Notes of an Anesthesiologist. Countdown

Dr. Henry Jay Pshibylo is an anesthesiologist with over thirty years of medical practice experience. Throughout his career, he has performed over 30,000 anesthesia procedures—immobilizing the body, erasing memory, and then bringing the patient back to consciousness. He shares his experiences intertwined with personal stories of patients, explores the nature of consciousness, the mechanics of pain relief, and the miracle of modern medicine.

«I am an anesthesiologist. I lull consciousness, take away memories, steal time, immobilize the body; I alter heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rhythm. And then I bring everything back. I eliminate pain during surgery and prevent it afterward. I care for the sick and save lives, but I do not heal. As an anesthesiologist, I work almost always behind the closed doors of the operating room, allowing surgeons to cut, gastroenterologists to examine, and cardiologists to bypass. Patients entrust me with their lives, but we meet only a couple of minutes before the operation, and when it ends, few of them can remember my name».