Lights Out. The Magic of Anesthesia and Amnesia.

I had minor surgery this week that required general anesthesia. I have been knocked out a lot in my life, but it has been about 10 years since my last surgery on my foot. A lot has changed. Then I don’t remember so many people coming in to tell me what would be happening.

All of them asked me the same questions to make sure I was the right patient and that they were performing the right procedure and then explained what they would be doing. The anesthesiologist explained his portion of the proceedings in great detail, which seemed pointless since he was there to make me forget the whole thing. He explained how they’d knock me out. There would be sedation, given intravenously, a mask over my mouth to deliver the anesthesia, and a tube in my throat, though it wouldn’t go all the way in, so I wouldn’t have a sore throat after.

Right now I’m having amnesia and deja vu at the same time… I think I’ve forgotten this before.

-Steven Wright

Just before 9:30 they started my IV and then walked me down to the operating room. I felt fine, and I even jumped up on the operating table, telling them I didn’t need a step stool. I laid back on the thin table and looked up at the enormous lights above me and a few people I hadn’t met yet apologized for their cold hands. For a split second, I started to get anxious. I thought about the mask and the tube. And that was it. I don’t even know if I closed…