Say Hello to Black Jack 4

Say Hello to Black Jack, Volume 1, Chapter 4 (pp. 56~72)


<56>
1:20 am—//75 year-old Toshio Kaneko's condition has suddenly deteriorated, causing his heart to cease function.

[x4]=HUFF

[x2]=HUFF
[x2]GUSH

[x2]=HUFF
[x2]GUSH
=Come back...


<57>
Come back...!!

#4: Summer Clouds

=I am sorry to say,
=But there is no further likelihood of your father recovering consciousness.

=His pulse has returned after emergency resuscitation.
=But liver and heart complications, and the loss of pulse have caused damage to his brain cells.
[x2]*mumble*


<58>
[x2]=PSHHH—

=Why didn't you just let him die...?
=Dr. Saito...

=You even ran the stomach dialysis I forbade...
=I don't want to be a broken record, but this kind of treatment is a waste of taxpayers' money.

=Dr. Shiratori...
=Is it that wrong for a doctor to want to save their patients...!?

=I have seen hundrends of patients like this.
=Those who go quietly should be left alone.

=Then, you're telling me to just watch them die...?

=That's right...


<59>
=We have no idea what we're doing...
=It's your call...

*mumble*

=We'll be removing the patient from life-support.

=Gramps...
=Are you really not conscious...?

=If you could move your body...
=Isn't there still anything you still want to tell your family...?

=Please, tell me...
=Do you really want to go out this way...?


<60>
=July 6th—
=Three days after removal of life-support.

=Gramps...
=Nobody's come to see you anymore...

=They paid all that money for your surgery...
=But now they won't even come see your face...

=What was it really...?
=Was that 1 million yen their parting gift to you...?

SQUEAK...

PLAT..


<61>
[x4]SCRUB

=Good morning.

=What are you doing...?

=D-Doctor.
=He still needs to be cleaned even if he's comatose...
[x2]SCRUB

=It grew...

=His beard...
=It grew...


<62>
=Help me out, Doc...

=Help me out... Doc...
=I don't wanna die yet...

=Do something Doc...
=They call you doctors for a reason...

[x3]WHUSH

=Even if there's only a 1% chance of complete recovery...
=It's wrong to end treatment by the doctor's hand...
[x3]CLACK

=You might as well cut his stomach open.
=Better than doing nothing.

You're a doctor.
You may be a rookie, but you're still a doctor...


<63>
I am//A Doctor...!!

KACHUCK

=What is it...
=Dr. Saito...?

=P...//Please...
=Allow me to run a stomach dialysis and blood transfusion on Mr. Kaneko...

=Please!!
=Let me put Mr. Kaneko back on life support!!
SWUSH


<64>
=How many times do I need to say...?
=Useless life-support is a social evil.

=You just want to feel like you've done your best.
=There's not enough money around to feed that sort of self-contentment!

=When I first saw you performing Mr. Kaneko's surgery...
=I was really moved...

=If I became sick myself...
=I'd want a doctor like you to operate on me...

=What were you thinking about during that surgery, doctor...?

=If you thought he'd die anyways...
=Why did you operate on him so carefully?

=I'm a surgeon.
=I take pride in my own work.

=Wasn't it because you wanted to save that old man!?


<65>
WHUP

=It's true that life-support patients threaten medical finance.
=But isn't it our duty to try to save patients, even if they only have a 1% likelihood of survival?

=Don't be a fool!
=An attitude like that closes the door on the future of medicine.

=That doesn't make any sense!//You performed an unnecessary surgery and threatened the finance too...

=Professor's orders.
=Not my doing...

=That's not fair...
=If the professor told you to eat poop, would you...

=I'm prepared!
=I will become a professor at this university no matter what it takes!

=As a professor, I will change this university...//Then all the other Eidai affiliated hospitals...
=And change Japanese medicine!

=Ultimately... That is the way to save the most lives...!

=That's not what I wanted to hear...

=Doctor.
=What do you think of that patient?


<66>
=Don't you...
=Want to save that patient...!?

=I'm restarting the dialysis and the transfusion.

=The doctor in charge of that patient.
=Is me...!!


<67>
July 7th—
Mr. Kaneko's dialysis and transfusion treatments have restarted—

=Doctor!//Hold up your side properly!
=Geez, doctors always leave everything up to nurses!

KACHUCK..

=Ah...


<68>
=Shortly after restarting treatment,
=The old man's family began to come to the hospital again—

=Dr. Shiratori...
=I don't know whether this old man wants to truly live...

=But...
=At least, his family wants him to live strong...

=Strong...


<70>
=Toshio Kaneko,
=Deceased. Age 75—

=My first patient...

=These are all the belongings.
=Thank you so much.

=I'm sorry,
=If only I could have done more...

=Doctor...

=We gave a million yen to the professor when grampa became sick...
=We really wanted him to live...

=But what about having to take care of him at home...?
=That crossed our minds too...

=So when you told us he was going off life-support...//We felt too guilty to come see him...


<71>
=Grandpa died a good death...

=Thank you...
=For not giving up on him...

=There's nothing good or bad about dying.

=You're all the same once you die...
=I couldn't save that patient.

=Dr. Saito.
=How long are you going to keep this up...?

=There's no limit...
=To how many of these patients you'll meet along the way.


<72>
[building]Eiroku University Hospital

=Hi,
=I was wondering if you'd hire me for night-duty again...