Obeid Hospital (6)
Buuuuung.
A goods evacuation vehicle stopped in front of the hospital, blowing up dust.
“Dr. Choi.”
Nareka got out of the car, spotted Choi Ki-seok, who was just leaving the therapeutic feeding center, and waved.
“Nothing happened, right?”
“Is it because of the attack you mentioned in the morning? You don’t have to worry about me. “I was born and raised here, so I know how to avoid dangerous roads.”
“….”
“By the way, I brought the items you asked for.”
Nareka took a small box from the evacuation vehicle and handed it to him.
“It’s not the best, but it might be useful.”
“I didn’t expect you to take care of it so quickly… thank you.”
“They work hard for us, but I am the one who is thankful.”
Ki-Seok Choi talked with Nareka some more and then visited the dormitory. Regular clinic hours were already over, and since I was on duty yesterday, there was no need to work extra hours.
Should I say that I only have 100% free time left?
He sat down on the bed and roughly opened the box. Then, a camera and a small holder radiating cool energy like a black panther appeared.
However, his expression quickly darkened as he glanced at the camera.
I actually got a camera, but I didn’t know how to use it.
There were several buttons, but I had no idea what to press or what to do if I wanted to record a video.
Because he only focused on medical-related matters, he was blind to other fields.
Suddenly.
At that moment, the door opened and Jeong Seol-hwa came in.
“What camera?”
“I’m going to film a video and start a new tube.”
“New tube?”
Jeong Seol-hwa, who was sitting next to him, widened her eyes.
Why am I suddenly doing NewTube activities when just doing medical volunteer work is so overwhelming?
My curiosity grew like a snowball.
“I thought about how I could help people here other than treatment. “I think it would be helpful to take pictures of the vivid scenes here and upload them to NewTube.”
“….”
“The number of volunteers may increase, and the number of sponsors may increase. “We didn’t know how serious the situation was until we got here.”
“That’s right.”
Jeong Seol-hwa nodded slightly.
As he said, I had heard about the poor medical welfare in underdeveloped countries in Africa even before I became a doctor.
They are suffering from malnutrition, AIDS, various infectious diseases, etc.
But hearing rumors and meeting people in the field were two different levels.
“First of all, my plan is to choose a theme every day and upload a short video. For example, it can show the actual conditions of a hospital room or it can show a group of patients suffering from a specific infectious disease.”
“I agree. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“After all, she is our honey.”
Choi Ki-seok smiled and held out the camera.
“Teach me how to shoot a video first. “There are so many buttons on this one that I don’t know what’s what.”
“Don’t you know how to use a camera?”
His face turned bright red at Jeong Seol-hwa’s point.
“I’ve been busy with work ever since I started training. Hmm.”
“It’s a joke. “This is our honey’s charm.”
Jeong Seol-hwa calmly taught him how to film a video, and Choi Ki-seok remembered it carefully.
“Shall we move on to the next step?”
He sat in front of his laptop and created a NewTube account as prepared in advance.
The newtuber’s name in English is Ki-seok Choi.
The photo linked to the account was chosen to be a photo of Song Myeong-jin and Yasada shoulder to shoulder around the time they achieved the triple board, and the theme of the account was Ki-seok Choi’s Sudan Diary.
It was a somewhat cheesy theme, but it was hard to find a better title.
“This feels weird. “I suddenly feel like a newtuber instead of a doctor?”
“You’re a newtuber now.”
Jeong Seol-hwa looked at him and smiled.
“But even if the world recognizes Yeo, a thoracic surgeon, wouldn’t it be different at NewTube? NewTube is a bloody red ocean. “How fierce is the competition?”
“what. I have to survive somehow. “I will get as many people as possible to see the video.”
Choi Ki-seok clenched his fists with great determination.
“What are you going to do now?”
“First, I have to go shoot with the camera director. “Once the video comes out, I will edit or upload it.”
“….”
“By the way, is the camera director really beautiful?”
Jeong Seol-hwa, who clearly understood what he said, stood up with the camera in her hand.
“If you keep doing that, the director will get jealous.”
“Still, you have to endure it. “She is my future wife.”
The two left the dormitory in a friendly atmosphere and headed to the hospital room on the second floor. Then, I explained the purpose of filming the video to a local nurse and asked for an interpretation.
In addition, we asked for the consent of the patients in the hospital room where we would be filming.
The video recording proceeded smoothly as the nurses and patients willingly gave permission.
Choi Ki-seok introduced the harsh environment of the hospital room and explained the names of the hospitalized patients’ diseases step by step in English.
In addition, interviews were conducted with patients who gave consent.
A total of two patients were interviewed.
One was a patient who had recently had his leg amputated after stepping on a landmine, and the other was suffering from necrotizing fasciitis.
Ki-Seok Choi remained calm throughout the interview.
They didn’t go through the patients’ pitiful treatment, and they didn’t try to bring tears to the eyes of subscribers who would watch the video later.
I simply tried to show the reality of this place through a third person’s eyes.
The video he uploaded was not a movie, so directing was not necessary.
After some time, the two people finished filming and returned to the dormitory.
Choi Ki-seok transferred the video to his laptop and carefully watched it from beginning to end.
The voice of the patient who agreed to be interviewed was muffled.
I didn’t really like the camera work either.
At this rate, it was safe to say that it was a personal video that was below amateur level.
It was a natural result since it was my first video shoot.
“It’s worse than I thought.”
Jeong Seol-hwa, who was watching the video next to him, said something.
“I know. Honestly, it’s a bit shabby. “I guess I need some help.”
“help? “Do you know any newtubers?”
“I don’t know this person, but I have to ask for a favor.”
Choi Ki-seok went to a NewTube account with a diamond button and left a comment.
* * *
The next morning.
Choi Ki-seok, who was reading a book on obstetrics and gynecology, stood up. And then I quietly stood by the window and stared at the sky with the rain pouring down.
Maybe it’s because it’s the first rain I see since coming to Sudan.
For no reason, a corner of my heart was filled with emotion.
‘I don’t know if yubimuhwan (if it rains, there are no patients) will work in Sudan as well.’
Choi Ki-seok carefully left the room so as not to wake Jeong Seol-hwa and headed to the hospital room.
The place where his steps stopped was the hospital room in the middle of the hallway, where Aisha was hospitalized.
Aisha was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia two days ago and suffered a seizure during treatment.
Yesterday, we managed her vitals with medication, and today was the day to perform a cesarean section on her.
Choi Ki-seok himself.
Compared to the Hope operation OPCAB (heart-lung coronary artery bypass grafting) developed by my teacher, the difficulty of cesarean section surgery is much lower.
Nevertheless, what we cannot let down our guard about is that the patient is a pregnant woman.
Mothers require more delicate treatment than ordinary patients.
This is because the physical condition is unusual.
Ki-Seok Choi watched Aisha lying on the bed and reviewed the obstetrics and surgery details he had studied all night.
As time passed, the third regular treatment session of the NSF short-term mission arrived.
But strangely, even ten minutes after treatment began, no patients came in.
“Abna. “Are there any patients?”
Choi Ki-seok stuck his head out of the treatment room.
“yes. Normally, there are almost no patients on rainy days.”
“That’s right, but… isn’t this too severe?”
He looked at the medical waiting area and stuck out his tongue.
Not only Choi Ki-seok but other doctors also had no patients in their waiting tables.
It is literally empty.
This was the ultimate YubiMuhwan, something I had never experienced even in Korea or the United States.
“Patients usually have to walk for more than an hour to get to the hospital. “If the weather is bad, people naturally stop visiting.”
“okay.”
“Take a long rest. “You continued to work hard.”
After finishing his conversation with Abna, he started reading books on obstetrics.
How much time has passed?
With a knock on the door, a boy who appeared to be about five or six years old and his guardian entered the treatment room.
“What brings you here?”
“The child has a severe fever.”
Ki-Seok Choi listened to Abna’s interpretation and placed his hand on the child’s forehead.
As soon as my hand touched my forehead, a warm feeling spread out.
Even without using a thermometer, it was easy to tell that I had a high fever.
While he was checking the vitals, the child had difficulty even sitting up, and the guardian looked pitiful as he supported the child.
“Let me put on my clothes for a moment.”
Choi Ki-seok’s face hardened as he lifted the child’s top.
The area around the child’s chest was covered in bright red spots. If the symptoms were this clear, there was no need to use the Eye of Hippocrates.
The child is suffering from measles.
Measles.
Although it is a rare disease in developed countries where vaccination is strictly enforced, it is still prevalent in Sudan and is taking the lives of children.
“I need to be hospitalized right away.”
“Isn’t it just a cold?”
The guardian looked like a surprised rabbit.
“It’s not a cold, it’s measles. “There is no specific treatment for measles, so you need to administer fluid therapy and get plenty of rest.”
“….”
“Abna, please give the child a blood test just in case. And do you have an isolation room?”
“Strictly speaking, it is not an isolation room, but there is a place that is used like an isolation room.”
“Then send the child there and prepare human immune globulin.”
“yes. all right.”
After the blood test, Choi Ki-seok took the patient, Hashish, to a simple isolation room. The simple isolation room was a converted space that had been used as a warehouse, and was extremely crude.
The poor environment of Obeid Hospital struck my heart once again.
Hashish did not offer any resistance during the IV and injection treatments.
Normally, children at this age would struggle for fear of injections, but they just watched him administer treatment with lifeless eyes.
[You have used the Killer skill. Reduces patients’ physical pain by 70 percent. Because it is simple pain relief rather than a fundamental treatment, it may mask symptoms. [Can be used 5 times a day. (1/5)]
When the skill was used, Hashish’s expression relaxed somewhat.
For the first time, the child looked up at Choi Ki-seok with a faint smile.
“….”
“….”
Although no words were spoken, warmth was evident in the gazes they looked at each other.
After completing the treatment, he returned to the treatment room and spent some time.
Indeed, Sudan’s Yubi Muhwan was more powerful than the Fanta title.
As time passed and it was almost noon, all we received was one person, Hashish, who had measles.
I felt like I could have a leisurely lunch today.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
As if to ridicule his thoughts, a pregnant patient and Abna entered the treatment room with a knock.
Ki-seok Choi swallowed dry saliva as he looked at the familiar patient.
Erban, a mother with AIDS.
She went to the doctor’s office again.
