Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees the Future

Chapter 15
There’s a Malignant Among Us (6)

‘Ah, I remember!’

So-dam’s eyes widened.

.

Come to think of it, it was the same name as a member of a famous idol group.

‘It couldn’t possibly be that Ban Jin-ho, could it?’

So-dam chuckled inwardly.

No matter how famous Yeonguk University Hospital was, what were the chances of a celebrity showing up in the ER at dawn?

The nurse continued,

“He’s been waiting for 20 minutes, but it seems like the other doctors are too busy to see him.”

“20 minutes…”

That was quite a long time.

The patient’s bladder was probably full by now, and he must be in a lot of pain.

Suddenly, So-dam felt a surge of duty as a doctor.

Had she ever felt this way since becoming an intern?

No, this was a first.

So-dam was more motivated and excited than ever.

“Do you think you can handle it? Should I call another doctor?”

“No, I’ll do it.”

So-dam straightened her back and confidently pressed the assign button.

For some reason, she felt like she could do it without making any mistakes today.

***

CIC (Clean Intermittent Catheterization).

It was a procedure that involved inserting a catheter into the urethra to drain urine from the body.

Patients with urethral problems or spinal cord injuries who couldn’t expel urine on their own needed to have their bladders emptied periodically.

Otherwise, their bladders would burst!

So-dam prepared a catheterization kit with lubricant, a 14 Fr. Nelaton catheter, gloves, and headed towards the patient.

‘Bed B-7… is it here?’

Swoosh!

So-dam opened the curtain.

The man inside, who had been groaning, looked up.

At that moment, So-dam doubted her eyes.

‘Gasp… It really is that Ban Jin-ho?’

Even though he was wearing a hat and a mask, she could tell that he wasn’t just an ordinary person.

The trending idol.

The charismatic rapper who was called the next-generation global star, Ban Jin-ho (Vanzino).

He clutched his groin and groaned before managing to speak.

“Doctor, I think my bladder is going to burst.”

“…”

So-dam’s mind went blank.

Was this what they called a brain freeze?

[Essay Question]

Describe how you would feel if an idol you usually only see on screen came to the hospital asking you to insert a catheter. (5 points)

‘An idol patient… Oh my god.’

Of course, she had heard from her seniors that celebrity patients often visited Yeonguk University Hospital.

She had heard that they usually came to the ER late at night or in the early morning when it wasn’t crowded.

After a moment, So-dam shook her head vigorously.

‘Get a grip!’

At this moment, he wasn’t a celebrity but a patient, and she had to focus on treating him to the best of her ability.

The patient was a 20-year-old male.

He had a history of urethral stricture surgery in the urology department.

Urethral stricture often recurred even after surgery, so situations like this weren’t uncommon in the ER.

‘This time, I have to treat the patient well.’

Thinking this, So-dam greeted him awkwardly.

“How are you feeling?”

“Oh, doctor, I’m so uncomfortable… I was fine for a while after the surgery, but it’s happening again.”

The patient grimaced.

Seeing that he came alone, without any companion, he probably rushed to the ER, enduring the pain in secret due to embarrassment.

So-dam felt sorry for him, suffering from a urological condition at such a young age.

Pretending not to recognize him, So-dam said,

“The urology professor will come down to see you when he arrives. But before that, let me drain your bladder since it’s quite full.”

“Yes, thank you!”

The patient’s face brightened.

He was about to die from a bursting bladder, and now that he could finally receive treatment, he seemed relieved.

He looked like a pilgrim who had heard a voice of salvation from the heavens while walking a path of hardship.

So-dam put on her gloves and said,

“Then, please take off your pants and…”

“W-wait a minute. You’re going to do it?”

The patient was startled.

He seemed flustered that a female doctor was going to drain his bladder.

“If you’re uncomfortable with that, I can call another doctor…”

“Oh, no. It’s okay!”

The patient hurriedly pulled down his pajama pants.

He had already been waiting for 20 minutes, and any further delay might actually cause his bladder to burst.

At this moment, relieving his physical pain was more important than worrying about embarrassment.

Meanwhile, So-dam was full of confidence.

‘I can do this.’

CIC.

Theoretically, it was a very simple procedure.

All she had to do was insert a thin tube into the urethra and connect it to a urine bag. It was much easier than an arterial blood gas test.

‘If I can’t even handle a procedure this simple, I can’t call myself a doctor.’

At this moment, So-dam’s mind was solely focused on performing the procedure according to the manual.

She wasn’t worried about any unexpected situations.

“This will feel a bit cold.”

So-dam confidently put on her gloves, took out the Nelaton catheter, and generously applied lubricant to the tip.

Grasp—

First, she held the patient’s penis with her left hand.

And with her right hand, she held the tip of the Nelaton catheter and started to insert it into the urethra.

Push—

“Ugh.”

The patient’s body twitched.

Perhaps because he had a urethral stricture, the catheter wasn’t going in smoothly.

‘It’s not going in.’

So-dam frowned and adjusted her grip on the penis with her left hand.

But the more she tried, the more the catheter bent instead of going in.

Slip—

Perhaps because of the generous amount of lubricant, it kept slipping and sliding around the penis.

‘Come on… go in!’

With her less-than-delicate touch, she tried several more times.

Wiggle—

Just then, So-dam felt something move in her left hand.

“Sir, you can’t move.”

“It’s not something I can control…”

“Please bear with it for a little longer.”

“Yes, yes!”

So-dam tightened her grip with her left hand and pushed the catheter in.

With each push, the patient gasped and silently sang the national anthem in his head, but So-dam remained oblivious.

‘Whew, I guess this was the critical point. It seems like I’ve passed the stricture… Should I press on his abdomen to check if urine is coming out?’

Just as she thought that…

The squirming sensation in her left hand became increasingly rapid and firm.

‘Gasp… What’s this?’

So-dam’s eyes widened.

“D-doctor, wait a moment.”

The patient’s urgent voice reached her ears.

For Ban Jin-ho, a 20-year-old full of youthful vigor, this was an unbearable ordeal.

Against his will, he had gotten an erection.

Throb!

‘Oh my god! What a surprise!’

So-dam was so startled that she loosened her grip with both hands.

Whoosh—

At that moment, the Nelaton catheter slipped further into the urethra, leaving only the tip outside.

To make matters worse, urine started gushing out like a fountain.

Stream—

“Oh… oh… Doctor.”

“Oh my god, what do I do?”

All hell broke loose.

It was a complete disaster.

So-dam hurriedly placed the plastic urine bag under the gushing stream of urine.

At the same time, she reached out to grab the end of the Nelaton catheter, but it slipped into the penis like a mudfish!

So-dam panicked, not knowing what to do.

Jin-ho also looked at So-dam in bewilderment.

“Doctor… Did it go inside? I’m sorry, I…”

Jin-ho couldn’t bring himself to apologize for having an erection, his face flushed red to his ears.

“What do I do…”

So-dam’s face crumpled.

Unfortunately, the textbook she studied in university didn’t have a manual for this situation.

She waited for a while, but Jin-ho’s 20-year-old penis, pointing towards the sky, showed no signs of calming down.

The orange Nelaton catheter, once inside, seemed to be coiled up in the bladder, refusing to reappear.

“Um, doctor.”

“…”

“What should we do?”

Both the patient and the doctor were in a state of mental breakdown.

“Please wait a moment…”

So-dam hung her head.

All she could do was contact the urology department and ask for help with the aftermath.

This was the moment the “Nelaton Catheter Disaster” was born, an event that would forever be etched in the memories of the doctors at Yeonguk University Hospital.

***

Tuesday morning commute.

As soon as I arrived at the ER, I heard the absurd news.

“Something got stuck in the patient’s penis?”

“Well, while inserting the Nelaton catheter into the urethra… Ugh, I can’t bring myself to say any more.”

Joong-won hyung shook his head with an embarrassed expression.

From what I gathered, the patient had gotten an erection during the CIC procedure, and So-dam made a mistake.

“Oh dear.”

I rubbed my face.

All sorts of things happened in a hospital, but I never imagined such a mishap.

Of course, the most surprised person must have been the patient himself. How terrified must he have been to have a medical instrument stuck inside his penis?

So-dam must have been shocked out of her wits as well.

“So, where’s So-dam?”

“She’s in a meeting right now.”

I glanced inside the conference room and saw Dr. Yeo Bong-cheol talking to So-dam.

His voice could be heard through the half-open door.

“Ham So-dam, no matter how surprised you were, how could you lose the catheter during the procedure?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Male patients in urology often… well, get erections. Even when I’m doing the procedure, it’s happened a few times… Anyway, you should have anticipated that kind of situation.”

“Yes…”

So-dam hung her head.

Considering the circumstances, Yeo Bong-cheol seemed to be reprimanding her gently, trying not to hurt her too much.

Joong-won hyung clicked his tongue.

“Poor So-dam. Why did she have to come to work early today of all days?”

“She came to work early?”

“Yeah. For some reason, she arrived an hour early and was helping out when this whole thing happened.”

I frowned.

Could it be…?

‘Did my encouragement backfire?’

Damn it, it seemed like it did.

My attempt to prevent a medical accident had led to this!

‘Changing the future isn’t a simple task.’

I learned a valuable lesson.

Anyway, what was done was done. The problem was what came next.

“So, what about the patient?”

“The catheter didn’t come out naturally, so they’re removing it with a procedure in the urology department.”

“Is the patient going to sue us because of this…?”

“Huh? Sue us?”

Joong-won hyung tilted his head at my mumbling.

“Well, I don’t think so… Apparently, he even apologized to the doctor. But hey, why are you so excited?”

The last part wasn’t directed at me.

Jo Jin-gi, who had been focused on his smartphone in a corner of the station, looked up with a sly grin.

“I’m giving live updates to the group chat.”

“About the catheter incident?”

“Hehehe… It’s fun. Everyone in the group chat is laughing their asses off. They’re saying it’s legendary.”

It seemed he was already spreading the news like wildfire. Well, a gossip monger wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this.

‘Tsk.’

I clicked my tongue.

It was no use stopping him now.

News of such a juicy incident was bound to spread quickly.

[Yeon-seo]: Oppa, is the story about So-dam unni true? What do we do ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Geun-uk]: Dude, LOL. Is the catheter story for real? The rumor has already reached here. Is it really that Ban Jin-ho?

I also had several messages on my smartphone.

I sighed with a bitter smile.

How could I save So-dam from this swamp of consecutive mistakes?

***

To put it bluntly, patient Ban Jin-ho was discharged safely.

Fortunately, they were able to remove the Nelaton catheter that had disappeared into his penis using a cystoscope.

But the process wasn’t easy.

There was an incident where the patient burst into tears, asking if they were going to have to amputate his penis and if he would become impotent.

Everyone was taken aback by the next-generation global star, the charismatic rapper Ban Jin-ho’s, loud wailing.

Fortunately, such a disaster was averted thanks to the skilled treatment of the Yeonguk University Hospital urology department…

The patient didn’t want the incident to become public, so it seemed like the situation would be resolved quietly.

Meanwhile, So-dam’s mental state had hit rock bottom.

“I’m an idiot.”

So-dam muttered, squatting alone on the landing of the emergency exit stairs.

I didn’t reply and just sat down next to her.

So-dam, lost in self-loathing, ruffled her hair and mumbled,

“How shocked must the patient have been? To suddenly have a medical instrument stuck inside his penis.”

“…”

“I guess I’m really not cut out to be a doctor…”

She seemed to shrink further with each word.

As I looked away, speechless, So-dam said apologetically,

“Seon-han, thank you, but… you don’t have to worry about me.”

“How can I not?”

“No, really, it’s okay. I’ll just try to get through my internship without being noticed and then go to a department where I don’t have to see patients.”

“But…”

If you make another mistake, we’ll all be screwed!

I swallowed the words that were about to burst out of my mouth.

I wanted to avoid the worst-case scenario of a medical lawsuit at all costs, for both the patient and the doctor.

But at least for now, it seemed like anything I said to So-dam would only backfire.

“Do you want me to stay a little longer, or do you want to be alone to calm down?”

“Go ahead.”

“Okay.”

I got up and left So-dam alone.

I had to come up with a plan for the remaining 20 days.

‘I need more information for that…’

Just then, an important clue came to mind.

‘Ah!’

Why didn’t I think of this earlier?

There were already several hints hidden in the future I had seen.

—————–

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