Taeho looked around. He needed a first-aid kit…
“Does anyone have a first-aid kit in their car?”
A woman raised her hand.
“I have one in my car!”
“Please bring it. And clean towels or a blanket, too.”
Taeho’s voice was calm and clear. Anna’s husband, on the other hand, was clutching his wife’s hand and crying.
“Anna! Anna! Are you okay? Oh, please! How could this happen?”
“Sir, please calm down.”
Taking the first-aid kit the woman brought, Taeho quickly checked its contents. It contained bandages, gauze, disinfectant, a triangular bandage, and scissors.
First, Taeho took the blanket and propped it behind Anna’s right side, tilting her body fifteen degrees.
“Anna, this position is better for the baby. It reduces pressure on the uterine veins.”
“I think… it feels a little more comfortable.”
Almost immediately, Anna’s breathing eased slightly.
Next was stopping the bleeding.
Taeho pressed gauze against the laceration on Anna’s forehead.
“Sir, press down hard on this. You need to press firmly.”
“Yes. Yes! Like this?”
The husband’s hands were trembling badly. Taeho took his hands and showed him the exact spot and the amount of pressure.
“Like this. Keep maintaining that pressure.”
Next came preventing shock.
He tried to check the leg trapped beneath the dashboard, but the car was so badly crushed that it was impossible to move her.
“Anna, can you feel your legs?”
“I… I don’t know. It hurts so much.”
‘There’s a high chance of vascular damage. We need hydraulic cutters.’
Given the car’s structure, it was difficult to elevate her legs, but he had to help circulation as much as possible.
“Sir, do you know where the driver’s seat adjustment lever is?”
“What? The seat? The seat.”
The husband was still in a state of confusion.
Taeho leaned into the driver’s side himself. He felt around under the seat and found the lever. It had been slightly bent in the collision, but fortunately, it still worked.
Click.
When he pulled the lever, the seat slid back a little. It was only about five centimeters, but it created even a small amount of space around Anna’s legs.
“Anna, how is it? Is that a little better?”
“Ah… I think it hurts a little less.”
“Anna, can you try moving your toes now?”
Anna concentrated and tried to move her toes.
“They… they’re moving a little, I think.”
“Excellent. That’s a good sign.”
Anna’s husband asked again.
“Doctor, my wife is going to be okay, right? What about the baby? Is the baby okay?”
“Sir, I’m doing everything I can right now, so please calm down.”
Taeho muttered in Korean.
“Rema, the patient’s pulse?”
—It has increased to 125 beats per minute.
There was no time. In this condition, she needed to reach an operating room within fifteen minutes.
“Sir, what is your wife’s blood type?”
“Type A… no, B? Ah, right, A! Type A, RH positive!”
Taeho asked Rema.
“How far is the nearest hospital?”
—The estimated distance to Geneva University Hospital is twelve minutes by ambulance. However, considering the time needed to extract her from the vehicle, you should expect twenty minutes.
‘That’s too long.’
Taeho checked Anna’s level of consciousness. Her pupils were reacting, but her responses had slowed. It could be an early sign of increased intracranial pressure.
“Anna! Look at me. Open your eyes and look at me!”
“Yes. I’m… looking.”
“Anna, you can’t lose consciousness. Keep talking to me. Have you chosen a name for the baby?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“…”
When Anna did not respond, her husband suddenly shouted.
“Anna! Why aren’t you answering? Anna!”
“Sir, don’t raise your voice. It puts stress on your wife.”
Taeho spoke firmly.
“Anna! What’s the baby’s name?”
“Max.”
“That’s a good name. Max is waiting for his mom. So you mustn’t let go.”
Taeho instructed her husband to keep talking to her while he continuously checked Anna’s pulse.
It rose to 130 beats per minute. Compensatory tachycardia was progressing.
“Doctor, will the baby be okay? Our baby isn’t going to die, is he?”
Her husband asked with a tear-soaked face.
“He’ll be all right. We’ll go to the hospital soon and check properly.”
Taeho gently lifted Anna’s chin to secure her airway. Her breathing was becoming shallow.
‘Her oxygen saturation is dropping.’
Just then, Anna began to retch.
“Ugh, I think I’m going to throw up…”
Taeho quickly turned Anna’s head to the side. If she lost consciousness and vomited, she could suffocate from airway obstruction.
“Vomit slowly. It’s all right.”
Seeing that, her husband fell into a panic.
“Why is she throwing up? Anna, why are you throwing up? Doctor, is this normal?”
“This is a natural response to increased intracranial pressure. I’m handling it.”
The ambulance siren grew closer and closer. Taeho checked the fetus one last time.
He placed his hand on her abdomen and focused for one minute. He could barely feel any fetal movement.
There was not much of the golden time left.
“Anna, the ambulance will be here soon. Hold on just a little longer. Trust me and don’t lose consciousness until the end.”
“Yes…”
The smell of gasoline grew stronger.
“Everyone, absolutely no smoking anywhere near here! It looks like gasoline is leaking!”
Taeho looked around, searching for the source of the fuel leak. Gasoline was seeping onto the ground beneath the fourth vehicle, which had been badly crushed in the accident.
“Everyone, please move back at least twenty meters! It’s dangerous!”
When Taeho shouted, the crowd quickly retreated. But the patient trapped in the car with a cervical spine injury, and Anna, the pregnant woman, could not move.
At that moment, the first ambulance arrived. Swiss paramedics in blue uniforms hurriedly jumped out.
“I’m Dr. Kang Taeho. There’s a critical patient first, so bring the hydraulic cutters.”
“Prepare vehicle cutting equipment!”
As the cutting work began, Taeho explained in fluent English.
“I’ll brief you on the patient’s condition.”
The rescue team leader immediately began taking notes.
“I’ll start with the most critical patient. Thirty-eight weeks pregnant, abdominal crush injury and a three-centimeter laceration on the forehead, hemorrhagic shock progressing to stage two. Placental abruption is strongly suspected, and fetal distress is certain due to decreased fetal heart rate. Current blood pressure is 85 over 50, pulse 135, conscious but responses are steadily slowing. Blood type A, RH positive. She must be transported to a trauma center capable of immediate emergency C-section.”
“Understood.”
The rescue team leader, impressed by the skilled briefing, moved at once.
Taeho went back to Anna.
“Anna, hold on just a little longer.”
“Doctor. The baby… Will the baby be okay?”
Taeho quickly checked the fetal heartbeat with the portable fetal Doppler the paramedic had brought.
“Fetal bradycardia is occurring. Ten minutes of golden time left. Hurry!”
Once the metal cutting was finished, Taeho immediately examined Anna’s legs with care. There was no major vascular damage, but swelling and muscle damage from severe compression were evident.
As Anna was transferred onto the stretcher, Taeho asked the paramedic.
“Are you going to Geneva University Hospital? It needs to be a hospital with both a trauma center and obstetrics facilities.”
“Yes, we’ll go to Geneva University Hospital. Doctor, will you accompany us?”
“Doctor. You’re coming with us, aren’t you?”
Anna’s husband stared at him with wide eyes, pleading.
Just then, Sarah urgently pushed through the crowd and ran over.
“Dr. Kang! There you are! The awards ceremony has started. You have to go right now!”
“Sarah, I’m sorry. I can’t go right now. The patient is critical.”
“But…”
Taeho climbed into the ambulance with them. Inside the moving vehicle, Anna’s condition was worsening.
“Blood pressure has dropped to 75 over 45! IV fluids are running at maximum speed.”
Suddenly, Anna cried out, complaining of excruciating abdominal pain.
“Aaah! It hurts so much! The baby… I think the baby is coming!”
“Oh! Please… Please, Anna.”
Anna’s husband gripped her hand tightly, terrified.
When Taeho put on gloves and palpated her, her uterus had hardened like stone.
“The placental abruption has worsened! Uterine tone is extremely high! Notify the hospital immediately.”
The paramedic hurriedly grabbed the radio and contacted the hospital.
“Geneva University Hospital, emergency! Thirty-eight-week pregnant patient, emergency C-section required due to severe placental abruption. Arrival in ten minutes.”
Taeho reassured Anna in as calm a voice as possible.
“Anna, we’re almost at the hospital. They should already have surgery prepared. Hang in there just a little longer. I’m right beside you.”
The moment Anna tried to nod, she screamed again and writhed violently.
“Aaaah! It feels like something burst!”
Taeho immediately checked Anna’s condition. Her amniotic sac had ruptured, and blood-tinged amniotic fluid was flowing out.
“Anna!”
Her husband was gasping in terror.
“Ruptured membranes with increased bleeding! Notify the hospital immediately that delivery is underway. The obstetrics team needs to be ready!”
The paramedic quickly contacted them by radio.
Anna let out another violent scream.
“The baby is coming! I think he’s coming out!”
Taeho calmly assessed the delivery situation. The cervix was fully dilated, and the baby’s head was already visible.
‘We have no choice but to deliver here.’
Taeho looked steadily into Anna’s eyes and spoke calmly.
“Anna, stay calm and listen to me. Breathe slowly and follow me. In, in, out, out. Good, just like that. Sir, you help calm the mother, too.”
Her husband tried to soothe his wife in a trembling voice.
Taeho positioned himself to receive the baby’s head.
The moment he carefully supported the baby’s head—
Damn it!
He froze for an instant.
A bluish-purple umbilical cord was wrapped once around the baby’s neck.
A nuchal cord.
It was one of the emergency situations that had to be handled with the utmost care during delivery.
His heart rate quickened. If the umbilical cord tightened too much, the baby’s oxygen supply could be cut off.
“The umbilical cord is wrapped around the neck.”
Taeho deliberately kept his voice low and calm. If the mother or her husband panicked, the situation could worsen.
Anna’s husband’s eyes bulged.
“Then what…”
“I’ll loosen it slowly.”
Taeho first checked the tension of the cord. Fortunately, it was a loose nuchal cord. If it had been too tight, he would have had to cut it immediately.
‘Slowly… Don’t put stress on the baby.’
Taeho safely supported the baby’s head with his left hand, then carefully slid the index and middle fingers of his right hand beneath the cord. He felt the moist, slippery umbilical cord.
“Anna, stop pushing for a moment. The baby is trying to come out, so don’t push too quickly.”
Taeho’s fingers went fully between the umbilical cord and the baby’s neck. The baby’s skin was warm and soft.
Now came the most crucial moment.
He slowly lifted the cord upward toward the back of the baby’s head.
He focused with extreme concentration.
Just a little… just a little more…
At last, the cord slipped completely over the baby’s head.
Taeho let out a sigh of relief.
They had safely passed the most dangerous moment.
“It’s done. The cord is completely free.”
The baby’s face also began to take on a slightly pinker color. Oxygen was flowing properly again.
“Anna, it’s all right now. Push again. The baby wants to come out.”
While continuing to support the baby’s head with his left hand, Taeho checked the condition of the cord with his right. Careful not to let it wrap around the neck again, he helped the baby’s shoulders emerge.
“Now, push. Push slowly!”
“Uuuugh!”
“Anna, it’s almost over. Push harder!”
“Ugh!”
The baby’s entire body slid into Taeho’s hands. Taeho safely cradled the baby with both hands.
But the baby did not cry.
For an instant, silence fell over the inside of the ambulance.