The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 31

I went to work early in the morning as usual.

Grandmother Heo Sunnam visited about twice a week as the first patient early in the morning, so it wasn’t strange at all to see her sitting there.

But today, a middle-aged woman and a young man were with her.

‘Huh, that person is?’

The middle-aged woman was someone only I recognized.

She was the person who had been demanding a refund at Haneul Clinic.

“Director, I’m here! Didn’t you miss me?”

“I missed you so much. Was your back okay while you couldn’t come?”

“My daughter in Seoul was having some exhibition at her gallery and kept asking me to come, so I couldn’t make it. Fortunately, my back was fine even on the train!”

“That’s good to hear. Treatment starts at 7, so please wait just a moment.”

I nodded in greeting to the new mother and son patients and entered the examination room to prepare for treatment by changing clothes and turning on the computer.

Was she an acquaintance of grandmother’s? She must have really disliked Haneul Clinic’s methods.

Since she couldn’t get a refund, she’d probably try taking the medicine for at least two more months.

But at 6:58, loud voices came from outside.

“You’re saying blisters formed after getting acupuncture?!”

It was a man’s voice. What was this about?

“Please sit and wait for a moment. You’ll see the director in order starting at 7.”

“I came early on purpose because I have to hurry to work!”

“There are people who came first, so you’ll need to wait about 10 to 15 minutes…”

It was Kim Jinsang, whom I had seen as the last patient three days ago. He was banging on the desk looking for me. Last time he came right before closing asking for treatment… and now early in the morning?

Did he have any sense of common courtesy?

“Kyaak!”

“Hey, you bastard! Tell the director to come out!”

“Please calm down.”

I hastily threw on my clothes and went out to grab Kim Jinsang’s arm. I couldn’t leave the staff to deal with this alone.

“Director, should I call the police?”

Seo Inae responded quite calmly, but I could see she was frightened.

“It’s okay.”

I declined calling the police for now.

“Please calm down and tell me what happened.”

I forcibly pulled Kim Jinsang away from the desk. I told Seo Inae to sit down and rest for a moment, then asked for understanding from the patients who had come first.

“I’m sorry for making you wait, but would it be okay if I deal with this person first? I’ll finish quickly.”

“This, this…!”

“Go ahead.”

The middle-aged woman, presumably Grandmother Heo Sunnam’s daughter-in-law, answered. She was holding back Grandmother Heo Sunnam, who was about to get up and point accusingly at Kim Jinsang.

It was complete chaos.

“You said blisters formed? Since when, and what kind?”

I didn’t take Kim Jinsang into the examination room and asked. If there had been no witnesses, I would have resolved it quietly, but since the new patients had already witnessed his outburst, it would be better to clearly show them there was no problem.

I calmly stared at Kim Jinsang.

Unlike when he was shouting for the director to come out, he flinched when I actually asked him a question.

“Look here. I got acupuncture on Monday and blisters started appearing from Tuesday. Do you know how much I suffered because there was nowhere open at night?”

Kim Jinsang rolled up his sleeve to show me.

His skin was red and inflamed, with blisters scattered throughout.

It was a combination of erythematous maculopapular rash and vesicles.

Seeing the blisters seemed to reignite his anger that had briefly subsided, and he continued in an agitated tone.

“You said it wasn’t a disc! But when I went to neurosurgery yesterday and got an X-ray, they said it was a disc! The doctor scolded me for a long time asking why I got acupuncture!”

“First of all, I never said it wasn’t a disc. I said it wasn’t frozen shoulder or rotator cuff tear. I definitely left open the possibility of a disc.”

I answered calmly.

Not remembering the disc discussion wasn’t a big problem.

However.

“Regardless of whether a disc exists or not, the cause of the pain that patient Kim Jinsang is currently feeling is not cervical disc. And of course, these blisters weren’t caused by acupuncture either. I mainly needled around the shoulder area, but now blisters have appeared all the way down to the inner forearm.”

“Then, isn’t it an allergic reaction or something? The doctor said it was because of acupuncture! What are you going to do about it! It hurts more than before and it’s so itchy I’m going crazy!”

This was a somewhat serious problem.

“Are you sure the doctor said this happened because of acupuncture? After seeing these blisters with their own eyes?”

“That’s what I’m telling you!”

“Which neurosurgery clinic was it?”

“Over there across from the station, Hanguk Il Neurosurgery Clinic.”

Kim Jinsang hesitated slightly, not expecting me to ask that far, but still told me the name of the hospital.

Hanguk Il? Is that the doctor’s name? Is he a Korean University graduate?

“Hanguk Il? That place told me I needed surgery with 9 pins in my back! Good thing I didn’t do it! When I said I didn’t want surgery and would just live with physical therapy and acupuncture, he went ballistic asking why I was getting acupuncture, so I stopped going there!”

Grandmother Heo Sunnam finally chimed in.

Her words made Kim Jinsang’s confidence waver a bit more.

But I wasn’t angry at Kim Jinsang in the first place. If a doctor says so, any patient who doesn’t know better could easily think that way.

“Sir, please search and give me the phone number.”

“Ah, yes. 051, 203…”

“Are they open now?”

“Ah, yes. They open at 7 AM just like us.”

I turned on my phone and entered that number directly. Then I made the call on speakerphone.

– Hello, this is Han Gukil Neurosurgery.

“Hello, this is Hanyewon, director of Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic. Patient Kim Jinsang, who received treatment yesterday, told us that your hospital said his blisters were caused by acupuncture he received at our clinic. I’d like to verify this fact. Could you put me through to the director?”

– Oh? Yes, I’ll ask. Please wait a moment.

The neurosurgery staff member who answered seemed quite flustered.

If he was spouting such nonsense as blisters appearing after acupuncture, he must have regularly disparaged traditional medicine, telling patients not to take herbal medicine or get acupuncture. Was I the first oriental medicine doctor to actually call him about it?

– …This is Han Gukil.

Soon the call was connected. So it was his name, not that he was from Korean University.

At least he didn’t avoid the call, which was fortunate.

“Patient Kim Jinsang visited today and said that you told him his blisters were caused by acupuncture he received at our clinic. Is that diagnosis correct?”

– No, well… I said there was that possibility. I didn’t diagnose it as 100% certain, it was merely a clinical estimation.

“So you’re saying that looking at these blisters, you diagnosed acupuncture allergy or infection as the primary possibility.”

– He said he had just received acupuncture! Isn’t it reasonable to think that way? There’s no proof it wasn’t a side effect of acupuncture…

“You acted tough with the patient, but now you’re worried about being sued.”

I chuckled. After making a wrong diagnosis and even scolding the patient, now that he’s receiving a complaint call, he’s rambling incoherently.

“I’d understand if a doctor from a completely unrelated department missed it, but a neurosurgeon doesn’t even know what shingles blisters look like?”

– Shingles? Ah…!

I could feel him flinch on the other end of the phone.

It seemed Han Gukil finally realized his misdiagnosis.

“You said there was no evidence? A viral test would show which diagnosis is correct. How can you so confidently blame the oriental medicine clinic when you’re so ignorant?”

– Ah, well, that… I’m sorry.

Han Gukil, who had been floundering helplessly, finally managed to utter an apology after a long pause.

“I have shingles?”

Kim Jinsang, who had been listening to the conversation on speakerphone, asked.

“Yes, the pain was shingles neuralgia from the beginning. Usually the pain starts first like this and then the blisters appear, but it’s difficult to distinguish before the blisters are visible.”

“Ah… I see. The shape is exactly the same.”

Meanwhile, Kim Jinsang had searched for shingles on his phone, compared it to his arm condition, and was convinced.

His expression was rough. No, he even had violent tendencies bordering on criminal behavior.

But he wasn’t a patient who was completely unreasonable.

“Of course, this doctor who clearly saw these characteristic blister patterns and blamed acupuncture is somewhat…”

“Quack!”

“His competence is questionable, so think carefully before your next visit.”

Grandmother Heo Sunnam interjected once again.

No, if you say that, you might get sued for defamation by stating facts. They’re probably all recording each other.

“Go to internal medicine or dermatology right now and get antiviral medication prescribed first. You can continue with acupuncture treatment too. You received good early treatment, and since it’s not an acupuncture allergy, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Ah… I see.”

That was enough explanation for Kim Jinsang.

I spoke to Han Gukil again through the speakerphone.

“Please properly apologize for your misdiagnosis and nonsense to the patient, and for disparaging acupuncture without basis.”

– Ugh…

“If you refuse, I’ll have no choice but to…”

– I’m sorry.

“Say exactly what you’re sorry for.”

– …I apologize to the patient for not detecting the shingles and failing to administer antiviral medication earlier. And I’m also sorry for speculating that it was caused by acupuncture when I didn’t know enough about it. If the patient visits us, I’ll prescribe medication and provide a full refund for yesterday’s consultation and examination fees.

Han Gukil prostrated himself and apologized to both me and the patient. A clear declaration of surrender.

“Phew…”

I was still angry, but there wasn’t much more I could do at this point.

I sighed and wrapped up the call with Han Gukil.

“Patients that your hospital couldn’t cure sometimes come to us. If I hear even once more that you’ve been spouting nonsense about oriental medicine treatment… you’d better be prepared then. Study more before treating patients.”

– Yes, yes. I’m sorry.

“Well then, good luck.”

When I ended the call, Grandmother Heo Sunnam, who had a lot to say, pushed away her daughter-in-law and approached the desk.

“Get that refund and never go there again! That quack bastard! I thought he was just being careless with old folks like us, but he’s been barking nonsense everywhere!”

“Ah, yes…”

“And you too! If you scream and shout like that, young man, you’ll get scared. You should be quiet in hospitals!”

She scolded Kim Jinsang with a louder voice than anyone else. His daughter-in-law held her forehead with a gesture that said she couldn’t stop her, while his grandson was quietly laughing as if he found it amusing.

“I’m sorry.”

Kim Jinsang was overwhelmed by her momentum and repeatedly bowed his head to Grandmother Heo Sunnam, me, and Seo Inae.

Hmm. Maybe I didn’t need to stop her after all?

“Clinic Director, don’t you worry. I’ll go to the senior center and spread the word that this doctor is a quack!”

“Haha, thank you.”

I patted the grandmother’s shoulder to calm her down, then organized the situation once more.

“Now, Mr. Kim Jinsang, if you’re in a hurry to get to work today, go to internal medicine or neurosurgery to get your medication first and come back tomorrow morning. You need to take antiviral medication.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll see the grandmother and the two companions. I’m sorry for startling everyone.”

“We all know it’s not the Clinic Director’s fault!”

The grandmother waved her hands dismissively, and smiles bloomed on the faces of her daughter-in-law and grandson as well.

Especially the grandson’s eyes were sparkling as if what had just happened was very entertaining.

“Patient Jeong Inseong and guardians, I’ll escort you to the examination room.”

Seo Inae, who had completely regained her composure, called out the grandmother’s grandson’s name.

So the grandson was the patient between the two.

Alright, I need to focus on the patient!

Since Grandmother Heo Sunnam has entrusted him to me again like this, shouldn’t I provide the best treatment possible?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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