The Returning Doctor Wanted to Live Quietly - Chapter 366



Only Noblemtl

Episode 366. After the surgery (4)

Jinhyuk stops the police.

The head of the emergency medicine department looked puzzled.

Even after reporting it, Jinhyuk Lee didn’t say anything to himself for a long time.

If you’re going to argue, you should argue from the beginning.

Why are you saying this now?

He approached Jinhyuk Lee, hiding his bewildered expression.

“This teacher.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now is not the time to be emotional.”

“It’s not just a matter of emotions.”

“what?”

“The police came sooner than expected, so I couldn’t tell you, but there’s something you’ll see.”

Jinhyuk turned his head and nodded while still facing the police.

Of course, the target is Jang Hyuk-jun.

Jang Hyuk-jun, who was researching the side effects of eating mushrooms, quickly ran over with his guardian’s laptop.

The demonstration started during that standoff.

I left my laptop on the station so the police could see it.

Pictures from the past to the present were shown repeatedly like a slide show.

“Your skin has discolored.”

“Yes, not just the face, but the entire body. This is when even the body line is discolored.”

“Hmm.”

“It started to change a lot, especially two years ago.”

“Since two years ago?”

“Yes. That’s… … .”

The explanation went on for a long time.

That’s how Jinhyuk opened his mouth.

Jang Hyuk-jun also did not stay still.

I started manipulating my laptop to go back to a specific point in time and select photos to show them to me.

2 years ago.

18 months ago.

Again, a year ago.

And until three months ago.

A patient who had bright skin typical of Asians, but not white skin covered in freckles like Caucasians.

It was gradually changing into a dark red color, like a worker doing hard labor.

However, the guardians and patients did not consider it a serious problem and thought it was simply due to aging.

Skin that gets tanned in the summer does not come back even after time passes.

It wasn’t something that was simply caused by aging.

“Sudden blue spots. Changes in overall skin color. They all seem to be caused by the same thing.”

“Are you suspecting heavy metal poisoning?”

“yes.”

“That said, my ALT was normal.”

“It was normal at 23 IU/L.”

“Then I see. It’s not just ALT. AST was normal too.”

“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t within the normal range, because I had fatty liver disease.”

“Yes. Mild fatty liver. That’s the exact number.”

That means it’s probably not heavy metal poisoning.

Because the levels of ALT and AST, enzymes present in liver cells, were both normal.

That made sense.

If the skin discoloration is truly due to heavy metal poisoning, the liver or kidneys may have been damaged.

That should have been shown in numbers.

but.

“The causal relationship is unclear, but depending on which heavy metal you are poisoned with, aren’t the symptoms also different?”

As Jinhyeok pushed his point, the head of the emergency medicine department let out a sigh.

Then Jinhyeok drove the wedge in again.

“Cadmium, arsenic, lead, zinc. They all react differently depending on the metal.”

“Ah, I know that too. I know that too. But what the heck could possibly happen? Let’s go see the patient first.”

“You said you’d see me again. Please call your guardian too.”

“Guardians too?”

“yes.”

The head of the emergency medicine department, who had been thinking for a moment, nodded toward the police.

Let’s move together.

So all the people involved were back in front of the patient, but they couldn’t start questioning him right away.

Because the patient burst into tears when he saw his son again.

Even the guardian’s eyes turned red.

I had to watch for a long time while I tried to appease my mother.

‘Ha… … . How did it come to this… … .’

Of course, Jinhyuk, who was watching that scene, felt heartbroken.

Even if things end well, there will still be scars.

Some people say that life is inherently difficult.

Even though he originally made a fuss about being sick, there was no need to take the difficult path.

You only live once.

It was a tough job to become a seasoned, experienced fighter who had been through thick and thin in the air.

Becoming an adult and becoming more experienced means that you have become full of new experiences, whether you know it or not.

A failed, bitter and painful experience.

The less I did, the better.

Sometimes failure is a blessing in disguise, but I thought it was just bullshit.

* * *

A kind of lull.

Jang Hyuk-jun whispered in Jin-hyeok’s ear.

“The numbers are all normal.”

“It’s normal.”

“What are you going to do now, sir? You’re a man of principle.”

“I have to go get a hair test first… … What happened after that?”

“I looked into cases of adverse reactions from eating mushrooms. Most of them were from areas where heavy metals were distributed. In other words, there were cases where people ate mushrooms grown in orchards that were heavily sprayed with pesticides.”

Heavy metals that accumulate in the ground.

Ultimately, it was said that it dissolved into mushrooms growing on that land and had a negative effect on the bodies of humans who consumed them.

Jinhyeok, who had declared that he had never seen such a case, reflected on himself.

Although I was constantly studying, looking through papers and gaining knowledge, I still felt that I was lacking in many ways.

Jang Hyuk-jun said.

“Let’s push on with mushrooms first.”

“That will open later.”

“yes?”

“Because I might get refuted for no reason… … . Let’s open it at a crucial moment.”

“Okay, then.”

I’m saying this just in case.

After 30 minutes, the patient finally calmed down, and the head of the emergency department came forward after confirming this.

“Let me check your nails for a moment.”

“yes yes…….”

“Are you okay? I can’t even see the white line.”

“First of all, it doesn’t seem to be arsenic poisoning.”

“There is no swelling.”

“It’s okay if you don’t do it.”

“Patient, would you please open your mouth for a moment?”

“yes.”

The head of the emergency medicine department, who had been palpating the patient’s feet and hands to check for swelling, then looked inside the mouth.

Because if it is heavy metal poisoning, it can cause swelling in the mouth or necrotizing bronchitis.

But as expected, it was normal.

“Your mouth is fine too.”

“yes.”

“I’m talking to you.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I checked it several times. I’m checking it again just in case. I called you after much thought. Now, look. Your hemoglobin level is normal.”

Before I knew it, he had picked up a paper chart.

Jinhyeok also did not back down and responded.

“Your iron levels are also normal.”

“Yes. There are no significant numbers. It is different from the typical pattern of heavy metal poisoning.”

“Yes, because there is no jaundice.”

“That’s not all. There was also no spleen, which filters red blood cells.”

“Yes, and I don’t have chronic venous leg ulcers either. The only visible symptoms are general fatigue and skin discoloration.”

Chronic fatigue that appears to be due to heavy metal poisoning.

And that everything is normal except for the darkening of the skin.

If the numbers had been good from the beginning, I wouldn’t have had this much trouble.

Even though I’m not a detective investigating a murder case, I’m putting the pieces of the puzzle together one by one.

Jinhyuk said in a dry tone.

“However, if you are considering skin discoloration, I think you should first request a hair test.”

“That would be ten days at the earliest.”

“I’m looking for an institution that can provide emergency care.”

“There is no such institution. Hmm… … .”

The head of the emergency medicine department’s speech became longer.

I’m worried about what to do.

That makes sense, a hair test only takes 5 minutes at most.

If it’s short, it’ll be over in 3 minutes.

The act of cutting hair with scissors.

It wasn’t difficult.

Once it was sealed, it was finished.

The problem is that it takes a long time to get results.

I had to ask a professional agency.

Maybe I should wait until the fortnight.

If the causal relationship is incorrectly determined, there is no telling what could happen to the discharged patient.

For him, who suspected elder abuse and even reported it, it was a risky move.

“That’s not true. Let’s take a conservative approach. We need to isolate them at least until the test results come out.”

He said he would push through with it.

Jinhyuk pulled out a move that he had been holding back for a long time.

“Sir, there’s something I haven’t told you.”

“what?”

“The patient drank water infused with mushrooms for a long time.”

“mushroom?”

“Yes, porcini mushrooms… … .”

The explanation went on for a long time.

The emergency medicine chief’s eyes shook slightly as he was presented with another clue at a crucial moment.

* * *

It’s not an animal product either.

Mushrooms are not even a vegetable ingredient.

Just a fungus.

More than 90% composed of water,

It was just a fungus that grew large enough to be seen with the eye.

Eating fungi or whatever is there is no problem.

Whether you eat it ground into powder, raw, boiled, or drizzled with olive oil.

It was normal for reproduction to not have any problems.

But in this case.

“You must have eaten mushrooms that contained lead, cadmium, or even arsenic?”

“Yes, I’ve heard that this can happen if you eat mushrooms that grow in orchards and other places that have been sprayed with pesticides for a long time.”

“It’s a shame to say that… … .”

“Shouldn’t we get an examination to find out for sure?”

“under…….”

The head of the emergency medicine department let out a deep sigh. Then, the guardian who had been standing under police surveillance belatedly opened his mouth.

“Isn’t there also the bear mushroom incident?”

“Huh? Is that a bear mushroom?”

“This is a mushroom that Germans are particularly fond of.”

“I think it would be better if the guardian explained it himself.”

“Yes, that’s… … .”

The guardian’s explanation continued for a long time.

He recounted a case of someone getting arsenic poisoning from eating wild bear mushrooms.

Of course, it happened in the United States.

But his identity is a reporter.

Not a pure American, but a German-American who eats gombo mushrooms.

It was persuasive because it was a case of group heavy metal poisoning caused by gathering wild food and eating it with a family.

Now, the situation has completely shaken up the head of the emergency medicine department, who is boring and principled.

Just blow up the counter here and you’re done.

No, Jinhyuk looked at his phone because he could buy time for the hair test results to come out.

There has been no news from Han Dong-soo yet.

It was a shame because he was the one who helped me whenever I needed it.

But then.

“Porcini mushrooms. Where did you buy them?”

“At the mart.”

“Did you buy it at the mart?”

“yes.”

“You didn’t pick it from the wild, did you?”

“no.”

“You’ve never eaten wild mushrooms?”

“No, there isn’t.”

The head of the emergency medicine department asked.

The patient’s answer came back strangely.

The foolishness of answering obediently in a situation where one must lie.

Jinhyuk sighed softly.

If there was a problem with mushrooms bought at the supermarket, many patients would have occurred simultaneously.

It was simply too random for only the patient to experience side effects.

When the mood turns like that again.

As if on cue, I got a call from Korea.

Han Dong-soo, who pretended to be upset for a long time.

His phone was clear.

hereto.

“Yes, professor. This is Jinhyuk Lee.”

[What happened?]

“This is a situation where heavy metal poisoning is suspected.”

[okay?]

“Yes, but there are no cases of high-density granules observed in the eccrine glands, so it cannot be called heavy metal poisoning… … .”

[there is.]

“yes?”

[It happens very rarely.]

“I was wondering about the mushroom consumption here.”

[No, it’s not a mushroom or anything.]

The explanation went on for a long time.

Jinhyuk hung up the phone and immediately ran to the station.

He said he would show relevant cases by email.

My heart was pounding because the outcome was something I could never have imagined.

If you do it well.

Yeah, if you do it well.

It was something that could be solved in one room.

A situation where even Jang Hyuk-jun came running late.

Jang Hyuk-jun shouted after checking the data sent by Han Dong-soo, leaving behind those who were watching without knowing English.

“The mystery has been solved! The culprit is inside!”

It was the first time he wasn’t embarrassed by his imitation of the boy detective KoX.