Chapter 35: Independence (2)

How did Archimedes, the greatest mathematician before Isaac Newton die? It was when Roman soldiers took over Syracuse, the city he lived in, and invaded his home. As the soldiers stepped on the shape he drew, he told them not to touch it. Of course, the soldiers who could barely do addition and subtraction did not know the value of his work. And so, they stabbed him to death as the soldiers didn’t like how a citizen of a defeated country was telling them what to do.

The situation Gil Hyung-Joon was looking at felt similar to that. It was clear that Young-Joon was as slow as Archimedes was, but what about Shim Sung-Yeol?

After some tension...

“Ha. Hahaha!”

Suddenly, Shim Sung-Yeol burst out in laughter. This old, snake-like politician had already finished calculating this in his head.

“I have made a mistake, Doctor Ryu. Since I’m getting older nowadays, I guess I was a little nervous that I would have less influence in the party. Forgive me.”

Shim Sung-Yeol bowed to Young-Joon and apologized.

Shim Sung-Yeol saw right through Young-Joon’s character. He was a powerful incarnation of research ethics itself, and the fruit of pure science who did not compromise with any kind of power. If Young-Joon was a person like this, he would not hold hands with other politicians either, meaning that Shim Sung-Yeol’s competitors would not be able to use Young-Joon easily. Then, he didn’t have to be anxious right now, nor did he have to be angry. He just had to back off once, play the character that fit his values and win his favor. Young-Joon was a scientist who would gain more and more influence. If he left a good first impression, it would help him in the future.

“Of course, science and politics should be separate. I do not have the slightest intention to use your findings from research politically or anything like that. But I just wanted to support an outstanding scientist like you as a politician and out of patriotism,” Shim Sung-Yeol said.

“...”

“Isn’t that what scientific technology is? Do we have oil? No, we don’t. All that our country has to live off of is people’s brains. Hahaha. Don’t you think that you earned us thirty years of food to live off of? That’s why I wanted to support you with what I could, and I think that’s why I misspoke and called you a star scientist. I’m sorry.”

Shim Sung-Yeol tapped Young-Joon’s shoulder.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to face the media or do anything like that. Don’t feel pressured; do the research you want, and please just let me know if you need anything. I will do everything in my power to support you fully.”

Shim Sung-Yeol put his business card in Young-Joon’s hand.

“But even if you don’t go with us, you should still go to see the patient, right? Since you know best about this project, the patient probably has a lot of questions for you as well.”

“Yes, of course.”

Young-Joon already had plans to go visit the patient, but how could he go all of a sudden when he was receiving the nation’s attention? It could be unmannerly of him.

“I will go separately,” Young-Joon replied.

“Then since I already had plans to go right now, you can go after I leave when it gets quiet,” Shim Sung-Yeol said.

* * *

Son Soo-Young, the first cured glaucoma patient, received as many interview requests as the amount of spotlight Young-Joon received. But she had declined most of them. Even though the good news that glaucoma was conquered gave hope and encouraged everyone working in medicine and pharmaceuticals, she was not that happy since what she could see with those historic eyes was her dying daughter.

She thought that she would even sell her soul for a chance to see her daughter just once, but now that she had been cured, she became greedier. She wondered how humans could be so selfish.

Every day during visiting hours, Son Soo-Young stood beside her baby and watched her small daughter, whom she felt looked even smaller than the size of her open palm, just calling her name. She wanted to see as much of her dying daughter with her recovering eyes.

But she couldn’t see her daughter as much during visiting hours because some big-time politician named Shim Sung-Yeol appeared at the hospital.

“Our doctors, thank you for your hard work. Where is Madam Son Soo-Young right now?”

“She is in the newborn intensive care unit...” Sung Yo-Han, the doctor in charge of the clinical trials, answered him.

“Why is she at the newborn intensive care unit?”

“She had a baby recently, and her daughter is not well.”

“Oh no. It hasn’t been long since she recovered from glaucoma, but now her child is sick... How unfortunate.

Tsk tsk.

” Shim Sung-Yeol clicked his tongue.

“It’s unfortunate, really. Visiting hours end at twelve-thirty, so you can meet Madam Soo-Young after then. There’s twenty minutes left,” Sung Yo-Han said.

“Hm.”

Shim Sung-Yeol glanced at his watch and said, “We don’t really have time right now. Could we go there?”

“I’m sorry, but not everyone can go into the newborn intensive care unit.”

“Really? Hm.”

Shim Sung-Yeol changed his mind. This was his chance to put his face on the good news that glaucoma was cured. He didn’t have to add the story of a baby in critical condition and create negative energy.

“Then could you call Madam Soo-Young for a moment? Can’t she visit next time?”

“...”

As Sung Yo-Han hesitated, not knowing what to do, Shim Sung-Yeol hurried him.

“Please call her now. We have to see her and then go.”

As Sung Yo-Han was contemplating, Professor Lee Jun-Hyuk, the hospital director, showed up behind him. He hurried over to where they were standing and greeted Shim Sung-Yeol.

“Congressman! When did you arrive? You should have contacted me...”

“Haha, it’s alright. I didn’t want to call on someone so busy like you. But the reason I am here is because I wanted to meet the patient who was cured of glaucoma.”

“Yes, I heard. Doctor Sung, where is the patient?” Lee Jun-Hyuk asked Sung Yo-Han.

“She is at the newborn intensive care unit.”

“Really? Then hurry up and get her.”

“...Yes, of course,” Sung Yo-Han answered helplessly.

He walked away from the hospital director and Shim Sung-Yeol and went to the newborn intensive care unit.

Son Soo-Young was touching the tip of her daughter’s toes and just stared at her as she breathed.

“Madam Soo-Young. Um... You have a visitor,” Sung Yo-Han said with a look of shame.

“I said I’m not meeting anyone during visiting hours.”

“Yes, I know. But...” Sung Yo-Han hesitated.

“Who is it?”

“It’s a congressman named Shim Sung-Yeol. The hospital director asked for you to step out...”

“

Sigh

... Alright. Let’s go.”

Son Soo-Young got up from her seat. She could not refuse after seeing how much of a predicament he looked like he was in.

A moment later, Shim Sung-Yeol took the hospital director and Son Soo-Young to her room. They took pictures with her sitting on the bed and Shim Sung-Yeol and the hospital director standing behind her and smiling.

They took several pictures from several angles and the time passed by fast as Shim Sung-Yeol gave a short speech and showed showmanship in front of reporters.

Now, it was past visiting hours.

After the photoshoot ended, Shim Sung-Yeol, the hospital director, and the reporters all scattered to get lunch.

It was now 6 PM: the second visiting hour.

Son Soo-Young, who already had dinner, went over to the hospital entrance to wait until the visiting hours started. Then, she ran into someone who was talking with Sung Yo-Han in the hallway.

“Oh! You’re here.”

Sung Yo-Han welcomed Son Soo-Young and introduced her to the man.

“Doctor Ryu, this is Son Soo-Young.”

“Doctor Ryu?”

Son Soo-Young’s eyes widened. She had also heard about him since it was quite a big deal.

This time, Son Soo-Young was also sincerely happy to see him. This was the only time she was positive about someone visiting her after her vision improved.

Son Soo-Young grabbed Young-Joon’s hands.

“Doctor, thank you. Thank you so much.”

Son Soo-Young thanked him again and again.

“Thanks to you, I am able to see again.”

“Haha, you should be thanking the doctors here. The one who carried out the procedure is him.”

Surprised, Sung Yo-Han shook his hand.

“What are you talking about! No! The stem cell optic nerves you made did everything.”

“Both of you are my saviors,” Son Soo-Young said.

“Thanks to that, I get to see my daughter every day.”

“That’s a relief. If your progression is similar to the pre-trial data, your vision should keep increasing. After a month or so, your vision should be similar to what it was before glaucoma,” Young-Joon said.

“Thank you.”

“You can go on a nice trip with your daughter once you get discharged.”

“Haha...” Son Soo-Young laughed bitterly.

“That would be great if I could, but my daughter is not well...”

“She’s not well?”

“She’s in the newborn intensive care unit,” Sung Yo-Han said.

“How is she sick?”

Sung Yo-Han was not the doctor in charge of the baby, but he had come to know about her daughter in quite some detail while treating Son Soo-Young.

“She has persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.”

“... I see.”

As Young-Joon looked dejected, Son Soo-Young tried to smile.

“It’s alright. I am satisfied with being able to see my daughter’s face. Thank you, Doctor. I should get going. It’s almost the start of visiting hours.”

As she left, Young-Joon asked Sung Yo-Han, “Could I meet the doctor in charge?”

* * *

The doctor who was in charge of Son Soo-Young’s daughter was at the newborn intensive care unit. Young-Joon went to the room to see them, but he waited outside since he wasn’t allowed inside because of restrictions. They were quite far away, but Young-Joon could see Son Soo-Young and her daughter along with a bunch of message windows.

[Synchronization Mode: Would you like to analyze persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn? Fitness consumption rate: 0.4/second]

Click.

Young-Joon pressed the button.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn was when the pulmonary blood vessels contracted abnormally. When the baby came out of the womb and started to breathe on their own, their pulmonary blood vessels should naturally relax and transport oxygen. But in some cases, their blood vessels remained contracted like they did in the womb for a few reasons. Obviously, if the blood vessels were contracted, there would be less space in the vessel, therefore resulting in lower amounts of blood flow and high blood pressure. That was why it was called pulmonary hypertension.

The biggest problem was the lack of oxygen due to the decrease in blood flow. The baby could die because the blood was not able to transport enough oxygen.

Usually, it was treated by injecting nitric oxide and increasing blood oxygen concentration. The rate of success? It was only about seventy percent, which was low because it meant that about three out of ten treated infants died.

“Hello.”

A strict-looking doctor in their thirties appeared. She crossed her arms and introduced herself to Young-Joon.

“My name is Hong Ju-Hee, and I am taking care of Blue. You wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Young-Joon replied.

“I heard that the baby is suffering from persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Are you treating her with nitric oxide?”

“...”

“How is the prognosis?”

“I cannot discuss patient information. Normally, I shouldn’t even be outside at this time. But I know how much hope you have given the mother, so I came here out of gratitude. But that is all I can do. I cannot discuss patient information.”

“Just tell me one thing. Did the nitric oxide treatment succeed?”

Without answering, Hong Ju-Hee chewed on her lip and thought about what kind of person Young-Joon was. The impact he had on this hospital was a huge issue in the hospital. They were all doctors; everyone knew how amazing the things Young-Joon made were, and she had an even greater appreciation for it since she saw Son Soo-Young every day as she regained her vision.

Son Soo-Young came to every visiting hour on the dot and kept her daughter’s side with her recovering eyes because she wanted to see her daughter a little bit more and for longer. That sight, which Hong Ju-Hee witnessed twice a day as she took care of the babies in the intensive care unit, made her heart cry every time.

“It failed... The nitric oxide treatment failed,” Hong Ju-Hee replied dejectedly.

“Then what are you going to do now?”

“There is nothing we can do...” Hong Ju-Hee replied with her teeth clenched. Her eyes were red.

“Doctor Hong,” Young-Joon called.

“There is a substance called prostaglandin in one of the metabolites of arachidonic acid, which is primarily produced by the vascular endothelial cells. It is procured when cyclooxygenase acts on arachidonic acid. It is usually released when the body has high blood pressure and low blood flow; it sends a signal to the prostaglandin receptor connected to a G-protein to expand the blood vessels and lower blood pressure.”

“... Pardon?”

Hong Ju-Hee looked bewildered.

‘What is he talking about?’

Young-Joon added, “Veratex, a treatment for high blood pressure, is a biosynthetic drug that perfectly mimics the structure of prostaglandin. Velross, the pharmaceutical company, developed it by taking on a little bit of a loss.”

“... You’re saying that we should administer Veratex?”

“I know what you are worried about. The drug hasn’t been tested on infants yet. From what I know, it has only been used on a five-year-old child and that’s the clinical data of the youngest patient. If you administer Veratex to that baby, that becomes the first case of the clinical trial. That’s too much pressure, right?”

“...”

“But the nitric oxide you are using on that baby has become regular treatment because someone made the first case.”

“...”

“I’m not a doctor, but as a scientist who works in pharmaceuticals, there is no drug safer than Veratex. Since it is a natural product that has exactly the same structure as something that should naturally occur in an infant’s body, there should be no side effects.”

Hong Ju-Hee was lost in thought for a moment. Young-Joon was right; it was way too much pressure for her to be the first person to try a drug that hadn’t been tested on an infant ever. If she was a bold and forward doctor, she could have actively encouraged the mother to use experimental treatments, but Hong Ju-Hee did not think she could do that.

But Son Soo-Young’s face, which made the hearts of the people who saw her every day in the intensive care unit ache, her eyes, which were starting to see the light, and the baby, who was holding onto her miraculous life... She could not get the image of those two out of her head even when she was eating bread she got from the convenience store for dinner, having a catnap on her chair, or when she opened her eyes on her bed on her day off, which she almost never got. She thought that maybe she would never forget them even when this was all over.

‘I was the one who said that the parents can’t get tired first, but maybe the person who was tired...’

Hong Ju-Hee bit her lower lip.

“You must have fought for her to live as well,” Young-Joon said.

“...”

“I have heard about it as well. What the newborn intensive care unit is like. You probably never get more than five hours of sleep every day. You only go home twice a week, and you probably do that after barely finishing your work. The mother probably knows that, and she will thank you, even if the baby dies.”

“...”

“But are you satisfied with that result, Doctor Hong?”

A teardrop rolled down Hong Ju-Hee’s face. She had been keeping it in for a long time.

The babies, whom she took care of for months and even a year, sometimes felt like her own children. They were taken care of by her more after birth than their actual mothers.

“How... How could I be okay with that? The baby I took care of...will die...” Hong Ju-Hee said as she wiped her eyes with her hands. Young-Joon calmly nodded his head.

“Then, please just have a little courage. Veratex is a good possibility. Please convince the mother and ask her to try just once more as the last shot. We can’t let her go like that, right?”