A competent doctor can cure everything - Chapter 71

“Yes? A plastic bag?”

“Please hurry. Also, everyone else, loosen anything tight on So Min’s body and massage her arms and legs.”

“Uh, uh…? Yes.”

The staff member who was given the instructions started to move. The rest also quickly surrounded So Min, working in unison.

“Do we not need to send her to the emergency room?”

“I believe we can treat her here, as I thought.”

“That’s really a relief.”

I answered the worried staff member while opening the medical bag and taking out the acupuncture needles.

The 20×30 (diameter 0.2 cm, length 3 cm) needles were too thin, and the 30×30 ones might be too painful, so I decided to use the 25×30. I tore open the needle packet and asked the staff beside me,

“Is there a reason why So Min (Soso) was suddenly sent out to play today?”

“Starting setter Kim Yul suddenly pulled a muscle in her neck, so she couldn’t move it and was in pain.”

So, the starting setter is out with a strained neck, and the backup setter is unconscious.

… This could ruin the game, huh?
“Of all times, the setters are both in trouble.”

I can’t imagine how much of a headache this must be for Coach Han Mi-young.

But, in situations like this, I have to do what I can.

I revisited my judgment.

Ischemic heart disease can cause tachycardia and cold sweats, but cardiovascular diseases are rare in young women.

Hypoglycemia can also cause pallor, cold sweats, and fainting, but crucially, So Min doesn’t have any underlying conditions like diabetes or heart disease.

‘Therefore, heart disease or hypoglycemia can be ruled out.’

Next, I suspected ‘Qi Stagnation’.

Qi Stagnation is a traditional Korean medicine term referring to a vasovagal fainting caused by excessive stress.

When excessive tension causes the sympathetic nervous system to over-activate, the heart rate increases.

‘Then the parasympathetic nervous system would activate in an attempt to suppress this.’

If the blood pressure drops too much in this process, brain blood flow decreases drastically, causing a loss of consciousness.

Also, Qi Stagnation is known to occur frequently in young women.

The cold sweat on So Min’s body might be evidence of autonomic nervous system disruption, but…

‘Crucially… if it was Qi Stagnation, she should have woken up by now.’

In this position, where her head is lowered, enough time has passed for consciousness to return.

So, I ruled out Qi Stagnation from the diagnosis as well.

In other words, the most likely diagnosis now is ‘Hyperventilation Syndrome’.

It’s literally a condition where excessive breathing becomes problematic.

Blood maintains an optimal concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide through respiration.

However, when you hyperventilate, the carbon dioxide concentration in the blood drops below normal levels.

The fact that stress is often the cause also matches So Min’s situation.

Therefore, my plan is to stimulate the emergency acupuncture points to help her regain consciousness.

In traditional medicine, there are several acupuncture points used when consciousness is lost.

The ‘Shuigou’ in the center of the philtrum, the ‘Baihui’ at the top of the head, and the ‘Yongquan’ on the soles of the feet.

There are also the ‘Twelve Regular Points’ located at the tips of the hands and feet.

The characteristic of these emergency acupuncture points is that they are extremely painful.

Even a corpse would scream and open its eyes from the pain.

‘Sorry, So Min.’

After taking a deep breath, I started inserting the needle into ‘Baihui’.

It seemed painful, as every time I inserted the needle, the player would groan and slightly flinch.

By the time I passed the tips of her fingers and placed the needle in the ‘Yongquan’ point,

“…Ugh.”

So Min slowly cracked her eyes open.

“!!!”

“She’s awake!!”

“So Min, are you okay?”

Applause like the sound of waves erupted from the stands.

The surrounding staff and players all cheered with relief.

But the treatment had only just begun.

So Min, with a confused look on her face, glanced around and started panting again.

I spotted the AT I had instructed earlier.

“Did you bring what I asked for?”

“Yes! Here it is.”

The AT handed me a black plastic bag.

Although it was brought, they seemed quite curious about what I was going to do with it.

I checked the plastic bag to make sure there were no holes.

Then, I placed it over So Min’s nose and mouth, and the people around us gasped in surprise.

“Uh?!”

“What are you doing?”

So Min herself was startled and began to struggle.

But I pressed the bag more firmly with my hand.

I then spoke to her ear in a calm voice.

“So Min, you’re having trouble breathing, aren’t you? This is due to Hyperventilation Syndrome, where you’re breathing too rapidly.”

“……!”

The reason she couldn’t breathe was because she had been breathing too much.

The contradictory explanation made So Min’s eyes widen in shock.

However, in order to escape this situation, the patient needed to hold her breath.

Therefore, it was essential for me as the doctor to fully convince her.

“The level of carbon dioxide in your blood has dropped below the normal range, which is causing the problem. Before you passed out, you probably felt dizzy, and your body may have felt numb or tingling. To get out of this state, you need to control your breathing. Do you understand so far?”

At my explanation, So Min stopped struggling.

After confirming that she nodded, I explained how to use the plastic bag.

“You’ll breathe back into the bag with the exhaled air.”

It had been about 5 minutes in that state.

Perhaps due to the increase in carbon dioxide levels in her body, So Min’s breathing gradually stabilized.

“Now, remove the bag. But still, breathe slowly. Inhale for 7 seconds, and exhale for 11 seconds. Try to feel like you’re breathing with your diaphragm.”

After repeating this a few times, she opened her mouth with a much more relaxed expression.

“I… I think I’m okay now. Thank you, Team Doctor.”

Finally, everyone sighed with relief and spoke with smiling faces.

“Wow, thank goodness! We didn’t need to go to the ER, and it was all solved with acupuncture and a plastic bag.”

“Right? We almost had to send our setter off in an ambulance.”

It was only then that I was able to relax.

“Team Doctor?”

At that moment, the opposing team’s coach from White Stone, the coach Han Mi-young from Blue Whales, and the event organizers approached me.

“We can’t delay the game any longer. We need to decide on the setter for Blue Whales. Coach Han Mi-young said she’ll follow your advice. Who will you choose for setter?”

“……!”

Earlier, the starting setter, Kim Yul, had said she couldn’t move her neck due to pain.

Ideally, I would’ve asked for more time to check on Kim Yul’s condition as well.

‘The opposing team has already been so patient, so we’re fortunate enough to get this far.’

Now, I had to choose which of the two setters should be sent out.

It was up to me.

‘…….’

Neither of them was in perfect condition, yet one of them had to play.

Professor Yeon Jae-wook’s words came to mind: that I would often face difficult decisions.

It felt brutally challenging to consider not only the patient’s condition but also the game strategy.

“I…”

Once again, everyone was just waiting for me to speak.

“I recommend that the starting setter play.”

So Min, who had fainted due to hyperventilation caused by the tension of the game, could not be sent back into the game immediately after waking up.

Although I felt sorry for Kim Yul, who had to play the match while dealing with muscle strain, I believed that with her experience and skill, she could manage to hold out for one set.

A volleyball match is won by the team that first wins 3 sets out of 5.

The team that scores 25 points first wins that set.

‘It will take at least 20 minutes to finish one set.’

Within those 20 minutes, I would do my best to get So Min’s condition back to normal, and then substitute Kim Yul in from the second set.

And during the second set, I would treat Kim Yul.

That was the best strategy I could come up with.

* * *

After the commotion, the opening match finally began.

However, So Min, myself, and a few staff members were in the player’s waiting room, not the court.

I sat So Min down and checked her blood pressure and pulse again.

Both were now back within normal ranges.

“Is it okay to breathe now?”

“Yes…”

“Do you feel dizzy or uncomfortable?”

“I’m okay.”

One of the staff members, who had been watching, asked for my opinion.

“Do you think we need to do any tests or go to the hospital?”

“She didn’t hit her head when she fell, so an imaging test isn’t necessary. If needed, we would administer an anti-anxiety medication, but it doesn’t seem necessary right now.”

I turned to So Min, who was sitting down.

“So Min, do you think you can play in the next set?”

To be honest, I expected So Min to immediately agree to play.

However, an unexpected obstacle arose.

“Doctor, I really can’t do it.”

It was So Min herself.

She seemed completely terrified and withdrawn from what had happened earlier.

It looked like she had lost her confidence, unable to overcome the pressure that had caused her to faint.

“Ugh… I’m sorry, but I really can’t do it.”

Time was passing, but she continued to refuse to go out of the waiting room.

If this continued, it was clear that the game would end in a defeat for Blue Whales.

Was there anything I could do?

“I have a way to help So Min and Blue Whales.”

“…….”

I turned my gaze toward the medical bag.

I do have medication that I brought just for situations like this.

“So Min, I have a medication that can help ease your tension.”

“To ease tension?”

“It’s called ‘Woo-hwang Cheong-shim-won,’ you’ve probably heard of it.”

Woo-hwang Cheong-shim-won is an emergency medicine used when someone is stressed or startled.

It dilates blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, and has an anti-stress effect by suppressing excitatory neurotransmitters.

It is commonly used for conditions like high blood pressure, cerebrovascular diseases, anxiety, and irritability.

“Considering how long it takes for the medicine to take effect, you need to take it now.”

“Doctor, I’m not sure if that will help me relax. What if I faint again?”

Instead of comforting So Min, who was still crying, I calmly reminded her of the situation.

“Do you know that Kim Yul is playing right now? Even though her neck muscles are tense and painful, she’s still out there. She’s probably still waiting to be substituted for you.”

“……!”

When I mentioned Kim Yul, So Min flinched.

But why hasn’t the first set ended yet?

Time had already passed well beyond the 20 minutes I had originally expected.

From the faint sounds coming from outside, it seemed the game was still going on.

I asked one of the staff members.

“Has the first set still not ended?”

“Well… we’re losing, but it’s a deuce! The current score is 28:29!”

“!!”

A “deuce” refers to when both teams have scored 24 points each.

When the score reaches deuce, the game doesn’t end when a team reaches 25 points; the game continues until one team leads by 2 points.

So, if the opposing team keeps scoring 1 point at a time, the game will keep going.

So Min’s eyes shook violently upon hearing the news from the staff.

The Blue Whales were undoubtedly holding on with sheer willpower.

Waiting for setter So Min to return.

“Doctor.”

Finally, So Min looked at me with a firm gaze.

Her voice was calm and resolute.

“I’ll take the medication and go play.”