The Time I Led A Code at the Airport
The strangest thing I see is the transition between deadness and aliveness, the way this man’s face gets filled again as though with something. Continue reading The Time I Led A Code at the Airport
Tag: essays in medicine
Mama’s gonna buy you a mocking bird
First I said nothing. Then, “Sure Ma, I’ll do it.” I waited a beat. “But don’t you think we will be suspicious, running out of here at two a.m., you in your robe, carrying a lung machine?” She didn’t think so. Continue reading Mama’s gonna buy you a mocking bird
Después del terremoto: Crónica de una visita
A veces lo que uno más necesita, lo que facilita la solución de tantos problemas, es ser escuchado, ser escuchado con atención; y como adulto, como niño también, saberse incluido en las conversaciones importantes, en su comunidad y en su país. Continue reading Después del terremoto: Crónica de una visita
Code Blue
“Code Blue, TICU” That was David. I rushed to his room as part of the Trauma Team, not really knowing what was going on. His lips were gray and there was not the slightest hint of red on his cheeks. His pulse was faint and erratic. The multiple sensors attached to his body displayed a desperate SOS. His oxygen saturations were low. SOS. His blood pressure kept dropping. SOS. He was cold. Continue reading Code Blue
Our First Patient
There is a part of me amazed, a part of me penitent. I am sorry to drag a blade down the middle of your chest, and then to the side, peeling away the first layer of skin and fat. I am sorry to cut through your skin with no intention of sewing it back together again. I am sorry that one of us will crack your ribs, one by one, and watch our professor use a loud saw to separate your sternum. I am sorry that between my cringing, I am still curious, still excited to see what lies beneath. I am sorry that we change our scalpel blades when they get dulled on your body, so that they are sharp again. Continue reading Our First Patient
Stethoscopes & Pencils 