A competent doctor can cure everything

“At first, we suspected ‘Spleen and Stomach Qi Deficiency’ and prescribed ‘Samryeong Baekchulsan’, didn’t we? It’s clear that the symptoms of ‘Spleen and Stomach Qi Deficiency’ are improving.”

“That’s true. The patient’s complexion, which used to be sallow, has improved, and so has their digestive function.”

Thus, Professor So Cheong-yeon assumed that the diagnosis of ‘Spleen and Stomach Qi Deficiency’ had been correct.

“Of course, when a single pattern persists for a long time, it can provoke the emergence of other patterns. However, if that were the case with Morgan, some of the other symptoms should have improved as well.”

In other words, it’s possible that ‘Spleen and Stomach Qi Deficiency’ had lasted so long that it caused the emergence of symptoms from other diagnostic patterns.

“But so far, observing the patient, the symptoms of ‘Stomach Qi Deficiency’, such as dry skin or hard stools, have not improved. And since the root cause of the patient’s stress hasn’t been resolved, ‘Liver Qi Invading the Stomach’ likely remains the same.”

“Then are you saying that the diagnosis isn’t ‘Spleen and Stomach Qi Deficiency’?”

At the professor’s puzzled remark, the attending physician, Seon-Joon, nodded and concluded:

“It seems that patient Morgan is suffering from a condition where multiple diagnostic patterns are intermingled. From the beginning, the answer wasn’t one of the three—it was all three of them.”

“An intermingled condition of three diagnostic patterns…?”

An intermingled condition refers to a state where multiple diagnostic patterns coexist. It is more complex to diagnose and treat compared to a single pattern.

At first glance, even patterns that appear contradictory can exist in an intermingled state.

For example, a condition of deficiency (Deficiency Syndrome) and an acute condition of excess (Excess Syndrome) can coexist.

In such cases, it is referred to as a ‘Mixed Deficiency and Excess Syndrome’.

“I see… If that’s the case, while it’s not easy to diagnose, it’s not unreasonable either.”

Professor So rubbed his chin and fell deep into thought. He had been debating which of the three it might be, only to find out that the answer was “all of them.”

The shift in perspective that the resident had proposed seemed more plausible the more he considered it.

“Well, that’s quite an ingenious and bold idea. But it’s also a high-risk plan. Changing the treatment approach when it’s already showing results?”

Professor So spoke with a mix of emotions.

If they continued with the current treatment, they could achieve decent results.

However, changing the treatment approach could lead to either great success or complete failure.

“If it were me, I would have maintained the current treatment for at least a week and then only changed the prescription if no progress was observed. But are you sure about skipping that process? The patient’s guardian likely has high expectations for results, especially with an extended hospital stay.”

However, the attending physician’s gaze remained unwavering.

“Yes, I am confident. I will modify the prescription to include ‘Sagunjatang’ with additions of ‘Shihu’, ‘Sasam’, and ‘Chaihu’. I will also add ‘Malt’ to aid digestion.”

‘Samryeong Baekchulsan’ is an effective medicine for weak appetite caused by deficiency.

But to address all three diagnostic patterns, it was necessary to carefully select only the essential herbs.

Throwing in every possible herb just because they’re beneficial could result in an ineffective mishmash.

“‘Sagunjatang’ is indeed the fundamental prescription for ‘Qi Deficiency’.”

Moreover, the prescription contains only four main ingredients: ‘Ginseng’, ‘Atractylodes’, ‘Poria’, and ‘Licorice’.

Compared to ‘Samryeong Baekchulsan’, which is composed of ten different herbs, it is remarkably simple.

Since ‘Spleen and Stomach Qi Deficiency’ is a type of ‘Qi Deficiency’, the use of ‘Sagunjatang’ is appropriate.

‘A clever idea. By using ‘Sagunjatang’ as the base, the number of herbs can be significantly reduced.’

To this, the plan includes ‘Shihu’ and ‘Sasam’, which are representative tonics for nourishing Qi to treat ‘Stomach Qi Deficiency’.

Additionally, ‘Chaihu’, known for its anti-stress effects, is included to address ‘Liver Qi Invading the Stomach’.

‘Maia’, sprouted barley that aids digestion, is also added.

“Good. Let’s go with that. If it were any other attending physician, I’d have dismissed the idea right away, but oddly enough, I trust Dr. Seon when he says he’s confident.”

Professor So Cheong-yeon readily approved.

Perhaps it was due to the countless instances of competence Seon-Joon had shown so far.

Although the plan seemed risky, the professor felt strangely unconcerned.

—

Morgan’s guardian decided to extend his hospital stay.

Although a private room had become available, they chose to keep Morgan in the shared room, where many people were fond of him.

‘At first, I felt uneasy about changing the treatment plan.’

Why change the medication when it’s already showing results?

Wouldn’t it be better to continue with the same treatment?

However, Morgan’s mother was soon convinced by the attending physician’s explanation.

“Morgan’s case is complex, with multiple diagnostic patterns mixed together. Therefore, we plan to adjust the herbal medicine accordingly.”

Though the explanation was difficult to fully understand, she accepted it nonetheless.

The attending physician explained everything as simply as possible, and Morgan’s mother decided to trust and wait.

A few days passed.

“This is truly amazing.”

Every mealtime, Morgan’s mother couldn’t help but express her amazement.

After changing the prescription, the treatment progressed at an astonishing pace, as if it had sprouted wings.

Morgan no longer refused to eat or kept the food in his mouth without swallowing.

Meals were now finished in just about 30 minutes, which thrilled his mother.

“Oh my, the baby’s complexion has really improved.”

“He eats so well now; it’s a blessing.”

Even other patients around them commented on Morgan’s visible improvement with each passing day.

Morgan’s score on the ‘Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ)’, a tool to evaluate children’s eating habits, had risen to the 90s.

Though the attending physician, aiming for a perfect 100, still seemed unsatisfied.

‘Come to think of it, since being hospitalized, Morgan hasn’t complained about a stomachache even once.’

Morgan’s mother smiled brightly, relieved and grateful for the treatment.

But almost as if to tease her optimism, Morgan suddenly complained of abdominal pain that very night after a long time without issues.

“Mom, my tummy hurts.”

Morgan woke up crying and whining repeatedly.

“That’s strange. This medicine is supposed to be very effective for abdominal pain.”

Unfortunately, it was the one day Dr. Seon-Joon, the attending physician, wasn’t available.

The on-call doctor did their best, spending hours trying to comfort Morgan.

However, the herbal powder prescribed by the on-call doctor didn’t help at all.

“Hello, Doctor? I’m so sorry to bother you so late at night.”

In the end, with a heavy heart, Morgan’s mother called the attending physician.

Shortly after ending the call, the attending physician quickly appeared in person.

Despite the late hour, Morgan’s mother was slightly surprised to see the attending physician looking as composed and immaculate as ever.

“I’m sorry, Doctor.”

“It’s no problem. I checked the chart, and it seems the granule form of ‘Jakyak Gamcho Tang’ didn’t work.”

Softening his tone, the attending physician bent down to speak to the child.

“Morgan, where does it hurt?”

“Here….”

Morgan placed his small hand on his lower abdomen.

“He just had diarrhea, and it looked like the food wasn’t digested properly—it came out as it was.”

“Hmm. Morgan’s palms are clammy with sweat. Does he often wake up crying about a stomachache?”

“Now that you mention it… I think so. He would wake up, say his stomach hurt, and struggle to fall back asleep for a long time.”

Hearing this, the attending physician nodded, as if understanding the situation.

“I’ll switch to a different granule medicine and administer it. I’ll also do acupuncture and moxibustion on his abdomen. Let’s move to the treatment room bed to avoid disturbing the other patients’ sleep.”

Following the physician, they went to a small room behind the ward station, where a single bed was set up.

After Morgan took the herbal medicine and lay on the bed, the physician applied acupuncture and moxibustion to his abdomen.

“Ah….”

About 15 minutes passed as the needles stayed in place. Gradually, the child’s face smoothed into a look of peace.

Morgan’s mother let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ll remove the needles now.”

The attending physician brought over a stainless-steel container and disposed of the needles.

The clear sound of the needles clinking against the container rang out sharply.

At that moment, Morgan laughed brightly, as if he had never been in pain.

“Morgan, is this funny to you?”

The physician chuckled at the child’s innocence, disappeared somewhere briefly, and returned with something in his hands.

“…?”

Morgan’s mother looked a little confused.

The doctor had brought in a tray holding cups filled with varying levels of water.

When he gently tapped the cups, each produced a different tone.

“Morgan, do you hear how the sounds are all different?”

“Yes, it’s amazing!”

“How’s your tummy now?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Morgan, who usually showed little interest even in expensive toys, was now beaming as he joyfully tapped the cups with the doctor.

To think he could laugh so happily and find such delight in something so simple.

“Doctor, I can’t thank you enough for coming here so late at night.”

♫♪–.

As she sincerely expressed her gratitude, a melody caught Morgan’s mother’s attention.

The familiar tune made her abruptly turn her head in surprise.

Morgan was tapping the cups and singing.

“Mom, Dad loves Morgan~.”

“!!”

It was a song her husband used to make up and sing when Morgan was younger.

He often improvised silly songs with random melodies and lyrics.

Of course, that story no longer applied to the present, where they were too busy to even have proper conversations.

“Morgan… do you remember that?”

The child quietly nodded.

Morgan’s mother felt a lump in her throat and stared blankly at her child, overwhelmed with emotion.

The attending physician, who had been observing the entire scene, cleared his throat.

“This might be presumptuous of me, but the remainder of Morgan’s treatment should take place at home.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I prescribed two types of powdered herbal medicine for you. The first is ‘Jakyak Gamcho Tang’, which is effective for general abdominal pain. The second is ‘Gyejigayonggolmoryo Tang’, which is aimed at calming the mind and body. The undigested diarrhea, sweating, insomnia, and stiff lower abdominal pain are all symptoms that align with ‘Gye-yong-mo.’”

“…!”

“This makes it clear to me—psychological factors play a significant role in Morgan’s loss of appetite and abdominal pain. While we can provide herbal medicine to alleviate his stress, removing the root cause of that stress is a task for you, the guardians.”

Morgan’s mother noticed the physician’s deliberate use of the plural “guardians.”

“……”

Morgan fell asleep shortly after returning to his room, but his mother’s mind was racing with thoughts.

She checked the messenger app that displayed whether users were online, and saw that her husband was still awake.

Feeling an impulse, she stepped out of the hospital room and made a call.

Soon, her husband answered with a tired voice.

“What’s going on?”

“What are you doing?”

“Working overtime at the office.”

“What about after work tomorrow?”

“A company dinner.”

Pressing her weary eyelids with her fingers, Morgan’s mother continued.

“Morgan had a stomachache tonight.”

“Again?”

“But the attending physician said the cause might be within our home. What do you think?”

“……”

Her husband was silent for a long time before speaking in an exhausted tone.

“Look, honey. You know I’m tired too, but I’m enduring it for our family’s sake.”

“For the family?”

“Yeah. To make a lot of money, buy a nice house, and get Morgan good toys.”

“And then what?”

“……”

“What’s the point of having a nice house if there’s no husband to share it with? What’s the point of toys if there’s no dad to play with?”

She felt a lump of emotion rise in her throat.

“Do you know what Morgan just did?”

“What did he do?”

She hummed the tune she had just heard.

“He remembered this song. And he said he wants to hear you sing it to him.”

“…!”

“Honey, we need ‘you’. Not your money or anything else. Just ‘you’.”

Morgan’s mother whispered her confession and hung up.

The next evening.

“?”

She froze in place, stunned by what she saw.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Her husband had come to the hospital unannounced.

In his hand was a plastic bag with “Sun and Moon Snacks” written on it.

“Daddy!!”

“Honey! What about the company dinner?”

“I told them I couldn’t go because I had something more important to do.”

Morgan’s eyes sparkled as if he’d just received a big present, and he ran to his father, throwing his arms around him.

As he patted his son’s head, the husband held up the bag to his wife.

“Have you eaten? I figured hospital food must be getting tiresome, so I brought some food.”

“…No, I haven’t eaten yet.”

Morgan’s mother held back tears and smiled brightly.

It was the first family meal they’d had together in a long time.

Tteokbokki, kimbap, and fried snacks were laid out appetizingly.

“Oh?”

As she picked up a piece of kimbap with her chopsticks, Morgan’s mother tilted her head in curiosity.

The kimbap was missing its pickled radish.

“The kimbap doesn’t have pickled radish.”

“Yeah. You don’t like pickled radish, remember?”

“…You remembered that?”

As his wife murmured, her husband looked at her as if she were saying something odd.

“Of course. How many years have we been together?”

Putting a piece of kimbap into her mouth, Morgan’s mother smiled softly.

“It’s all so rosy.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

The husband turned his attention to Morgan, who was happily eating kimbap on his own.

“Wow, is this really our Morgan? Look how well he’s eating!”

“Hehe.”

“Well… it’s all thanks to the attending physician. He’s truly incredible.”

His wife smiled warmly, looking at the two most important men in her life.