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Chapter 586 Going Under
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In TV, books or movies, the patient has these meaningful experiences while under anesthesia. Clearly a bit of creative writing to foreshadow a plot development or to cause the protagonist to make some sort of discovery. In real life, going under anesthesia simply feels like being switched off. Paralyzing drugs are given to keep the patient from moving during surgery and the mind quits working. There are no dreams, no visions. There's simply nothing. And no sense of time passing. Tara always thought of the experience as what death might be like if there were no afterlife of any kind. It was as though you ceased to exist.
The nurse was calling her name and asking her to wiggle her toes. Tara opened her eyes and obeyed the nurse. She was shaking and having trouble breathing. She stayed calm because she was pumped full of drugs that kept her that way and she knew she was being monitored. If she quit breathing, monitors would alert the nurses and they would fix it. She'd had the same experience yesterday.
"Shaking. Not cold," Tara managed to say. Her mind was working fine. It was just a little hard to translate thoughts into words. The interface between her brain and her mouth felt like they weren't working in sync.
"I'll give you medication to counter that," the nurse said moving away from the gurney
Tara looked around the recovery room. There were two other patients receiving care. She knew she'd spend about an hour in recovery before being transferred to her room.
The nurse put medication through her IV and Tara quit shaking and her breathing improved. She tried to wake up quickly so when the surgeon came in to talk to her, she would be able to ask questions. Twenty minutes later, he walked in.
They discussed the surgery before hand and Tara told him she was glad that he was performing her surgery because she knew she was in excellent hands. Surgeons had overly healthy egos, but they still liked to hear compliments. The man was an outstanding surgeon or Tara would have demanded she be transferred to a different hospital with a skilled orthopedic surgeon. She wasn't going to entrust the repair of her leg to a mediocre or incompetent surgeon.
He told her the usual surgeon information—the surgery went well and he expected her to make a full recovery. She looked at the external hardware inserted in the cast. He explained they would go in and remove that when they took the cast off. It was to help stabilize the bones while they healed. Tara expected it, but she wasn't happy about having to have another surgery to remove the hardware. She might be a surgeon, but it didn't mean she liked having surgery.
She was only in her room ten minutes when Scarlett and Jax walked in.
"Boring day for you," Tara said.
"Spending the day in the hospital is not high on my list of fun things to do," Scarlett admitted. "How are you feeling?"
"I'll be OK. The surgery went well. Glad you waited for him."
"I talked to David and gave him the thumb drive."
"Good." Tara looked down picking at the sheet over her. She didn't want to sound ungrateful, but she just wanted some sleep. "I'm really tired."
"We should leave and let you get some sleep," Jax said instantly picking up the cue.
"Are you sure you want us to leave you?" Scarlett asked.
"I'm going to sleep most of the day," Tara said. "Could you call Hale again and ask him to come tomorrow?"
"I'll do that," Scarlett promised. "We'll see you tomorrow."
She and Jax left and Tara relaxed a little. She could let her mind drift a bit. She'd tried to avoid facing that giving Hale that thumb drive could very well end her surgical career.
She wasn't under any illusions that St. Thomas would be grateful to her. A few people would understand, but there would be people who would lose their jobs, the hospital would take a huge hit to its reputation and the worst of it all, money would be lost, possibly millions.
Other hospitals might express interest in hiring her, but they might hesitate because most organizations have something to hide and they would be afraid she would snoop. All those years training as a neonatal surgeon might be for nothing if she couldn't find another job.
She didn't see any way St. Thomas' neonatal program would survive. The scandal would be too great. How could anyone trust them with their sick infant?
She thought of all the babies that Namid was operating on and killing. That was worth losing her career over. She hoped she wouldn't lose her life over it too.
Upcoming Scarlett and Jax plot a future, Eric has problems, Tig is still Tigging around and Tara faces a crisis.