Logo

Log In Sign Up |  An official publication of: American College of Emergency Physicians
Navigation
  • Home
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
  • Clinical
    • Airway Managment
    • Case Reports
    • Critical Care
    • Guidelines
    • Imaging & Ultrasound
    • Pain & Palliative Care
    • Pediatrics
    • Resuscitation
    • Trauma & Injury
  • Resource Centers
    • mTBI Resource Center
  • Career
    • Practice Management
      • Benchmarking
      • Reimbursement & Coding
      • Care Team
      • Legal
      • Operations
      • Quality & Safety
    • Awards
    • Certification
    • Compensation
    • Early Career
    • Education
    • Leadership
    • Profiles
    • Retirement
    • Work-Life Balance
  • Columns
    • ACEP4U
    • Airway
    • Benchmarking
    • Brief19
    • By the Numbers
    • Coding Wizard
    • EM Cases
    • End of the Rainbow
    • Equity Equation
    • FACEPs in the Crowd
    • Forensic Facts
    • From the College
    • Images in EM
    • Kids Korner
    • Medicolegal Mind
    • Opinion
      • Break Room
      • New Spin
      • Pro-Con
    • Pearls From EM Literature
    • Policy Rx
    • Practice Changers
    • Problem Solvers
    • Residency Spotlight
    • Resident Voice
    • Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine
    • Sound Advice
    • Special OPs
    • Toxicology Q&A
    • WorldTravelERs
  • Resources
    • ACEP.org
    • ACEP Knowledge Quiz
    • Issue Archives
    • CME Now
    • Annual Scientific Assembly
      • ACEP14
      • ACEP15
      • ACEP16
      • ACEP17
      • ACEP18
      • ACEP19
    • Annals of Emergency Medicine
    • JACEP Open
    • Emergency Medicine Foundation
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Medical Editor in Chief
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Awards
    • Authors
    • Article Submission
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright Information

A View From Above

By David Baehren, M.D. | on August 1, 2013 | 0 Comment
Opinion
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

Strange, it seems, to be gazing down upon the resuscitation bay. I left my body about an hour ago yet they seem intent on forcing air into my carcass and pressing over and over again on my chest.

You Might Also Like
  • Don’t Answer That
  • I’ll Never Forget
  • Culture of silence
Explore This Issue
ACEP News: Vol 32 – No 08 – August 2013

I must have inhaled enough vomit to fill a bucket. Luckily I have no recollection. That toxic muddle keeps spewing out of the tube and they keep forcing it back in. I know about all the pain meds, but I am no doctor. Still, even to me, none of this horrid scene makes much sense. And I’m not sure why someone keeps humming that Bee Gees tune “Stayin’ Alive.” Firstly, I’m clearly not staying alive. And secondly, I really hate the Bee Gees.

I realize they have work to do, but a gown over my chest would be a nice gesture. The rattlesnake tattoo on my left breast has been an embarrassment since the day after I got it. I do wish they would stop all of it.

I’m not sure why someone keeps humming that Bee Gees tune ‘Stayin’ Alive.’ Firstly, I’m clearly not staying alive. And secondly, I really hate the Bee Gees.

It’s time for me to leave now but I feel that I should not move on until these doctors and nurses are satisfied that I am, in fact, dead. Possibly a Munchkin in a black suit and a strange voice will come out and sing, “As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her. And she’s not only merely dead, she’s really most sincerely dead.” That would make me feel better about leaving, but for now I have this inexplicable desire to watch.

It’s the same as driving by a rollover accident in the median of the freeway. The Incredible Hulk couldn’t keep you from turning your head to gawk.

I’m certain they all think poorly of me. The looks on their faces show a combination of pity and disdain. Pitiful would be a good description of me. You’ll get no argument here. I can’t blame anyone for their posthumous judgment.

I didn’t mean for my short life to end this way. I was a different person before. Nobody would have ever voted me homecoming queen but you wouldn’t call me unattractive. Before I lost 20 pounds and cut my hair and dyed it pink I could at least look presentable. The thing is, I started using after a car accident. I thought my pain was really bad then. After watching this gruesome scene and seeing my family react, I now know what 10 out of 10 pain really feels like.

Pages: 1 2 | Single Page

Topics: AddictionCritical CareIn the ArenaPainResuscitationTrauma and Injury

Related

  • Navigating Strict State Abortion Laws

    January 5, 2025 - 1 Comment
  • Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage: A Three-Pronged Approach

    January 5, 2025 - 3 Comments
  • Case Report: Coronary Vasospasm-Induced Cardiac Arrest

    December 6, 2024 - 0 Comment

Current Issue

ACEP Now May 03

Read More

No Responses to “A View From Above”

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


*
*

Wiley
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertise
  • Cookie Preferences
Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 2333-2603