Doctor John Episode 25-26 Recap
Yo Han remembers promising Gi Seok (during the previous surgery) that he will do his best to help Go Seok to battle this disease.
At present Yo Han tells Gi Seok that he will give it his best and asks GI Seok to stay strong. Gi Seok’s voiceover says, “Okay I’ll stay strong. Help me”.
Si Young looks at Yo Han who looks empty.
Son is on the phone with Eun Jeong who hangs up after saying she will report Yo Han herself. She says no CIPA patient should be allowed to treat patients. Son watches the program on TV where the reporter asks Yo Han what he has to say to the patients suffering from pain. Yo Han says he has nothing to say. He says he has nothing to say to console their pain but he will do his best to get rid off and reduce the pain they have. Son switches off the television and runs his finger over his ring.
Yoo Joon returns with Gi Seok’s test results. He says galactomannan value has to be over 0.5 to be considered positive and he got 0.6.
Yo Han walks out of the room and he receives a call.
Yo Han walks to the rooftop where Son is waiting for him. Son says Yo Han had told him that he will leave it to his patients to judge what kind of doctor he is. He says Yo Han can break his bones, cut his flesh, get a burn or suffer from frostbite but still not feel pain. He asks how it will be possible for Yo Han to understand his patients. He asks if that is why it was that easy for Yo Han to euthanize someone. He asks if Yo Han studies pain while not feeling it.
Son says it is too late to hold a retrial but he will question Yo Han’s qualifications as a doctor on whether he has a right to treat patients or not. Yo Han asks if Son is done talking. He says he has to get going, as he is busy.
Yo Han walks away but Son calls his name. Yo Han is fuming as he walks towards Son. Yo Han asks why Son had come to see him when he found out about the illness despite thinking Yo Han doesn’t deserve to treat patients. He asks if Son wanted to check if Yo Han was honest or hypocritical. Yo Han is firm as he reiterates that his patients are the only ones who have the right to decide whether he is qualified or not.
Son asks if Yo Han is confident that his patients will continue to trust him without feeling betrayed when they find out about him. Yo Han says that even now a patient is unconscious in his bed. He says that saving him is important to him. Yo Han walks away but Son blocks his way.
Son asks how Yo Han is acquainted with Lee Won Gil.
Meanwhile, Si Young browses through Gi Seoks photos on his phone. She rushes into his room after she notices something. She calls Yo Han who comes running inside to see Gi Seok has his eyes open. Si Young says she doesn’t know if Gi Seok is conscious or if his eyes are just open. She says she can’t check because he doesn’t react to pain.
Yo Han disinfects his hands and checks Gi Seok’s pupils. He asks Gi Soek if he can hear him. Yo Han realises that GI Seok’s eyeballs are moving. Yo Han walks around the bed and Gi Seok’s eyes follow his movement. Yo Han moves his finger in front of Gi Soek’s eyes and Gi Seok follows his movement.
Yo Han asks Gi Seok to lift his hands or feet but he isn’t able to. Yo Han asks Gi Seok to blink if he can hear him. Gi Seok blinks very slowly.
Yo Han and Si Young look at each other and say in unison, “Locked-In Syndrome.”( Locked-in syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which there is complete paralysis of all voluntary muscles except for the ones that control the movements of the eyes. The person is conscious but can’t react to external stimuli).
Son walks out of the hospital recalling his conversation earlier. Yo Han said he had no idea who Lee Won Gil is. Son asks Yo Han what if there is a drug that allows one to die comfortably in happiness. He asks what if someone wants to allow Yo Han to use the drug.
Yo Han asks how can there be a drug that allows someone to die in happiness. He says life and death aren’t that simple. Yo Han asks if Son feels the urge to die would he actually take that drug and die. Yo Han says even if a person wishes to die, all living beings have an instinct to stay alive up until the very moment they breathe their last breath. He says that is human nature, which doesn’t change that easily and that is why every living being is very pitiful. Yo Han walks away.
Son walks into the parking lot. He sits in his car and is tired as he gets a call from Eun Jeong. She eagerly asks him if Yo Han admitted to it and he says he did. She happily says that all that is left is for Yo Han to lose his medical licence. He says it isn’t enough to make him lose his license but Eun Jeong says he will at least be fired from the hospital. He tells her to calm down and that they have to think about it. He says he has other things on his mind. He hangs up. Eun Jeong is upset.
At the hospital, Yo Han tells Gi Seok’s mother that they have to find the cause of Gi Seok’s locked-in syndrome. He says that the prognoses can be good or bad depending on the cause. Si Young says Gi Seok can communicate through blinking. Yo Han asks if there are any of Gi Seok’s friends whom they could talk regarding this. Gi Seok’s mother says she will call his friend and walks away.
Si Young tells Yo Han to relax as they can try to find the cause now. Seeing that he is disturbed, she asks him what is wrong. Yo Han says it is nothing.
Yo Han watches Gi Seok and recalls asking Dr Shim as to how much time he has left as a doctor.
(Episode 25)
Later, Si Young goes into the meeting room and starts browsing about CIPA. She then opens the Cleveland website. She sees the job description, “We are seeking a highly self-motivated applicant with a strong interest in pain gene research for postdoctoral research fellowship. The researcher will conduct the research that the gene BH14, which is associated with pain and sensitivity and the pattern of NTRK1 gene mutations that have been identified as the cause of congenital analgesia (CIPA).” Si Young notes it down.
It is morning as Yo Han walks into his office. He sees Si Young asleep on the meeting room table. He walks over and puts her doctor gown over her sleeping form. He sees her notes and articles on CIPA spread all over the table.
He pulls up a chair and sits facing her. He then takes a bunch of notes and she wakes up. He asks if she stayed all night. She says she dozed off and asks if he slept. He nods and comments that she has done a lot of studying. She says she found a research team in Cleveland Clinic that is studying pain management with CIPA gene. Yo Han has an odd look on his face. She says they will have more data and material on CIPA. She asks if she should contact them. She asks what is wrong when he doesn’t reply. He smiles slightly saying it is nothing. He asks if he can see her notes and the material. She nods and he takes it.
Meanwhile, Yoo Joon and Gi Seok’s mother have breakfast at the cafeteria. He tells her that she has to be strong for Gi Seok to have the energy to fight. Gi Seok’s mother is teary-eyed as she nods when he says they have made progress. He receives a call from Yo Han.
In Gi Seok’s room, Yoo Joon brings the steroid in front of him and asks Gi Seok if he injected himself with it. He asks Gi Seok to blink once if he did and twice if he didn’t. GI Seok blinks once. Yoo Joon asks if he had gone to any new place other than the gym and Gi Seok blinks once.
Just then, the nurse comes in and unbuttons GI Seok’s hospital gown. Yo Han notices something. He examines Gi Seok and finds skin ulcers on his shoulder.
(Eun Jeong’s exposure)
Just then, they all receive a message from Si Young saying she met with Gi Seok’s friend.
Later at the meeting room, they learn that Gi Seok was assaulted. Mi Rae says he was bullied and dragged to a warehouse where he was beaten up.
In a flashback, we see a group of boys beat Gi Seok while two of them hold his friend. One boy holds out a box cutter and asks GI Seok to stab himself. Gi Seok says he doesn’t do that anymore. They grab him and push him against the shelf and he hits his head. They start beating him up. Gi Seok hurts the base of his skull as he hits a table while he falls.
At present, Yo Han says they should do a CTA (CT angiography is a test that combines a CT scan with an injection of a special dye to produce pictures of blood vessels and tissues in a part of your body. ). Yoo Joon asks if Yo Han suspects something. Yo Han says Vertebral artery dissection (VAD is a flap-like tear of the inner lining of the vertebral artery located in the neck that causes decreased blood flow to the brain.) Yo Joon says that sometimes it shows on the CT a couple of days later and says he will do the test.
After they leave, Yo Han taps his finger and Si Young asks what is the matter. He says that if the vertebral artery is dissected, the prognosis will be very bad. Si Young says they don’t know that for sure and asks him to wait for the result. Si Young gets up and walks out. Yo Han gets up but falls as he is dizzy again. He manages to get up and sits in his chair. He checks his temperature and pops some pills.
Meanwhile, Eun Jeong is in the “Voice of the customers” section on the hospital’s website. She takes a photo of her daughter and looks at it teary-eyed. Just then, another nurse comes in and says that Eun Jeong’s patient is here to see her.
Eun Jeong brings Yoo Ri Hye to the lawn in a wheelchair. Eun Jeong says patients are more cheerful when they are outside and the garden was made by the volunteers. Ri Hye says she can’t smell the flowers but she can hear the birds sing and the breeze blow through the leaves. Min Seong calls them over and they go to him. Eun Jeong watches Min Seong speak with his mother. She smiles as she remembers playing with her daughter. She then remembers her daughter crying behind a wall of fire.
After the results are back, Si Young tells Yo Han that it is not a dissection of vertebral artery and says she is glad it isn’t. Yo Han grabs Gi Seok’s bag and goes through it again. He picks up Gi Seok’s T-shirt and Si Young says there is a footprint mark on it. He notices the mud fall from the footprint. He asks Si-young to find out where the warehouse is.
Meanwhile, Kwon Suk hastily walks into Yo Moon’s office with an unsettled look. He shows Yi Moon the article on their bulletin board. The article is titled, “How could someone who can’t feel pain be a renowned doctor”. Yi Moon wonders what this is.
Chief Min and Jung Kyu also read the article. Jung Kyu says there weren’t any abnormalities when they ran the tests when Yo Han was appointed. Min says tests can’t find out genetic issues. She says they have to ask him directly.
At the pain management centre, nobody seems to believe the post and wonder who would dare to write that. They say it is defamation. Yoo Joon gets serious when Won Hee says Yo Han was behaving oddly when Gi Seok came in for the first time.
Yoo Joon remembers Yo Han taking Gi Seok as his patient instead of sending him to the ER. Yo Han had also walked away when Gi Seok said he felt pain. He remembers Si Young and him taking Yo Han to a different hospital when he was unconscious. Yoo Joon runs out of the room.
Si Young is on the phone trying to find out the location of the warehouse. Yo Joon runs up to her and asks if Yo Han being a CIPA patient is true. Si Young is dumbstruck as she hears this. She runs away leaving Yoo Joon behind.
Si Young runs up the stairs and falls down hurting her hand. She gets up and runs up the stairs again.
Yo Han sits in his room with the muddy T-shirt in his hand. Si Young runs into the room out of breath. He asks her what is wrong and she starts crying as she is unable to speak. Yo Han says Prosecutor Son Seok Ki visited him yesterday and he knew about Yo Han’s illness. As she starts to cry he says that it is okay as he knew that this would happen one day.
Yo Han sees her palm bleeding and asks what happened. He sits her down in his chair and kneels in front of her as he dresses her wound. She sobs reminding him that he promised her that she would be the first to know if anything happened to him. Yo Han wipes away her tears and tells her not to cry.
Later, Lawyer Han rushes into Yo Han’s office and asks if this is true. Yo Han is quiet. Yo Han asks how Han thinks this will unfold. Yo Han receives a call from Chief Min.
Eun Jeong is at her desk reading reporter Ahn’s article about a doctor with CIPA treating patients. She receives a call from Son but she doesn’t take it.
Yi Moon walks into the conference room. Chief Min, Kwon Suk, Jun Kyu are already there. Yo Han walks in followed by Lawyer Han. Yi Moon asks if the content in the bulletin is true.
Si Young is nervous as she waits outside.
Yo Han says it is true.
(Episode 26)
Yo han says it is true that he is a CIPA patient. Kwon Suk laughs in disbelief and calls it a comedy. Joo Kyung says there have been no problems so far. Kwon Suk asks if Yo Han was curious and obsessed about patients with pain. He asks how a person who can’t feel pain treat patients with pain.
Yo Han asks how he can’t. He says the more he observed the more he saw. He says the more he obsessed the more he heard. He says he couldn’t feel their pain but their cries never left him. He asks how could he not care for them.
Lawyer Han says that CIPA is not a lethal contagious disease or a mental ailment like schizophrenia. He says it won’t hamper his work and isn’t a cause for dismissal. Yi Moon says they didn’t say they want to dismiss him. He says they will call a disciplinary committee and discuss what action to take. Yi Moon says Yo Han is excluded from medical duties till then.
Chief Min says that as the Chief of Anaesthesiology and the person who hired Yo Han, she holds herself responsible. She says she will take any punishment. Yi Moon says they will discuss this in the disciplinary committee. Yo Han gets up and says he will accept whatever the decision is but he asks to be allowed to treat Gi Seok. He says he must conclude by finding out the cause for Gi Seok’s condition.
Kwon Suk points out that Yo Han didn’t seem well at the seminar. He says he is in no condition to treat patients. Yi Moon asks if Yo Han is in tiptop shape so as it will not disrupt his duties. Yo Han says it is true that he is unwell and Yi Moon says he won’t allow it. He says Yo Han is excluded from seeing both admitted patients and outpatients until the committee reaches a decision.
The team walk up to Si Young and asks if they are still talking. Yoo Joon and Mi Rae look at Si Young who looks away. The doors open and everyone walks out except Chief Min and Yo Han.
Inside the conference room, Min tells Yo Han that when she met him, he seemed as if he had no tomorrow. She says she thought he was lacking something in life. She says she gets it now. She says no one can cure his illness and he wanted to quench his thirst by treating others. Yo Han says it would be a lie if he said otherwise. Min walks out of the room.
Yo Han steps out to see his team waiting restlessly on the other side of the hall. He walks up to them and asks if they are all in shock. They ask how it went. He says he isn’t allowed to see patients until they decide what to do.
Tears well up in Yoo Joon’s eyes as he says he didn’t know. He says if he had known about it sooner, he would’ve assisted Yo Han in every way possible. Yo Han looks at his team who are teary-eyed as they look down. Si Young looks at Yo Han. Yo Han says he is grateful. He tells them they have no time to waste and they have to find the cause of Gi Seok’s illness.
Si Young nods and says they should work together. She asks if Yo Han remembers Park Jung Bo (Episode 1 patient with Fabry disease). She says they will become his eyes, his hands and his mouth.
Mi Rae says that when father Yu came in (suspected having Nipah virus) they were all in different places but Yo Han led them as a team and diagnosed him. Yoo Joon says they can do this. Yo Han suggests they go and everyone follows him.
Inside the meeting room, Yo Han says if Gi Seok’s skin doesn’t get better, they have to switch to an anti-fungal. He asks them to contact the Division of Infectious Diseases before changing the medication. He says that from today Yoo Joon will be in charge and every prescription has to be confirmed by him. Yo Han asks Yoo Joon to ask him if he needs help and Yoo Joon agrees.
Yo Han reminds them that Gi Seok is a CIPA patient and can’t regulate his body temperature well. He adds that Gi Seok has an infection as well. He asks them to keep an eye on the temperature of the IV fluids and the room. They say he can count on them.
Yo Han says that is all and he gets up. Everyone get up along with him. Yoo Joon doesn’t meet his eye. Yo Han looks at everyone for the last time and walks out. He pauses for a moment outside the room and runs his hand over the board “Doctor’s Room” before walking away.
Si Young receives a message on her phone and she runs out.
She catches up with Yo Han and tells him that she received the address of the warehouse. She says she will go there but Yo Han says that he will go. She says she will go with him. He asks her to stay with Gi Seok. He says he will let her know if he finds anything and she nods slowly. She asks him to be careful as he walks away. He nods slightly and walks away.
Yo han walks out of the hospital and looks up at the bright sun. He shields his eyes with his hand and then removes his hand. Lawyer Han watches Yo Han get into a cab and go away.
Si Young is in Gi Seok’s room and Chief Min walks in. An alarm sounds suddenly and Si Young rushes towards Gi Seok. Min tells them to get the C-Line (Central Venous Catheter). Min says it is sepsis (Injury caused by the body’s response to infection) and instructs them on which medicines to give.
Si-young gets ready to place the C Line and asks Min if he needs more medicine. Min asks her to give another 100 mg of phenylephrine. Min places the C-Line in Si Young’s hands and asks her to focus. Min Stands by Si Young as she places the C-Line in Gi Seok’s chest.
Eun Jeong is gardening when Son walks up to her asking why she did it without asking him. She says she was worried he might not do it (reporting Yo Han). She asks if he was touched by Cha Yo Han. She calls Yo Han a hypocrite who deceived both his patients and the hospital. He says she is talking as if she realised justice by doing that. She says Son and she use different methods for realising justice.
Son says her method is wrong. He then says it was all his fault. He says her anger was facing the wrong direction from the beginning but he failed to stop it.
In a flashback, the police escort Yoo Seong Kyu to revisit the crime scene. Eun Jeong watches from the crowd and Son watches from afar.
(The disciplinary committee)
Eun Jeong watches in shock as Seong Kyu ties a rope around the dummies of the children just like he had done on that day.
In a flashback, Seong Kyu leaves the warehouse after tying the children up. Soon after, one of the electric wires short circuit.
Tears trickle down Son’s eyes as he watches Seong Kyu tie the rope. Eun Jeong starts crying as she hears her daughter’s cries. She cries out and curses Seong Kyu in rage before passing out.
At present, Eun Jeong’s voiceover says that her daughter was just 6 years of age when she died a painful death. She says she wanted the killer to suffer more than her daughter. She says Cha Yo Han ended his suffering.
Eun Jeong says there has been no dignity in life after her daughter died. She asks Son why Seong Kyu should die in dignity. She asks if it is wrong to be angry about that and walks away.
Son clutches his stomach as she walks away. Eun Jeong runs towards him as she sees him on the ground clutching his stomach in pain.
It is night by the time Yo Han reaches the warehouse. He sees that the address says it is the 3rd floor. He climbs the stairs. Yo Han opens the door and walks into the warehouse. He sees the broken furniture and visualises the incident. He sees an oil drum on the floor leaking oil right next to the place where Gi Seok might have fallen.
He calls up his team and asks them to run a brain MRI, MRA and a phlegm check. He says Gi Seok’s immune system was suppressed due to steroids. He says Gi Seok inhaled dirt that was drenched in oil. He adds that due to nocardiosis (an infectious disease caused by bacteria which affects the lung or the whole body), an abscess (collection of puss) was created in his brain stem. He says this would have caused the locked-in syndrome. He says the ulcers on Gi Seok’s shoulder must be a symptom of it. Yoo Joon says he will run the tests.
Yo Han steps out of the warehouse and starts climbing down the stairs. Just then, his ears start ringing and he gets dizzy. Yo Han sways as he stands holding the railing.
At his residence, Lee Won Gil (seems unwell) asks if the rumour about Yo Han is true. Han says it seems so. Lee wonders if this will be able to help them convince Yo Han. He says he wants to meet Yo Han as soon as possible. Lee says he thinks he doesn’t have much time left.
Eun Jeong sits beside Son’s hospital bed. As he wakes up, she asks how is it that he is ill. He says after he lost his child, there was no pain greater than it, but he says he felt a substantial amount of pain that made him forget his sorrows. (We see a montage of Son reeling in pain during treatment)
Son says Seong Kyu must’ve suffered a pain that was hundredfold or thousandfold. He says he thought Seong Kyu deserved that for killing his son. He says he became afraid when time passed. He says he was afraid that when the time came he would search for someone who would deliver him as well. (We see a montage of Yo Han walking in and increasing the dosage in Son’s IV)
Eun Jeong asks if that someone was Cha Yo Han. Son says it doesn’t matter who it is because when the time comes, not only will his body die, but his soul will die as well.
Si Young walks into the meeting room. She joins Yoo Joon and Mi Rae who are seeing the scan results. Mi Rae says there is an abscess just like Yo Han had suspected. She says that the blood vessels seem fine. Yoo Joon says nocardiosis seems like their best bet in this situation.
Mi Rae says the phlegm result will take some time. She asks if they should trust his diagnoses and administer trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and imipenem (antibiotic). Yoo Joon says they should do that and discuss with neurosurgery first on the viability of surgical removal. He asks Si Young to tell Yo Han.
Yoo Joon asks Mi Rae if Yo Han’s suspension will be lifted after Gi Seok has been diagnosed. He says it is ridiculous to kick out someone so competent. They say in unison that they should talk to GI Seok’s mother.
Si Young calls up Yo Han but she gets no response.
Yo Han’s bag lies on the staircase and the phone rings inside it.
Si Young grows worried as she keeps calling him. She then calls up 119 and gives them the warehouse address saying she thinks someone has collapsed. When asked, she says she doesn’t know the man’s condition. She yells that she doesn’t know. She says he doesn’t know he is in pain even when he is.
At the warehouse, the phone rings inside Yo Han’s bag on the stairs. A few steps below, Yo Han lies unconscious on the landing, bleeding from his head.
Image Courtesy- SBS
Review
This episode yet again showed that Nurse Eun Jeong’s anger is misdirected towards Yo Han. Eun Jeong taking care of Yu Ri Hye is unsettling. I wonder what would happen with that.
It was good that Prosecutor Son told Eun Jeong finally that her anger is misdirected. The scene towards the end with him explaining his pain was well made. Ironically, Son who was so much against euthanasia has ended up thinking about or even wanting to be euthanized.
The last scene with Si Young calling 119 reminds one of a young Cha Yo Han calling 119 when his father had collapsed. He uttered the same words as Si Young.
Kwon Suk’s reaction upon finding that Yo Han is a CIPA patient was juvenile. On the other hand, Yo Han’s team’s reaction to the same was well-made.
The characters have come a long way since the start of the series. in the beginning, Yoo Joon and the others always questioned Yo Han’s methods when he tried to treat patients without diagnoses, but in this episode, both Yoo Joon and Mi Rae did not hesitate to consider treating Gi Seok without the test results based on Yo Han’s diagnoses.
It is interesting how almost all characters except (Son and Ahn) are unaware of Eun Jeong’s existence despite her being an important character. All along, she has used Son as a camouflage. Yo Han thinks that Son is the one who was behind publishing the bulletin but it was actually Eun Jeong.
It looks like Yo Han’s application was to the Cleveland Clinic’s Research Centre that is specialising in CIPA. That looks like a hopeful option for Yo Han’s career and the series, but that would be under the condition that he is alive at the end of the series.
-By Soul Sword-
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