One Day, Long Ago Chapter 33

Song for this chapter// Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur

“I’ll wake you up with some breakfast in bed. I’ll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head. And I’ll thank my lucky stars for that night. Just say you won’t let go.”~ James Arthur

4 Years Later…

Eun Bi’s POV

“This was left for you at the counter.” A nurse peeked into the interns’ lounge, handing me the bag. I was waken from my light slumber at the nurse’s voice. Somnolently, I staggered up from the bottom of the bunker bed to greet the nurse and take my belongings.

“Oh. Thank you.” I accepted the bag, which I then opened to see that it was a change of clothes. I haven’t been able to go home for three nights, due to the emergency room rounds the resident likes to take the interns on. As of right now my fellows and I were trying to get some sleep in before our internship director came in to wake us up for our midnight rounds.

“Wake up! Wake up! Didn’t you hear me I said wake up! Get your butts out of bed and into the ER right now!” Our director’s orders were broadcasted from a phone.

“Did you seriously have to put that on speaker? Ugh.” Hae Soo, a fellow intern groaned as she forced herself out of bed and tied her sneakers together. We made our way into the emergency room and checked in at the counter for any psych patient cases. Hae Soo was skimming through the charts when something else caught my attention.

“Please help me. Please…”

“Are you alright?” I approached the young girl, who appeared to be around seventeen years old. Externally she appeared to be in normal shape with no blood spots on her or any discernable injuries.

“I…I tried to hurt myself, but I knew that shouldn’t… so I came here… Can you please help me?” The young girl’s voice cracked as she dropped her chin to floor in shame of what she almost done to herself. Recollecting my composure, I grabbed her hands and looked her straight in the eye.

“I’ll help you. You’re going to be alright. You’re going to be alright…” I assured her while I suppressed my rising emotions just like the tears that were starting to swell from her candid confession.

Seeing patients like her reminded me of my old self. Sometimes it hit me like a truck when hearing about the events that incited their symptoms or how long they kept it hidden. I empathized greatly with their struggles and experiences that it became emotionally difficult for me to take on the stance as a doctor sometimes. However the one thing that provided me comfort was seeing their progress and recovery.

“Bed 26. A young man has been admitted and diagnosed with psychosis. Dr. Kim is going to be his main doctor. What are the symptoms of psychosis?” Our resident director was quick to quiz us.

“Hallucinations and delusions that impair the reality of psychosis patients.” I stated rapidly before the rest of my fellows could jump to it.

“That is correct. Now follow me.” The resident director gave me a slight nod at my answer and then beckoned us to follow him to his rounds. Although what I just recited was the medical definition of psychosis, in fact my perspective on psychosis patients was that their delusions shielded them from the harsh reality that threatened them or represented the threats that lingered around. Often times, some patients relay that they see horrendous and grim figures around them or abstract, beautiful images. Some patients simply see things that just aren’t there. But nonetheless all patients require treatment in order to combat their hallucinations.

Although there has been an high increase in walk in patients, who are simply wanting to receive help through counseling, there has also been many cases where I witnessed insular family members refusing treatment by insolently insisting that their loved one was sane. Within this hospital there was no such as sane or insane. In here everyone is all struggling with something. And that was normal.

The keys jingled, as the door was swung open. My body was utterly exhausted from not having proper amounts of sleep and I deeply missed my spot on the bed. Not even bothering to flick the lights on, I took off my shoes in the unlit corridor and trudged down the hall into the bedroom. I softly groaned out of exhaustion as I changed into my pajamas and finally crawled underneath the covers. The comfort of my bed was quick to alleviate my tired state. Then his arms pulled me into his chest, allowing me to fall asleep within his embrace.

Another morning and then another day commenced. With a quick kiss on his lips, I left our flat in a hurry in order to make it in time to the hospital. It was a pleasant surprise when it happened to be Dr. Ji that bumped into me in the hall. It became rare for me to see her these days due to my hectic intern schedules as well as her sporadic attendance since she was now pregnant with her first child.

“How’s the internship for you?” Like always Dr. Ji asked the first question.

“It’s been going well. It is very tiring, but I’m getting u