The patient I saved, the patient who woke me up
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Description
Book Introduction
Medical staff treating patients' wounds,
Patients who leave a deep mark on the lives of medical staff,
Very special stories that blossomed amidst that precarious tension!
Whether we like it or not, we meet quite a few medical professionals throughout our lives.
Sometimes I have no choice but to stand before them as a patient, and sometimes as a patient's family member.
Although these are precious beings who stay by our side and protect the last bastion of life, we do not know them well.
One factor is that they are not good at expressing subjective feelings, as they are specially trained as professionals to maintain a psychological distance from patients.
Because of this, they appear cold and even dry to the general public.
But there is something we don't know.
Medical staff, who are exposed to icy conditions every day, are the ones most vulnerable to psychological and mental shock.
In a world where suffering unfolds as a daily occurrence, cool-headed judgment and response, free from emotional sway, are essential. However, those who face dramatic moments of life and death every day are in much deeper pain and are shaken than we can imagine.
This book, "The Patient I Saved, the Patient Who Waked Me Up," is a special collection of essays in which medical professionals share stories about the people they met in the field.
Since the spring of 2021, the Hankook Ilbo has been publishing a series of articles written by medical professionals under the title, “Patients I Saved, Patients Who Woke Me Up.”
This book is a compilation of 54 selected pieces from that project.
From newly-dressed doctors to veteran specialists, from nurses at local health centers to 119 paramedics…
The stories they tell, from working in different places, are sometimes shocking, sometimes tearful, and sometimes heartbreaking.
Ae Song-i, a doctor (Oh Yeon-taek/page 27), runs out of the isolation ward and cries after collecting the body of a man who died alone and lonely in the coronavirus isolation ward and was finally diagnosed as negative.
An emergency medicine specialist (Namgung In/page 136) who, watching an old man who was so calmly absorbed in the melody of 'When I Dream' in his headphones while his own leg was being cut off, realized too early the nature of our lives that are destined to be damaged and destroyed.
An economist who worked as a doctor at a large hospital in Gangnam, but after witnessing the shocking gap between the rich and poor in our society that makes even death unequal, changed his career path and began studying global health inequality (Kim Hyeon-cheol/page 276)… .
Among the countless patients I have met and seen off in the medical field, the author's writings honestly and calmly tell the story of a patient who remains the most memorable in his life, a patient who shook his five senses, helped him grow, and even changed his values. These stories offer readers who are going through difficult times a gift of thought and comfort to ponder for a long time.
Patients who leave a deep mark on the lives of medical staff,
Very special stories that blossomed amidst that precarious tension!
Whether we like it or not, we meet quite a few medical professionals throughout our lives.
Sometimes I have no choice but to stand before them as a patient, and sometimes as a patient's family member.
Although these are precious beings who stay by our side and protect the last bastion of life, we do not know them well.
One factor is that they are not good at expressing subjective feelings, as they are specially trained as professionals to maintain a psychological distance from patients.
Because of this, they appear cold and even dry to the general public.
But there is something we don't know.
Medical staff, who are exposed to icy conditions every day, are the ones most vulnerable to psychological and mental shock.
In a world where suffering unfolds as a daily occurrence, cool-headed judgment and response, free from emotional sway, are essential. However, those who face dramatic moments of life and death every day are in much deeper pain and are shaken than we can imagine.
This book, "The Patient I Saved, the Patient Who Waked Me Up," is a special collection of essays in which medical professionals share stories about the people they met in the field.
Since the spring of 2021, the Hankook Ilbo has been publishing a series of articles written by medical professionals under the title, “Patients I Saved, Patients Who Woke Me Up.”
This book is a compilation of 54 selected pieces from that project.
From newly-dressed doctors to veteran specialists, from nurses at local health centers to 119 paramedics…
The stories they tell, from working in different places, are sometimes shocking, sometimes tearful, and sometimes heartbreaking.
Ae Song-i, a doctor (Oh Yeon-taek/page 27), runs out of the isolation ward and cries after collecting the body of a man who died alone and lonely in the coronavirus isolation ward and was finally diagnosed as negative.
An emergency medicine specialist (Namgung In/page 136) who, watching an old man who was so calmly absorbed in the melody of 'When I Dream' in his headphones while his own leg was being cut off, realized too early the nature of our lives that are destined to be damaged and destroyed.
An economist who worked as a doctor at a large hospital in Gangnam, but after witnessing the shocking gap between the rich and poor in our society that makes even death unequal, changed his career path and began studying global health inequality (Kim Hyeon-cheol/page 276)… .
Among the countless patients I have met and seen off in the medical field, the author's writings honestly and calmly tell the story of a patient who remains the most memorable in his life, a patient who shook his five senses, helped him grow, and even changed his values. These stories offer readers who are going through difficult times a gift of thought and comfort to ponder for a long time.
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
Every medical professional in the world has a story buried deep in their hearts. · 4
PART 1
I couldn't say a word in front of the sobbing mother of a baby with Down syndrome, Kang Byung-chul. · 14
Kwak Moon-hwan: "He's going to die soon. Why keep him alive?" Across from the family is a son who can't believe his father is dead... , · 19
A box of freshly canned potatoes sent by an elderly man to a new doctor who gave him faith in life. 23
The lonely death of Oh Yeon-taek, an elderly man in a COVID-19 isolation ward, was announced after his death as a "negative" test result. 27
Lee Nak-jun: "I'll have surgery after my daughter's wedding." Why couldn't I stop him? · 31
The sudden death of an emergency patient waiting for his turn felt like my fault. · 36
Jeong Jae-hwa, a 15-year-old boy who couldn't afford medical treatment, was willingly given blood by doctors and nurses. · 41
Lee Hyo-geun took the medicine bag out of the water crisis. It was everything to his grandmother. · 46
PART 2
Kim Jong-pil: "My husband has leprosy." A tearful letter from a dying wife · 52
The elderly man getting tested for COVID-19 hurled abusive language at me, and I exploded. · 57
Moon Yoon-soo, a man whose bones and flesh were crushed by trauma, wrote a death certificate in his heart and lived on. · 62
Lim Jae-man: "How did I save him, but I can never let him go?" Paramedics' inner voice · 67
The first words of a Nigerian girl who underwent Kim Gyeol-hee's facial reconstruction surgery: "I can get married now." · 72
Yoon Hyuk's daughter was also diagnosed with the same incurable disease, following his son. How would his mother have felt? · 77
Park Chang-beom: "You thief!" The old man shouted at the doctor after checking the price of the medicine. · 82
Dr. Yang Eun-ju also learns from her patients. This courageous patient discovered a surprising rehabilitation method on her own. · 87
PART 3
Kim Young-woong, a boy shot, a girl burned… African children don't cry · 94
An elderly couple in their 70s promised to come together when spring came, but... the wife was alone. · 99
Was alcohol the only solace for her in terminal cirrhosis in Wanwol-dong? · 104
Shin Jae-hyun's hoarding obsession stems from the pain of losing a friend in the Daegu subway disaster... , · 109
The grandson of the attending physician, who missed his grandmother's suffering, burst into tears. · 114
Yang Chang-mo, who refused an abortion, used his last strength to write the two words "baby." · 119
Yeo Han-sol's heart massage saved the truck driver who lost both legs. · 124
We cried together on the day the young man with burns all over his body, who had been suffering for two months, left. · 129
PART 4
Namgung In's leg is amputated, and the elderly man with dementia is calm... Everything disappears · 136
Lee Sang-hyun's Letter from 30 Years Ago: A Doctor Is the One Who Holds Your Hand · 141
Oh Seung-won: "Why wasn't my acute leukemia discovered sooner?" His heart was heavy at the resentful question. · 146
When will Navid, the migrant worker who lost his wrist, be able to achieve the "Korean Dream"? · 151
Kang Hyun-seok survived a cancer relapse, but lost everything and became homeless. Is treatment always the best option? · 156
Kim Ki-jun's mother gave him an unexpected gift: That day, I became a poet again. · 161
They say there's no such thing as a filial son in a long illness, but my wife and daughter, both of whom were lupus patients, remained consistent for 10 years. · 166
PART 5
Meeting Jang Seok-chang, and Destiny · 172
The terminally ill man who refused surgery appeared happy despite his suffering. · 177
Heo Yun-jeong's friend's fall to death: If only there were a trauma center like today · 182
Oh Heung-kwon's missing critically ill surgical patient turns out to be in a special ward... Medical staff also feel burdened. · 187
Hospice provided Kim Kyung-hwa with final peace after 20 years of disability and terminal cancer. 192
Park Ji-wook's only daughter's reunion with North Korea ultimately fell through, and the elderly man passed away amidst a deep sense of loss. · 197
Grandmother Lee Soo-young's Stomach Crumb: "What Did My Three Sons Do?" (202)
Heo Dae-seok: "Who comes first, the mother or the fetus?" Treating pregnant cancer patients is always a painful choice · 207
Jeong Moon-gi: "Are you a doctor?" The son of the deceased hurled abuse. · 212
PART 6
Sim So-hyun thought CPR was "a parent's greed," but she couldn't let her mother go like this. · 218
Grandma Jo Seung-ju was a victim of nursing home abuse. Why didn't I notice it? · 223
Kim Jeong-hwan: "What do you want from Santa?" "For Mom to not cry." · 228
Lee Yoon-kyung's 'Special Treatment Operation' for a Child with a Wrist Fracture Amid the COVID-19 Lockdown · 232
Song Tae-jun, a son who nearly died from pneumonia, was the only one who could donate his father's liver… , · 236
Choi Yeon-ho's terrified mother asks, "Could it be an incurable disease?" The 'fear disease' born from searching · 240
Celebrity Baek Jong-woo's extreme choice: The 'Werther Effect' ultimately led to the patient's demise... · 245
PART 7
Jeon Young-hoon: "I'm... hungry... hungry..." The unconscious five-year-old boy overcomes a difficult struggle · 252
Seo Won-jun: "I should have stopped the surgery." The moment he saw the intestines stuck in the patient's stomach, he was overcome with regret. · 257
"You're treating me like a bug," said Bukyeong. On his first day in the COVID-19 isolation ward, he was furious. · 262
Lee Ji-hoon: The unaffordable cost of medication: Doctors who can diagnose diseases alone aren't enough. · 267
Hong Young-han: "I absolutely must see my youngest get married..." A mother with six months to live endured that dream for six years. · 272
Kim Hyun-chul: "A World Where Even Death Is Unequal" I Took Off My Doctor's Gown and Became an Economist · 276
Reviving a Man Like Choi Sung-cheol with CPR Twice · 281
PART 1
I couldn't say a word in front of the sobbing mother of a baby with Down syndrome, Kang Byung-chul. · 14
Kwak Moon-hwan: "He's going to die soon. Why keep him alive?" Across from the family is a son who can't believe his father is dead... , · 19
A box of freshly canned potatoes sent by an elderly man to a new doctor who gave him faith in life. 23
The lonely death of Oh Yeon-taek, an elderly man in a COVID-19 isolation ward, was announced after his death as a "negative" test result. 27
Lee Nak-jun: "I'll have surgery after my daughter's wedding." Why couldn't I stop him? · 31
The sudden death of an emergency patient waiting for his turn felt like my fault. · 36
Jeong Jae-hwa, a 15-year-old boy who couldn't afford medical treatment, was willingly given blood by doctors and nurses. · 41
Lee Hyo-geun took the medicine bag out of the water crisis. It was everything to his grandmother. · 46
PART 2
Kim Jong-pil: "My husband has leprosy." A tearful letter from a dying wife · 52
The elderly man getting tested for COVID-19 hurled abusive language at me, and I exploded. · 57
Moon Yoon-soo, a man whose bones and flesh were crushed by trauma, wrote a death certificate in his heart and lived on. · 62
Lim Jae-man: "How did I save him, but I can never let him go?" Paramedics' inner voice · 67
The first words of a Nigerian girl who underwent Kim Gyeol-hee's facial reconstruction surgery: "I can get married now." · 72
Yoon Hyuk's daughter was also diagnosed with the same incurable disease, following his son. How would his mother have felt? · 77
Park Chang-beom: "You thief!" The old man shouted at the doctor after checking the price of the medicine. · 82
Dr. Yang Eun-ju also learns from her patients. This courageous patient discovered a surprising rehabilitation method on her own. · 87
PART 3
Kim Young-woong, a boy shot, a girl burned… African children don't cry · 94
An elderly couple in their 70s promised to come together when spring came, but... the wife was alone. · 99
Was alcohol the only solace for her in terminal cirrhosis in Wanwol-dong? · 104
Shin Jae-hyun's hoarding obsession stems from the pain of losing a friend in the Daegu subway disaster... , · 109
The grandson of the attending physician, who missed his grandmother's suffering, burst into tears. · 114
Yang Chang-mo, who refused an abortion, used his last strength to write the two words "baby." · 119
Yeo Han-sol's heart massage saved the truck driver who lost both legs. · 124
We cried together on the day the young man with burns all over his body, who had been suffering for two months, left. · 129
PART 4
Namgung In's leg is amputated, and the elderly man with dementia is calm... Everything disappears · 136
Lee Sang-hyun's Letter from 30 Years Ago: A Doctor Is the One Who Holds Your Hand · 141
Oh Seung-won: "Why wasn't my acute leukemia discovered sooner?" His heart was heavy at the resentful question. · 146
When will Navid, the migrant worker who lost his wrist, be able to achieve the "Korean Dream"? · 151
Kang Hyun-seok survived a cancer relapse, but lost everything and became homeless. Is treatment always the best option? · 156
Kim Ki-jun's mother gave him an unexpected gift: That day, I became a poet again. · 161
They say there's no such thing as a filial son in a long illness, but my wife and daughter, both of whom were lupus patients, remained consistent for 10 years. · 166
PART 5
Meeting Jang Seok-chang, and Destiny · 172
The terminally ill man who refused surgery appeared happy despite his suffering. · 177
Heo Yun-jeong's friend's fall to death: If only there were a trauma center like today · 182
Oh Heung-kwon's missing critically ill surgical patient turns out to be in a special ward... Medical staff also feel burdened. · 187
Hospice provided Kim Kyung-hwa with final peace after 20 years of disability and terminal cancer. 192
Park Ji-wook's only daughter's reunion with North Korea ultimately fell through, and the elderly man passed away amidst a deep sense of loss. · 197
Grandmother Lee Soo-young's Stomach Crumb: "What Did My Three Sons Do?" (202)
Heo Dae-seok: "Who comes first, the mother or the fetus?" Treating pregnant cancer patients is always a painful choice · 207
Jeong Moon-gi: "Are you a doctor?" The son of the deceased hurled abuse. · 212
PART 6
Sim So-hyun thought CPR was "a parent's greed," but she couldn't let her mother go like this. · 218
Grandma Jo Seung-ju was a victim of nursing home abuse. Why didn't I notice it? · 223
Kim Jeong-hwan: "What do you want from Santa?" "For Mom to not cry." · 228
Lee Yoon-kyung's 'Special Treatment Operation' for a Child with a Wrist Fracture Amid the COVID-19 Lockdown · 232
Song Tae-jun, a son who nearly died from pneumonia, was the only one who could donate his father's liver… , · 236
Choi Yeon-ho's terrified mother asks, "Could it be an incurable disease?" The 'fear disease' born from searching · 240
Celebrity Baek Jong-woo's extreme choice: The 'Werther Effect' ultimately led to the patient's demise... · 245
PART 7
Jeon Young-hoon: "I'm... hungry... hungry..." The unconscious five-year-old boy overcomes a difficult struggle · 252
Seo Won-jun: "I should have stopped the surgery." The moment he saw the intestines stuck in the patient's stomach, he was overcome with regret. · 257
"You're treating me like a bug," said Bukyeong. On his first day in the COVID-19 isolation ward, he was furious. · 262
Lee Ji-hoon: The unaffordable cost of medication: Doctors who can diagnose diseases alone aren't enough. · 267
Hong Young-han: "I absolutely must see my youngest get married..." A mother with six months to live endured that dream for six years. · 272
Kim Hyun-chul: "A World Where Even Death Is Unequal" I Took Off My Doctor's Gown and Became an Economist · 276
Reviving a Man Like Choi Sung-cheol with CPR Twice · 281
Detailed image
Into the book
It was a time when several medical staff were moving around in a hurry.
The son who had arrived in the ambulance with the patient started to get very angry.
The question was, 'What are you doing to someone who is about to pass away?'
The son stood next to his father's bed, waving his arms to keep the medical staff from approaching.
Every patient comes to the emergency room to live.
And doctors stay up all night in the emergency room to save them.
I couldn't do anything when I saw a dying person right in front of me.
At the time, I was a hot-blooded emergency room resident.
I absolutely could not accept the attitude of the guardian who did not even allow me to approach the patient.
--- pp.19~20
“Doctor, will I be able to return home alive?”
I thought about this for a moment.
Isn't this person in the intensive care unit for a month because his intestines haven't recovered after cancer surgery and his condition is not good?
I had some concerns about telling this person that the new resident was doing well.
But the moment I saw the eyes of the grandfather asking the question shake with earnestness, I thought.
Yes, what this old man needs now is the belief that he can recover!
“Grandpa, don’t worry.
“You can go there alive, and I’m sure you’ll be discharged in good health.”
--- p.25
That's what a coronavirus isolation ward is like.
There are no morals, no common sense, no norms here.
There is only one cold medical rule to prevent the monstrous coronavirus.
The patient left alone, with IV lines dangling from both arms and chest.
At the last moment, no one could stay by his side.
There were only mechanical devices that rotated without a soul and medical staff in protective suits beside the patient.
Even though I had family that I had spent my entire life with, I couldn't give them a warm send-off or even a proper farewell.
But this damn Corona only showed the 'final negative' test result after everything was over and ran away.
I felt like I was going crazy in this cruel and hopeless situation.
This is how Corona mocked us all.
--- p.29
The guardian insisted on just being discharged.
I called the boy's older brother.
“The hospital said they would continue to treat you, so why are you trying to leave?”
“If we can’t pay the medical bills, aren’t we turning into thieves?
So I'm going home."
“Even if a thief is caught, he or she will be sentenced to three years in prison at most.
But if my younger brother goes home like this, he will die from bleeding.
“Don’t be discharged, but continue receiving treatment for now.”
--- p.42
I still remember the 'last decision moment' when I had to choose whether or not to receive life-prolonging treatment.
Even though I studied in the field for a long time, learned the theory, and gained a wealth of experience, it was still a difficult decision.
Life-sustaining treatment refers to medical procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, hemodialysis, administration of anticancer drugs, and use of a ventilator for a patient in the terminal stage that only prolong the duration of the terminal stage without any curative effect.
Some families discontinue life-prolonging treatment, believing it to be a meaningless process that only causes suffering, while others express their love by actively pursuing treatment.
For those who must send off their family members who are at the crossroads of life and death, can the medical criteria of meaning and non-meaning be the only answer?
The son who had arrived in the ambulance with the patient started to get very angry.
The question was, 'What are you doing to someone who is about to pass away?'
The son stood next to his father's bed, waving his arms to keep the medical staff from approaching.
Every patient comes to the emergency room to live.
And doctors stay up all night in the emergency room to save them.
I couldn't do anything when I saw a dying person right in front of me.
At the time, I was a hot-blooded emergency room resident.
I absolutely could not accept the attitude of the guardian who did not even allow me to approach the patient.
--- pp.19~20
“Doctor, will I be able to return home alive?”
I thought about this for a moment.
Isn't this person in the intensive care unit for a month because his intestines haven't recovered after cancer surgery and his condition is not good?
I had some concerns about telling this person that the new resident was doing well.
But the moment I saw the eyes of the grandfather asking the question shake with earnestness, I thought.
Yes, what this old man needs now is the belief that he can recover!
“Grandpa, don’t worry.
“You can go there alive, and I’m sure you’ll be discharged in good health.”
--- p.25
That's what a coronavirus isolation ward is like.
There are no morals, no common sense, no norms here.
There is only one cold medical rule to prevent the monstrous coronavirus.
The patient left alone, with IV lines dangling from both arms and chest.
At the last moment, no one could stay by his side.
There were only mechanical devices that rotated without a soul and medical staff in protective suits beside the patient.
Even though I had family that I had spent my entire life with, I couldn't give them a warm send-off or even a proper farewell.
But this damn Corona only showed the 'final negative' test result after everything was over and ran away.
I felt like I was going crazy in this cruel and hopeless situation.
This is how Corona mocked us all.
--- p.29
The guardian insisted on just being discharged.
I called the boy's older brother.
“The hospital said they would continue to treat you, so why are you trying to leave?”
“If we can’t pay the medical bills, aren’t we turning into thieves?
So I'm going home."
“Even if a thief is caught, he or she will be sentenced to three years in prison at most.
But if my younger brother goes home like this, he will die from bleeding.
“Don’t be discharged, but continue receiving treatment for now.”
--- p.42
I still remember the 'last decision moment' when I had to choose whether or not to receive life-prolonging treatment.
Even though I studied in the field for a long time, learned the theory, and gained a wealth of experience, it was still a difficult decision.
Life-sustaining treatment refers to medical procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, hemodialysis, administration of anticancer drugs, and use of a ventilator for a patient in the terminal stage that only prolong the duration of the terminal stage without any curative effect.
Some families discontinue life-prolonging treatment, believing it to be a meaningless process that only causes suffering, while others express their love by actively pursuing treatment.
For those who must send off their family members who are at the crossroads of life and death, can the medical criteria of meaning and non-meaning be the only answer?
--- p.221
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: September 5, 2022
- Page count, weight, size: 288 pages | 434g | 140*210*18mm
- ISBN13: 9791191290165
- ISBN10: 1191290166
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