The Doctors Who Came on the Day You Were Born Whispered Medical Terms (1)

“Eun-seo.”

“Yes, Doctor!”

“I’m on helicopter duty today, you know?”

“Ah... ah? Yes. I know.”

Baek Eun-seo said it as if wondering why I was suddenly confirming something like that.

“I think I’ve got a call now, so I need to head straight up to the rooftop.”

“Yes! Go ahead. We’ll keep watch here.”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll be right back.”

“Yup! Don’t worry, go on!”

And with that, I hurriedly bolted out of the station.

***

Seeing Han Hyeonjae’s back rapidly receding, first-year resident Yoon Tae-hyun cautiously asked Baek Eun-seo,

“Dr. Baek Eun-seo.”

“What?”

“Do EM residents normally ride in the doctor helicopter?”

Baek Eun-seo stared blankly at the automatic doors through which Han Hyeonjae had disappeared for a moment, then answered with a smile.

“...No, not normally.”

“Right?”

“It’s because Dr. Han is a freak of nature.”

***

I mashed the elevator button repeatedly.

‘Ah, there it is.’

For some reason, I felt restless.

The moment the elevator doors opened, I threw my body inside.

Bzzz.

In the brief moment after the door closed, I pressed the rooftop floor button and the elevator began to rise.

I opened a blue window in midair and turned on [Dead Doctors Gallery].

My mind was blank.

Adult emergency patients, trauma patients, cardiac arrest patients.

I’ve handled them all.

But a mother on the verge of delivery, and a premature one at that, was a first.

I had zero experience.

When I was an intern and rotated through OB/GYN, catching babies was just like using a spoon on a meal the professor had already set out; this wasn’t something I was meant to handle solo inside a swaying helicopter.

My trembling hands typed out a post.

[Dead Doctors Gallery]

======================

Peds-OB combo, hurry! This is really urgent, I’m serious

Author : HellJoseonSlave1

Mother, 34, first pregnancy, 35 weeks and 2 days. Suspected rupture of membranes 30 minutes ago; currently having contractions every 5 minutes with spotting. Could she give birth? What do I do if she does? Save me.

======================

As soon as I posted it, the comments started flying in like crazy.

[Comments]

God of Scalpels : Aren’t you already an EM third-year? Why are you acting like this when you’ve got some years under your belt? Never seen an emergency delivery?

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : Sorry, but all I’ve ever done is shuttle through the middle of the delivery room. I’d just shove them into OB the moment the baby’s head showed; I’ve never actually caught one.

ㄴ BackInMyDay : ? Are you doing that right now?

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : No. I’m on my way to the helicopter right now.

ㄴ BackInMyDay : Shit, you should’ve said so sooner. A helicopter changes things.

God of Scalpels : If an emergency delivery happens, what then? You’ll have to catch it. OB kit (* delivery kit)

and clamps and whatever...

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : Oh, but one OB doctor is coming with me.

ㄴ God of Scalpels : What the hell, you bastard. Then you’ve got nothing to do. The OB doctor will handle it. You just stand by and take vitals.

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : If the baby comes out, who’s going to handle the baby?

That was when one comment, like a savior’s, caught my eye.

PediatricGhost77 : At 35 weeks and 2 days, that’s preterm. If the lungs aren’t fully mature, the baby might not breathe on its own when it’s born. Straight to the NICU

(* neonatal intensive care unit)

I guess?

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : Yeah, probably. But will she actually deliver after getting to the hospital?

ㄴ PediatricGhost77 : I’m not an OB specialist, so I can’t say for sure, but if the water’s broken and the contractions are at 5-minute intervals, the helicopter’s vibrations or pressure changes could make labor progress a lot faster.

ㄴ PediatricGhost77 : If the baby doesn’t breathe the moment it comes out, you’ll have to intubate. Grab 3.0 and 3.5 tubes, and take Miller 0 and Miller 1 blades for now. It’s probably a preemie, so I think Miller 0 with a 3.0 tube will be right, but just in case.

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : Intubation too?? Can’t we just bag it?

ㄴ PediatricGhost77 : We don’t know what condition the baby’s in. It isn’t even born yet. At 35 weeks, NRDS (* neonatal respiratory distress syndrome)

could happen, and it might have meconium aspiration too. If you can’t get the oxygen saturation up with the Ambu bag in the cabin, intubate right away.

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : 2.5? Anything smaller?

ㄴ PediatricGhost77 : At 35 weeks, 2.5 feels too small. It’s borderline, but grab it anyway. More is better. Better to have it than not.

Okay.

I swallowed hard as I looked at my face in the elevator mirror.

Intubation.

Newborn intubation.

Adult intubation, I can do with my eyes closed. But a newborn?

And a 35-week preemie at that?

The airway would be thinner than a straw, and I’d have to do that inside a helicopter?

On top of that, there was the equipment problem.

The standard emergency kit on the doctor helicopter.

It would have adult Macintosh blades and 7.0, 7.5 tubes in abundance, but would it have Miller blades and 2.5, 3.0 tubes for newborns?

There might be pediatric gear, but there was no way it would be set up for preemies.

Since 90% of helicopter patients are adult trauma cases, after all.

‘The kit... there’d probably only be one in the pediatric ER. There wouldn’t be any with the air medical team.’

It was iffy.

‘At least we still have some time before takeoff while they spin up the rotors and warm everything up.’

I started turning it over in my head.

Someone who could run for me.

Someone who knew the location of pediatric equipment blindfolded.

And someone I could reach right this second.

Let’s rope one person in.

I opened [Cheongjin Medical School Class 31 Group Chat].

[Me]

Son Jongun, respond. - 09:15

The number vanished in less than a second.

[Son Jongun]

? - 09:15

Despite his ankle injury last time, Son Jongun had stubbornly returned to the department, and he was still limping because of it now.

Of course, that was none of my business.

[Me]

Grab Miller 0, Miller 1, tubes 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and get to the rooftop helipad right now. - 09:15

[Son Jongun]

?? - 09:16

Two question marks popped up.

‘Suddenly?’ was probably what he meant.

But Son Jongun was a pediatrician.

He would have instantly understood what the equipment I was asking for meant, and what situation Miller 0 plus a 2.5 tube would imply.

[Son Jongun]

I’ll be there in 3 minutes. - 09:16

A no-frills answer.

Yep, that’s my friend for you.

Ding!

Just then, the elevator reached the top floor, and the moment the doors opened, the fierce rooftop wind and the roar of the helicopter rotors hit hard.

Dududududududududu-

“Please, let her give birth at the hospital. Please.”

I prayed and waited by the helicopter for Son Jongun.

…

***

I stood with my back to the wind and stared hard at the elevator.

‘Come on, please come on.’

Then the elevator doors opened and someone burst out.

A white coat and blue scrubs.

And a man charging toward me like a madman, even while visibly limping on one leg.

It was Son Jongun.

He ran over, hugging the equipment in his arms so tightly it wouldn’t fall, his face all scrunched up.

“Hey! Over here!”

Son Jongun stopped in front of me and panted hard.

“Here’s the kit! I grabbed both Miller 0 and 1! Tubes too, every size!”

He held out a clear plastic case.

“And this! In case the helicopter didn’t have one. It’s a 250-cc neonatal Ambu bag. If you squeeze a full-size one on a newborn, you’ll blow their lungs out! You have to use this!”

He hadn’t just brought what I asked for; he’d even grabbed the most important ventilation gear in case of any contingency.

“Nice instincts. That’s pediatrics for you.”

Only then did Son Jongun’s face really come into view.

A sweat-soaked face and a creased brow.

“What about your ankle? You okay? You were limping like crazy earlier. It’s been months now and you still...”

“My ankle? That’s what you’re worried about? You said the baby was coming!”

Son Jongun frowned hard and waved me off.

“Just go and come back quickly. Don’t lose the equipment! We have to return it.”

“Got it!”

“Go already!”

“Get in!”

Tap-tap.

I grabbed the equipment and dove into the helicopter’s rear door.

Bang!

Once the helicopter door shut, the outside noise dropped off sharply.

Through the window, I could see Son Jongun far away, waving at us even while clutching his injured leg.

‘I really did pick one hell of a friend.’

I steadied my breathing and turned my head.

In the seat next to me was a woman who looked like it was her first time on a helicopter, so tense she was gripping the seat belt like a lifeline.

OB/GYN Fellow Ahn Hyeon-jeong.

“Are you okay? Have you ever been on a helicopter?”

Ahn Hyeon-jeong startled and fixed her headset.

“Ah, no. I mean, yes. I’m okay. A helicopter? I only rode one once for training. Hah... If I’d known it would be like this, I should’ve gotten proper training back then.”

Her voice was trembling faintly.

“But do OB doctors normally ride helicopters?”

“I don’t know. How would I know?”

As the helicopter lifted for takeoff, the aircraft lurched.

Come to think of it, how many times in a lifetime does an OB doctor get to ride a helicopter?

It’s different from EM, where I get worked like a helicopter-duty slave.

Then the flight nurse seated in front started the briefing.

“For now, we’ve got about 17 minutes until we reach the handoff point. According to EMS, the patient’s condition hasn’t changed much, but the contraction intervals are gradually getting shorter. Vitals are BP 135/85, pulse 95, slightly elevated. Pain is up by about one point on the NRS compared to before.”

“Please tell them to keep checking the contraction intervals.”

“Yes, understood.”

Seventeen minutes.

Short if it’s short, long if it’s long.

I watched the hospital recede outside the window and opened a blue window in midair.

There was an OB specialist right beside me now.

When it came to treating the mother, this person was a hundred times better than me.

Then what should I focus on?

‘Hmm...’

[Comments]

HellJoseonSlave1 : The OB doctor is right next to you anyway.

ㄴ BackInMyDay : Yeah, exactly. No reason for you to get in the way when there’s an expert right there.

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : Then say the worst-case scenario happens and the baby comes out. Even if I use a skill to possess someone, wouldn’t possessing a pediatrician be better?

ㄴ God of Scalpels : That’s got a point.

ㄴ PediatricGhost77 : Hey, hey, hey!! Then me me me! Pick me! I’ve seen newborns, and I’ve been in both the NICU (* neonatal intensive care unit) and the PICU (* pediatric intensive care unit)! I specialized in pediatric critical care! I’m seriously good! I’m better than the incubator machine!

ㄴ HellJoseonSlave1 : I get it, so calm down, you psycho.

ㄴ PediatricGhost77 : OK OK OK OK OK, I’ll intubate! I’ll get the line too! I can even place an umbilical line! Just leave it to me!

The Pediatric Ghost was flailing around like a fish back in the water after a long time.

He was reassuring, but a little loud.

“Why do you keep looking over there?”

Ahn Hyeon-jeong beside me looked at me oddly.

“Nothing.”

I quickly looked away and held up the plastic case in my hand.

“I was mentally simulating the newborn equipment I just borrowed to make sure nothing was missing.”

“I-is that so?”

Ahn Hyeon-jeong looked at me with eyes mixed with relief and admiration.

“If the baby comes, Doctor, please handle the mother’s placental delivery and uterine contractions, and I’ll take the baby and start resuscitation right away.”

“Haa... if you can do that, sure. Though we should pray it doesn’t come out.”

***

Tatatatatatatatatata-

The helicopter circled and lowered its altitude.

Below, I could see an ambulance and paramedics in vests.

Thud.

As soon as we landed, the ambulance’s rear doors opened and the waiting mother and paramedics came toward us, pushing the stretcher.

“We’re handing over the patient!”

The paramedic shouted.

“The contractions are 4 to 5 minutes apart! Her water’s broken, and the pad is soaked through!”

I nodded and looked over the mother lying on the stretcher.

“Aah... It hurts so much!”

“We’ll get you to the hospital as quickly as possible. Please hang in there a little longer.”

Ahn Hyeon-jeong expertly took the mother’s hand and checked her condition.

I took the chance to approach the guardian.

“She’ll be okay, right? She’ll be okay, right?”

“We’ll get her to the hospital as fast as possible. The OB specialist is riding with us, too.”

I said firmly.

“Sorry, but helicopter regulations don’t allow guardians to board. Please get to the Cheongjin University Hospital ER by car right away and ask for her there!”

“Ah, yes! Understood! Please take good care of her! I’ll be there right away!”

The husband, on the verge of tears, squeezed his wife’s hand hard once and let go.

It was an unavoidable brief parting.

“Load the patient now!”

We transferred the mother onto the helicopter stretcher.

Swish, bang!

“We’re taking off.”

Tatatatatatatatatata…

As the helicopter lifted, the ground grew distant again.

I turned on the monitor and checked the mother’s blood pressure and oxygen saturation.

“Phew.”

I took a short deep breath and looked at the sky outside.

Let’s make sure this baby is born safely at the hospital.

Please.