Chapter 7, Section 2: I Am a Kindergartener (2)

Upon hearing that Seungwoo was sick, Imihyang hurriedly ran to the bathroom.

“……”

Seungwoo was repeatedly hitting his chest with both hands, looking in pain.

Was he having trouble breathing?

Was his chest tight?

Imihyang was frustrated, not knowing exactly where Seungwoo was hurting.

“Seungwoo, is your chest uncomfortable? Can you tell the teacher where it hurts the most?”

Seungwoo's frightened gaze lingered on her. He moved his lips as if to say something but couldn't produce a sound.

Seeing Seungwoo, who couldn't speak and was in agony, Imihyang felt like she was dying.

It felt as if a heavy stone was placed on her chest.

If only he could speak, we would know where it hurts and could take action...

“Seungwoo, is it that painful that you can't speak? You need to tell the teacher so I can help.”

While she was asking questions, Seungwoo's condition worsened. Initially, he was standing on his two feet, but soon he was kneeling on the bathroom floor.

“Teacher Lee, what's wrong?”

Suddenly, her colleague, Yun Miran, was standing at the bathroom door.

Yun Miran was shocked when she saw the situation with Seungwoo and Imihyang.

“Seungwoo seems to be in a lot of pain. Teacher Yun, please call 119 quickly. And ask Teacher Choi to stop the children from coming this way.”

“Okay!”

With Teacher Choi joining to control the children, Yun Miran called 119.

The response was relatively quick, but Seungwoo's condition was like a candle in the wind. All Imihyang could do was helplessly watch Seungwoo in pain.

“Teacher! Teacher!”

A loud voice came from behind.

Turning her head, she saw that it was Mirae, who had just started attending the kindergarten, energetically stretching her hands toward the ceiling.

“Mirae! Can't you be quiet! Teacher, I'm watching Seungwoo right now.”

Teacher Choi tried to stop Mirae, but she shouted loudly like a frog.

“Oh, teacher! I saw Seungwoo eating jelly earlier. The jelly got stuck in his throat!”

Imihyang's mind snapped to attention at Mirae's words.

Ah, the jelly got stuck in his throat.

That's right. There was jelly during snack time.

That's why he couldn't speak! I must have been too flustered.

“Seungwoo, spit it out quickly! I'll help you.”

Imihyang firmly patted Seungwoo's back.

* * *

‘This can't go on. He won't last until the ambulance arrives...’

I bit my lip and shook my head from side to side.

When I followed the children who were rushing to the bathroom, I saw Seungwoo hitting his chest in pain.

The fact that there was jelly during snack time.

Judging by his difficulty in speaking, it was clear that the jelly Seungwoo had eaten hastily was stuck in his airway.

So I lied.

I said I saw Seungwoo eating jelly.

Hearing my words, Imihyang was vigorously patting Seungwoo's back.

Of course, Imihyang wasn't at fault.

When a child is struggling to breathe right in front of you, it's common to miss even simple facts.

Coincidentally, Seungwoo was the child who had picked a fight with me earlier.

I didn't particularly dislike Seungwoo.

After observing him, I didn't think he was a bad person.

He seemed to have felt a bit of jealousy because his favorite friend, Kim Jisun, was playing with me.

What's important now is to save Seungwoo as quickly as possible.

“...”

Seungwoo was gasping in pain, but the jelly didn't come out.

Jelly is a sticky food, so it doesn't easily come out when stuck in the airway.

“Mirae, I told you to stay still! Do you want to see the teacher really get angry?”

Teacher Choi growled, blocking my way as I tried to run into the bathroom.

As a result, my plan to perform the Heimlich maneuver on Seungwoo was foiled.

For a moment, everything went dark.

I was the only one in the kindergarten who knew how to save Seungwoo, and I couldn't do it...

It was maddening.

Of course, I couldn't reveal that I was a thoracic surgeon from a past life.

It was like standing at the edge of a cliff with a tiger chasing you from behind.

“Seungwoo, spit it out quickly!”

Imihyang's urging was just a meaningless echo, dissipating into the air. Seungwoo's condition was worsening.

There were limits to removing the jelly by patting his back.

-Think, Mirae. There must be a way. I need to check the tools I have.

As I was scolding myself, something came to mind.

Why didn't I think of it sooner?

“Teacher, my mom is a nurse...”

“Huh? A nurse?”

Teacher Choi, who had been glaring at me, softened her gaze slightly.

“Yes, my mom said that if food gets stuck in someone's throat, you should put your fist between their chest and stomach and push up hard.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! It's true. She said to help a friend if they're in trouble.”

Glancing at Seungwoo, I answered loudly. Time was running out.

If the golden hour passes, even a great doctor's grandfather couldn't save the patient.

“Since I learned it from my mom, can I do it to Seungwoo?”

The fact that her mother was a nurse and the specific nature of my explanation made Teacher Choi conflicted.

This was the only method I had planned to save Seungwoo.

“No, you can't.”

At Teacher Choi's wall-like response, I frowned.

“Teacher, he'll die if you don't do something!”

“No means no, not that I won't do it. I'll do the procedure, but you're too young.”

“...”

“Teacher Lee, let me take over.”

“Huh?”

“Mirae's mom is a nurse, and I heard the procedure just now. I'll try my best. We need to do something before the 119 team arrives.”

Imihyang and Teacher Choi suddenly passed the baton.

“Mirae, can you repeat the explanation?”

“Put your fist between Seungwoo's chest and stomach and push up hard.”

“Is that right?”

Teacher Choi moved behind Seungwoo and placed her left fist between his navel and chest.

She then firmly gripped her left fist with her right hand.

It was a good stance, considering she had only heard about it. The Heimlich maneuver isn't that difficult, after all.

I couldn't take my eyes off Teacher Choi.

Seungwoo's life was now in her hands.

I was disappointed that I couldn't perform the Heimlich maneuver myself, but from Teacher Choi's perspective, a six-year-old like me would seem unreliable.

For the first time, I resented being only six years old.

“Teacher, push your fist up from that position.”

“I understand. Hah!”

With a shout, Teacher Choi forcefully pushed her fist up.

“Huh!”

Seungwoo's frail body convulsed violently.

“Teacher, do it five times in a row. Check his condition after five times, then do it again and check again.”

“I understand.”

Teacher Choi followed my instructions and attempted the Heimlich maneuver five times in a row.

The procedure was clean, but unfortunately, there was no improvement. Seungwoo was still writhing in pain.

Anxiety made my legs tremble involuntarily.

Sweat trickled down my small palms.

‘Should I use my trump card?’

In cases of airway obstruction, a vacuum cleaner can be used as a suction device.

Remove the head of the vacuum cleaner and insert the nozzle into the patient's mouth.

However, be careful not to suck in the tongue and avoid inserting the nozzle too deep into the throat to prevent vomiting.

‘I could do it, but it's unrealistic to expect kindergarten teachers to do that...’

The last resort was too dangerous.

It wasn't something a kindergartener could do, and the teachers wouldn't accept such an aggressive treatment.

But as the situation became more urgent, my eyes kept drifting to the vacuum cleaner in the living room.

But right at that moment!

“Huh!”

A purple jelly popped out of Seungwoo's throat.

Fortunately, Teacher Choi's Heimlich maneuver worked before I had to use my trump card.

“Haa... Haa... Haa...”

Seungwoo gasped for breath after spitting out the jelly. His pale face gradually regained color.

“Wow! Seungwoo is alive.”

“The teacher saved Seungwoo!”

“Wow, that's amazing!”

The children, who had been watching the situation from behind Imihyang, erupted in cheers.

Teacher Choi, who had performed the Heimlich maneuver, shed tears of disbelief.

Even I, with the heart of a middle-aged person, was moved.

Saving a life is a heartwarming and indescribably touching experience.

Wasn't it because of my late father that I dreamed of becoming a thoracic surgeon?

I wanted to reduce the number of people who leave this world pointlessly, just like my father.

After emerging from the emotional turmoil, I approached Seungwoo, who was struggling to breathe.

The child, who had been on the brink of death, had eyes filled with fear.

How terrifying and anxious it must have been for a six-year-old to suddenly be unable to breathe.

Even though his life was saved, today's incident would likely be a lifelong trauma for Seungwoo.

“It's okay. You can relax now.”

I gently patted Seungwoo's shoulder.

“Mom...”

Seungwoo clung to me and cried bitterly, and I held him like my own child.

* * *

Wheee!

Wheee!

The urgent siren echoed through the residential alley.

Curious residents opened their windows to peek at the ambulance.

“A child was hitting his chest and couldn't breathe, you said? Where is the child?”

Emergency medical technician Jang Tae-seok rushed into the kindergarten without taking off his shoes.

He had responded immediately upon receiving the call, but it took ten minutes to arrive due to traffic.

The thought that the child might already be dead made his mind go blank.

“Well... somehow it was resolved.”

A teacher with a name tag reading "Choi Jin-hee" reported the situation at the entrance.

“What do you mean?”

“It turns out the child had eaten jelly, which got stuck in his throat. At first, we patted his back.

“Yes.”

“There was a child whose mother is a nurse, and she taught us the emergency procedure. We followed her instructions, and the jelly popped out.”

“What emergency procedure are you talking about?”

“Like this, turning around and pushing up the abdomen.”

Watching Choi Jin-hee demonstrate, Jang Tae-seok recognized it as the Heimlich maneuver.

Developed in 1974, the Heimlich maneuver was not widely known by the general public.

It was known mainly by emergency medical technicians and medical professionals, not yet popularized.

“Heaven must have been on our side. There was a child with a nurse for a mother, and that child knew the Heimlich maneuver...”

“Heim... what?”

“It's called the Heimlich maneuver, which means pushing up the abdomen.”

“I see. Pushing up the abdomen.”

“So, is the child okay now?”

“Yes, he's resting well now.”

Relieved, Jang Tae-seok sighed. Suddenly, the weight of the first aid kit in his hand felt as light as a feather.

While it was a common occurrence, airway obstruction was not a trivial matter.

Sometimes, it required aggressive interventions like intubation or even a cricothyrotomy.

“Can I see the child who was affected? I need to check his condition.”

“Of course.”

Jang Tae-seok finally took off his shoes and followed Choi Jin-hee to the child.

A tall child was sobbing beside a smaller child with bright eyes.

The tall one was Seungwoo, and the smaller one was Mirae, whose mother is a nurse.

“Kid, how are you feeling? Any pain?”

Seungwoo nodded silently. Jang Tae-seok approached Seungwoo, asked him to open his mouth, and examined his throat with a penlight.

His throat was fine.

If it weren't, the child wouldn't have survived.

“Is breathing still difficult?”

“...It's okay now.”

“In the future, be careful when eating jelly or rice cakes. If they get stuck in your throat, you'll suffer like today.”

“Yes, I won't eat jelly anymore.”

“Good. By the way, you're the child whose mother is a nurse, right?”

“Yes.”

Mirae looked up at him.

Unlike the innocent and pure eyes of other children, Mirae's eyes exuded a seasoned aura.

The word "clever" spontaneously came to mind.

“How did you know about the Heimlich maneuver, which involves pushing the abdomen?”

“My mom is a nurse and taught me. She said to do it if a friend is in trouble.”

“So, you remembered it well after seeing it once. That's quite impressive for your age.”

Jang Tae-seok marveled.

For a kindergartener to remember the Heimlich maneuver after seeing it once and accurately explain it to an adult was not a common occurrence.

Saving the child with airway obstruction might have been due to Mirae rather than the kindergarten teacher.

“I want to become a great doctor when I grow up, so I memorized it well.”

“Smart kid. You'll definitely become a great doctor. I guarantee it.”

“Making guarantees isn't a good thing.”

“Do you know what a guarantee is, kid?”

“Yes, making guarantees isn't good.”

“What I meant by guarantee is different.”

“I know that too.”

Mirae smiled, as if it was a joke. She was indeed an extraordinary child.

“Anyway, thanks to you, I didn't have to work hard. Thank you.”

After patting Mirae's head, Jang Tae-seok informed the kindergarten teachers that Seungwoo was fine and left the kindergarten.

His steps felt light.

“Why are you alone, senior? What about the child?”

His junior, who was unfolding the stretcher, looked at him with wide eyes.

“He's fine. Fold the stretcher.”

“But if he's fine, why was it reported?”

“No, to be precise, he wasn't fine but is now. It was an incredible situation.”

Jang Tae-seok relayed the story he heard from the kindergarten teacher to his junior, who was equally amazed.

“Wow! A kindergartener remembered the Heimlich maneuver? That's unbelievable!”

“Exactly. That's why the world is so unpredictable. This time, it was a good thing.”

Jang Tae-seok and his junior returned to the ambulance and headed back to the control room.

He would meet Mirae again much later.