadn’t died instantly.

It didn’t necessarily mean a good outcome, but in times like these, you cling to any hope.

Her mind worked only in a positive direction.

It would have been good to offer some comfort and sympathy at this point.

But Kang-hyuk wasn’t that kind of doctor.

“But his current condition isn’t that good either. There’s widespread brain swelling, and function in the cerebral cortex is severely decreased, especially compared to the sensory areas.”

He simply conveyed the objective facts as clearly as he could.

But to the guardian, it all just sounded like an alien language.

Her husband had suffered an accident on a hike—she was already overwhelmed.

Words like “brain swelling” or “cerebral cortex” made no sense.

“I knew this would happen.”

Jang-mi, who had followed quietly, shook her head and fell in beside Kang-hyuk.

Whatever kind of person he was, his empathy was close to zero.

“Ma’am, hello.”

Jang-mi subtly nudged Kang-hyuk aside with her hip and bowed her head.

The guardian hurriedly bowed in return.

“Hello, doctor.”

She naturally assumed Jang-mi was a doctor.

After all, Jang-mi wore scrubs and a Severe Trauma Center coat, not a nurse’s uniform.

Unless you looked closely at her name tag, you’d never know she was a nurse.

The hospital had asked for this to change many times, but Kang-hyuk had blocked it.

‘Because of the Severe Trauma Center’s job requirements, our duties aren’t limited to the ICU—we work in the OR, the station, and even on site. So scrubs and a coat are more practical than a nurse’s uniform.’

That was Kang-hyuk’s reply.

Thanks to that, Jang-mi had a huge advantage when dealing with guardians.

There were still many people in Korea who would treat nurses rudely but not doctors.

Even though Jang-mi was tall and had a strong impression, it was the same.

“I’ll add to Professor Baek’s explanation, if that’s okay?”

“Yes, please…….”

The guardian was desperate—she hadn’t understood a word of what Kang-hyuk said.

So she gladly accepted Jang-mi’s offer.

“First, the brain inside the skull is generally swollen.”

“Swollen?”

“Yes. The skull is hard bone, but inside, the brain is like tofu. What do you think happens if the brain swells?”

Jang-mi mimed holding a ball in her palms as she asked.

It still wasn’t the easiest explanation, but it was much better than Kang-hyuk’s.

“It’ll get squeezed…… right?”

“Yes, it gets squeezed. It’s like the brain is being choked.”

“The brain gets choked……?”

For a moment, the guardian forgot her sorrow as she tried to follow the explanation.

Jang-mi was secretly relieved by this and went on.

“Yes. When that happens, brain function decreases. Things like moving your body, making your heart beat, breathing—those can all be affected.”

In other words, the patient could fall into a brain death state.

Some people confuse brain death with a vegetative state.

But brain death is a completely different concept.

Brain death is simply death.

If you remove the life-support, the patient dies immediately.

“Ah…….”

The guardian didn’t immediately think of the word “brain death.”

But she could tell something very serious had happened.

“Ah, that’s only if this condition continues. Right now, we’re doing everything—drilling the skull, spinal puncture, medication—to reduce the swelling.”

“Th-then, he can survive, right?”

“I can’t say for sure yet.”

At Jang-mi’s words, the guardian’s legs wobbled.

It felt different from when she heard Kang-hyuk’s incomprehensible explanation.

Now she understood, at least a little, what was happening—and so despair felt that much closer.

“We’re doing everything we can and will continue to do so. That much I can promise.”

“Ah…….”

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in Jang-mi’s eyes.

No matter when, no matter the patient, she’d always done her utmost.

Even before Kang-hyuk joined the team, that had been true.

But after he arrived, her efforts had shone even more.

“Th…… thank you……. Please, take good care of him.”

They say genuine feelings are always conveyed.

The guardian must have seen something in Jang-mi’s eyes.

She didn’t argue or get angry—she simply returned to her seat.

Jang-mi watched her for a moment, then turned to Kang-hyuk.

“See? That’s how you deal with guardians. Not like you, just blurting out anything.”

Kang-hyuk just shrugged, clearly unconcerned.

Despite having just drowned the guardian in incomprehensible medical jargon.

It wasn’t the first time.

“Huh? What kind of face is that? Didn’t you see? How her expression changed?”

“Of course I saw.”

It’s not like Kang-hyuk was blind.

He actually had very good eyesight.

He could clearly see how the guardian’s expression changed from confusion, to despair, to hope.

To other healthcare workers, that would count as a real achievement.

They probably believed that a real doctor should comfort not just the patient, but also the family.

‘That’s just the excuse of doctors who can’t save people.’

But Kang-hyuk didn’t think that way.

Especially not for patients like this one—who still had a real chance of surviving.

What did the guardian’s emotional state matter?

The only thing that mattered was the patient’s life.

“Then why do you make that face?”

Jang-mi couldn’t understand him.

As she walked back into the ICU, she tossed the question over her shoulder.

“We’ll talk later. I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Drinks……. Well, sure.”

With that, they headed back to the patient.

Shhk.

The unique smell of disinfectant and the loud sounds of machines filled the ICU.

In the center of it all, Kim Dong-soo, the recently arrived patient, lay in bed.

Since his condition was the worst, he was attached to the most machines.

“Ventilator’s set, and as for blood pressure, medication and fluids aren’t enough, so I requested ECMO (ECMO: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation).”

Jaewon, sitting next to the patient, reported to Kang-hyuk.

Kang-hyuk nodded slowly.

“Good job. Neurology will be giving an official opinion, right?”

“Sorry? Ah, yes. They finished the paperwork here and said they’ll check daily. But…….”

“But what.”

“They said we need to consider the possibility of brain death…….”

“They didn’t say that before. Even Jang-mi said something similar. What’s going on?”

Kang-hyuk remembered Professor Choi Jun-yong standing next to him during the EEG.

Back then, it sounded like there was a chance of survival.

“Ah……. After running a long-take EEG, they changed their opinion. The waves that kept spiking don’t look normal—they look like injury patterns…….”

Jaewon pointed at the long strip of paper Professor Choi had left.

There were waves rising like mountain peaks, appearing periodically.

Th𝘪𝗌 𝓬hȺp𝘵𝙚r 𝚒𝙨 p𝑜𝘴𝘵𝓮ḍ b𝗒 𝒌𝘪𝘵𝓮𝗇𝗼𝘷𝗲𝕝

“This is……. from injury?”

Unfortunately, Kang-hyuk knew nothing about EEG.

He was completely ignorant in that area.

That was strictly neurology’s domain.

“Yes. Since the patterns didn’t change at all with continuous stimulation, he said the chances are high.”

“Hmm…….”

Now that he thought about it, the waves were abnormally stable.

Considering all the visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli used during the test, that really was strange.

“Damn it.”

“Well……. For now, they said we’re still in the acute phase, so we should wait and see.”

“Yeah……. We do what we can. Get the ECMO set up. That’ll make it easier to control intracranial pressure.”

“Yes.”

ECMO cost tens of millions of won per day to operate.

And the state had rules—if the patient didn’t survive, they wouldn’t reimburse the cost.

That’s why ECMO, the miracle machine, was rarely used in Korea—except at Hanguk University Hospital.

Because Kang-hyuk didn’t care about deficits.

Brrrr.

Just then, Kang-hyuk’s phone vibrated.

He pulled it from his pocket and saw a familiar name.

Former Central Rescue Team leader, Ahn Jung-heon.