Once Upon A Time...
Durham VA Medical Adventures Part 1
On June 25th, I went into surgery at the VA. It was a “routine” laparoscopy to remove a perforated and angry appendix. During surgery - while I was under general anesthesia, intubated, and with the laparoscopic tools in my belly - my body shifted, moved, and slid off the operating table. Because the table was inverted for the procedure (to give the doctors a better angle), I slid head and shoulder first into the floor.
You read that right. I was dropped from the OR table to the floor in the middle of surgery.
When you pick your jaw up from the floor, let me tell you the best part. Of all the things that would happen from that moment through the next two weeks, being dropped from the table feels like the 17th on the list of most impactful moments.
It is a harrowing - and at times hilarious - story. It is full of twists and turns and joys and very real tears at the very real possibility that I might not make it out of the Durham VA. There are some obvious medical failures (hello, floor). And there are way more medical wins made by prodigiously talented doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and support staff.
I am grateful to be here. And I am eager to tell you this story.
Over the next few weeks, I will be telling this story one chunk at a time, trying to make some sense of what I have been through. So tune in to your inbox.
For now, let me say that I am alive. I am home. I am on the mend and each day is a little bit better.
I’ll talk to you early next week. Until then, be well. Stay on your operating tables. And whatever you do, and wherever you find yourself, keep pounding the rock.
May it ever be so.