Chapter 95: Big Shot (2) (1/2)
Ko Yoon-ah had already been running 10 laps around the park.
-As a result of a thorough examination, no abnormalities were found in the bones and ligaments. It’s definitely not tennis elbow.
-No inflammatory response was found in the blood test. I think this is extreme stress pain.
The doctors she’d met yesterday said that this was just a mental problem that came because she couldn't handle a big game. She clearly felt the pain but they said it wasn’t real.
”Haa, haa.”
She ran to the point where her head was blank, but her thoughts did not disappear easily.
Ko Yoon-ah, who was gradually slowing down and catching her breath, noticed a tennis court between two buildings. Some members of a college club were conducting step training.
She vowed not to swing a racket until the diagnosis came out, but she couldn't stop her footsteps. She put on her mask and picked up the bag she’d thrown to one side.
”Split! Tennis is a game you play with your feet, not your arms!”
College students were jumping in place following the command of their coach. He may be older than her, and his tennis career far shorter. But he was full of energy.
She was jealous of what she was seeing.
While watching the training scene, her cell phone rang. It was Professor Moon Hyung-taek from Korea’s National Sport University.
Although she could ignore everyone else, she could not refuse her mentor’s call since he was the one who recognized her potential since childhood and supported her both physically and mentally.
”Phew. I've only been gone for 2 hours…”
She answered her phone carefully.
”Yes, professor.”
-I got a call from your father.
”I'm sorry.”
-If you ran out, which you didn’t and not even complained about the hard training in your adolescence, that means you were in pain.
She’d thought she would be scolded, but he only spoke warm words.
-I heard from your father that the test results came out.
”The doctors wouldn't tell me anything for certain. Everyone just keeps saying that it's because of stress and is a mental problem…”
-It doesn’t hurt right now?
”It's usually okay, but it's especially bad when I hold a racket.”
-I'm going to arrive at Seoul in the afternoon, so let's talk more about it then. And I'll talk to your father. The first rebellious act in your life, enjoy it as much as you can. I'm always on your side, Yoon-ah.
She felt a little relieved thanks to her teacher who was the only one in the world who understood her.
The college students had shifted to exchanging rallies. Watching the ball come and go, she only could see the racket that she couldn’t hold for the past week.
Even if she was surrounded by rusty fences on crude artificial grass, she felt much more stable than in a stuffy hospital.
How could anyone say that the tennis she loved so much could cause her stress?
Ko Yoon-ah would never believe it.
”You were here.”
While watching, Ko Yoon-ah's head turned when a voice suddenly disturbed her.
A man in a doctor's gown.
She thought no one could recognize her because she was wearing a mask, but such an introduction came from the man before her.
”I'm Park Dowook, a neurosurgeon who was scheduled to examine Ko Yoon-ah at 10 o'clock today.”
Dowook looked at Ko Yoon-ah.
She was soaked in sweat just as he saw her in the morning. Maybe because she was an athlete, she didn’t seem to feel cold. However, if anyone walked around for a long time while wet, nothing good would come of it.
”There’s another test?”
Dowook nodded at the question asked with slight annoyance.
”I heard that the patient did not trust the diagnosis of the orthopedic department, so I received a request for consultation from the neuro clinic. This fact was delivered only to the guardian, so there must have been a misunderstanding in the middle.”
Based on what Dowook had heard before coming, he calmly revealed the situation. However, Ko Yoon-ah's eyes became sullen.
”I think the doctors are the ones misunderstanding things. I just came to the hospital once more to confirm things. I've already had a neurological examination at a local hospital in Australia.”
“What?”
This was the first time Dowook heard such information. He tilted his head and Ko Yoon-ah turned back to watch the college students to show that she didn’t want to continue talking to him.
Her gaze displayed envy as she watched them practice.
Dowook wanted to ask her about the results of the test done in Australia but paused when he felt the tingling sensation that traveled up from his fingers.
He realized who it was from quite quickly. The sound of the tennis ball bouncing on the court sounded more clear than a moment ago. The want to play suddenly came with overwhelming intensity that he almost jumped over the fence.
‘Is it because this is the first time I got a sense from a pro-athlete? It’s more intense than I expected.’
As he was shaking his right hand to get rid of the sense, the phone in his chest pocket vibrated.
-What happened? Did you find her?
“Oh, Prof. Lee…”
Dowook hesitated.
He felt that if he revealed the fact that Ko Yoon-ah was here, it would only worsen her current depression. In this kind of situation, convincing the patient came first.
“Not yet. I’ll call you when I find her.”
Ko Yoon-ah stared at Dowook as he put his phone away.
“I’m thankful you didn’t tattle on me but I still think that doing the tests again here is just a waste of time.”
“Could I at least hear the results of the tests done at the Australian hospital?”
“Fibromyalgia due to stress.”
Dowook could only keep quiet. It was the same diagnosis Prof. Lee Won Seok had made tentatively.
Fibromyalgia. It was difficult to find the cause and the chronic pain it caused was even more difficult to cure.
If she had hurt her arm, surgery and rehabilitation could help her recover but if it was Fibromyalgia, the only thing to do was to exercise, eat well and live a healthy lifestyle.
He could fully understand why Ko Yoon-ah was so depressed.
‘She’s already gone through all the necessary tests from Neurology. There’s nothing more Prof. Lee and I can do to help… huh?’
Dowook trembled at the sudden sting that came from his right arm.
It was a strange pain that seemed to poke at the nerves in his arm.
Since he didn’t know the cause of the pain, he suspected it was the exhaustion that had piled up recently before he realized that Ko Yoon-ah’s sense hadn’t left his arm yet.
‘No way.’
As Dowook stood there with a blank expression, Ko Yoon-ah said for the last time.
“Please leave me alone here. I’ll enjoy this rebellion until the afternoon and return.”
“Umm. Ms. Ko Yoon-ah.”
Dowook asked with his gaze focused on Ko Yoon-ah’s right arm.
“That pain. Instead of feeling like your muscles are tingling or stiff, does it feel like a needle is prickling from the inside?”
Ko Yoon-ah’s gaze became a bit restless.
“That’s right.”
“If I can give you a diagnosis other than Fibromyalgia, would you be ok with getting some tests done right now?”
“What do you suspect it is?”
“I don’t know what it is exactly but I think the problem is not in your arm but in your head.”
“My head?”
Ko Yoon-ah’s gaze turned cold in an instant.
“The orthopedic surgeon also said that it was a head problem. My mind has always been clear, but suspecting it’s a mental problem just because of the semifinals. It's stress because it’s not tennis elbow. I'd rather wait for my teacher than trust people who don't even know what tennis is.”
It seemed like it wouldn’t be easy to convince Ko Yoon-ah, who had been hurt by several doctors who asked her to trust them.
At that moment.
“Ok, let’s start the practice games!”
At the shout from the court, Dowook felt his arms and feet react.
“Um… Ms. Ko Yoon-ah. Would you be able to trust in a doctor who knows a bit about tennis?”
“What?”
“There’s something I’d like to check. Please wait a minute.”
Dowook ran over to the court entrance.
If the cause of the pain was Ko Yoon-ah’s sense, there was no way her symptoms were caused by Fibromyalgia. This meant that there was something wrong with her neural circuit somewhere.
If so, this was not something to ponder over.
Instead of tests that only confused her, it would be more accurate for him to experience the error in her neural circuit for himself.