Disaster (2)
Ki-Seok Choi went to the general surgery station, obtained a mask from a nurse, and put it on. And then I stood in front of the hospital room again and took a deep breath and let it out.
The route of MERS infection is direct or close contact with an infected person.
The incubation period is from a minimum of two days to a maximum of two weeks.
‘I’m really going crazy.’
The deeper I thought, the deeper my headache got.
First, the Eye of Hippocrates can only detect a disease when it has already manifested itself and symptoms have appeared. In other words, it is impossible to detect MERS-infected people who do not show symptoms.
It was unclear how many more potentially infected people there would be in the ward.
Second, whether or not MERS was confirmed.
Choi Ki-seok could identify MERS-infected people with the eyes of Hippocrates, but other people could not.
Even if Choi Ki-seok tried to take precautionary measures, there was a high possibility that others would not believe him.
‘Let’s do as much as we can.’
Knock. Knock. Knock.
When he knocked and entered, the eyes of the guardian and the patient were focused on him.
Choi Ki-seok spoke with the two people and had an intensive conversation with his guardian, Yang Jeong-hwan.
“I had some business to do, so I stopped by the gastroenterology surgery ward. However, I noticed that the guardian was coughing violently.”
“Ah yes. A few days ago, I had a fever and a bad cough. “I went to the hospital near my house and they said it seemed like cold symptoms, so I’m taking medicine and resting.”
“So are you feeling better?”
“no. at all. So, I made an appointment at the internal medicine clinic here.”
“It was fate that we met like this, so I will take care of your medical treatment.”
Choi Ki-seok auscultated Yang Jeong-hwan’s breathing and lung sounds with a stethoscope and took his pulse.
“You have trouble breathing and you get a lot of phlegm, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. “It looks like you really have a cold.”
Yang Jeong-hwan scratched his little remaining hair with a helpless expression.
“I have one more question. Have you recently been to any Middle Eastern country?”
“How do you know that, teacher?”
Yang Jeong-hwan’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out at any moment.
“As you can see from the news, isn’t the country in an uproar over MERS? “I asked just in case.”
“I recently went to Bahrain for business reasons. “I was still anxious, so I contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they said it was okay because Bahrain is not a MERS-producing country.”
“…okay.”
After hearing his answer, Choi Ki-seok took a breath without realizing it.
I wanted to go to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employee who reassured Yang Jeong-hwan and grab him by the collar.
If someone like Yang Jeong-hwan had called, they would have had to conduct tests or provide minimal action guidelines or disease prevention methods to prevent unexpected accidents.
But it’s okay because it’s not a MERS outbreak country.
The response is too slow.
“What I am saying now may sound unpleasant or like a joke, but please listen carefully until the end. please.”
Choi Ki-seok explained the situation as politely as possible.
It is said that there is a high probability that Yang Jeong-hwan has MERS and a detailed examination is needed.
Also, please submit to quarantine treatment until the exact diagnosis of the disease is revealed.
“under. This is embarrassing. “Suddenly you’re a MERS patient.”
While Yang Jeong-hwan remained silent, patient Kim Jeong-hee stared at Choi Ki-seok with a puzzled expression.
“Isn’t Dr. Choi a well-known thoracic surgeon these days?”
“I may say it myself, but it is true that many people are recognizing me recently.”
“No matter how famous you are, this isn’t right, right?”
Kim Jeong-hee continued speaking rapidly.
“My husband is not feeling well and MERS is rampant, so I consider getting tested. “But you’re asking me to undergo quarantine treatment even though the test results haven’t even come out?”
“….”
“How are you going to solve the medical expenses and the expenses that arise from my husband not being able to work? “It would be difficult if you irresponsibly said it was someone else’s business.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“yes? “Don’t worry?”
“I will take full responsibility for any financial losses incurred during quarantine, including medical expenses.”
Choi Ki-seok continued calmly.
“I heard that you work for a trading company, and I plan to contact the company directly and explain the situation. “Is that enough?”
“Oh well. “If only you would do that.”
“honey! Don’t bite like an idiot. “Just stay still.”
“Please do it again.”
When Choi Ki-seok suddenly knelt down, an earthquake occurred in the eyes of the two people.
How common is it for doctors to kneel in front of patients and their guardians?
Maybe I could see it in a drama.
“What are you doing? teacher.”
“Get up quickly.”
“I promised compensation, but I cannot deny that I am asking a rude favor. However, when MERS spreads, something uncontrollable happens. “I hope you two will grant my request with the thought of saving many people.”
“If it gets to this point, there’s nothing we can do.”
Kim Jeong-hee sighed as if she had given up.
“I will do as you say, teacher. Instead, you must be responsible for compensation.”
“of course.”
Only then did Choi Ki-seok relax his stern expression after receiving permission from the two people.
Prevention is more important than treatment.
It was a great achievement to isolate the infected person as well as the patient who was closest to the infected person.
Drurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
At that moment, Kang Hee-soon, a patient sharing the same hospital room as Kim Jeong-hee, came inside.
“Atta! “What is going on?”
“Welcome. “I also have something to say to the patient.”
Ki-Seok Choi knelt down and gave the same explanation to Hee-Soon Kang. After hearing his detailed explanation, she also decided to undergo quarantine treatment.
“Thank you for your cooperation. “I will bring you a mask, so please wear it at all times and stay in the hospital room.”
After leaving the hospital room, he finished his work and went to the colorectal surgery office.
When I knocked, I heard a voice telling me to come in.
“Is it a big deal? Manager Choi is coming to visit me?”
Chief Jaehak Ko, the most senior member of the Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, looked at him and tilted his head.
“I have something important to say to the manager.”
“okay. “Let’s hear it.”
Two people sat on the sofa and faced each other.
As Choi Ki-seok continued his explanation, Ko Jae-hak fiddled with his coffee cup as if he was embarrassed.
“So, there is a suspected MERS patient, but I want to isolate them before testing. “Is this it?”
“yes. That’s right. “I would like to request that the patient’s doctor be assigned to me, but that the isolation be handled by the gastroenterology surgery department.”
“Isn’t that a bit over the top?”
Go Jae-hak took a sip of coffee and continued speaking.
“It is true that the country is in trouble due to MERS, but we should not be too swayed by it. “Don’t you know that there is only one confirmed case announced by the government?”
“As I said, it’s just not yet. “Not even ghosts know what will happen in the future.”
“Anyway, I persisted. “If you look at the fact that he asked to see me… I guess he’s finished persuading the patient, right?”
“of course.”
“good. “Since you said you would take full responsibility for this matter, I won’t object.”
“Thank you.”
Choi Ki-seok bowed his head and continued speaking.
“There is just one more thing I would like to ask of you. “I hope that the patients and staff currently in the gastrointestinal surgery ward, as well as their guardians who come to visit, will be required to wear masks.”
“Huh. Manager Choi, do you know that?”
“What are you talking about?…”
“You seem to be convinced that there is a confirmed case of MERS in our hospital. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to come out this radically, right?”
“There is no harm in being careful.”
He lightly accepted Ko Jae-hak’s point.
“Then, since you did me a favor, shall I ask you a favor too?”
“yes. “Just say the word.”
“ruler.”
Go Jae-hak smiled and held out a blank paper.
“Please give me an autograph. “It looks like my son enjoyed Schritel.”
“ha ha ha. okay.”
When Choi Ki-seok tried to sign, Ko Jae-hak hurriedly blocked his hand.
“I’m sorry. “It’s Mr. Jeong’s signature, not yours.”
“Ah…”
Choi Ki-seok’s face turned an earthy color.
* * *
“I’m sorry. I need to do you a favor.
[….]
“Yes. thank you.”
Choi Ki-seok hung up the call and looked down at his phone.
I just called Charles and asked him to do the surgery for me in the afternoon. There was still work to be done regarding MERS.
‘First of all, I quickly put out the fire.’
His eyes focused on a hospital room.
Yang Jeong-hwan, a MERS-infected person, was sleeping in bed.
In the hospital room next to him, his wife Kim Jeong-hee, who had been in close contact with Yang Jeong-hwan for a long time, and Kang Hee-sun, a patient in the same room, were being quarantined.
After having a deep conversation with Yang Jeong-hwan, there were not many people who had contact with him.
He said that after returning from his trip to the Middle East, he took a monthly leave, rested at home all day, and then went to the hospital this afternoon to see his wife. So there was no chance of spreading MERS to my co-workers.
Since I did not come to the hospital as a patient, I did not spend a long time interacting with the medical staff.
The only person he has encountered for a long time is Choi Ki-seok.
However, the probability that Choi Ki-seok also contracted MERS was not high.
First, Ki-Seok Choi had a conversation with him while wearing a mask.
Even more reassuring than that is the existence of Gem.
[Rare: Natural healing power doubled]
[Rare: Disease resistance doubled]
Choi Ki-seok saved Kang Ha-na from almost being hit by a car in the past and obtained a rare gem. Considering the effect of the gem, the probability of contracting MERS was even lower.
Of course, you still have to be careful.
‘I wish we could prevent MERS like this.’
He gave up his thoughts and immediately made a call to someone.
[We will do our best to serve you. [This is Jang Tae-hyung from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.]
“This is Choi Ki-seok, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Sewon Hospital.”
[yes. What did you call about?]
“I contacted you because there was a suspected MERS patient. “I think I need to get tested. Please send a testing team to the hospital right now.”
[Has the patient recently been to the Middle East?]
“Yes, Bahrain.”
[You can rest assured that Bahrain is not a country where MERS has recently occurred. MERS-suspected areas include countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates…]
“Hey. A confirmed case of MERS has been confirmed. “Isn’t the rule that if there is a suspected patient, testing is done first?”
[By the way… aren’t there more than one or two people suffering from cold symptoms after visiting the Middle East? Instead, I’ll ask you one more question.]
“What is it?”
[Has the patient come into contact with a camel?]
At the staff member’s question, he suddenly felt a strong desire to throw away his cell phone.
Are you calling this a question now?
“under. “Is there any place other than the Control and Management Headquarters where I can get tested?”
[Currently, only some public health centers are available for testing, and we plan to gradually increase the number of places that can be tested to general hospitals, including large hospitals.] “
That’s it. Please come right away to pick up the sample.”
[Testing is not possible unless you have been to a country with MERS outbreaks or have been to a hospital with MERS outbreaks. It would be better to do more general respiratory tests and monitor the progress.]
“Let’s do it in moderation, in moderation!”
Choi Ki-seok finally raised his voice.
“Right Now. Come get a sample! If this patient is not confirmed to have MERS, I will take off the gown. “Is that enough?”
[Please wait a moment.]
The ringtone that followed seemed to be that the person in charge had gone to consult with someone else.
[All right. We will dispatch a testing team to Sewon Hospital now.]
As soon as the employee finished answering, Choi Ki-seok hung up the call.
“under. “Fuck.”
I couldn’t avoid swearing.
