12.
“It was a surgery rotation when I was in medical school. Middle-aged lady brought in unconscious, pale, and possibly bleeding internally; she stabbed herself multiple times in the abdomen because her husband cheated on her. We cut her abdomen open trying to find the source of bleeding, and begin to suture. As we were placing back the guts into the cavity, my chief resident accidentally opened up a big artery, and it started bleeding like crazy. Reminded me of that famous scene from The Shining. I really thought the patient was a goner when I saw that massive hemorrhage happen before my own eyes. We were able to control the bleeding by a combination of aggressive cautery and some pressure and suturing, but it’s definitely something I won’t forget.”
“I was able to talk to the patient a few days later as she recovered in the ICU bed, but man, that was a crazy experience in the operating room. One of the more action-packed day as a medical student.”
