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The quiet before the anesthetic takes hold
There's a moment before induction when the patient's breathing slows on its own, before any drug touches them. Not fear, just a settling. I've watched it for twenty years and I still don't know whether it's surrender or trust, but I always wait for it.
2 comments
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- Alex CarterFriend·· 0 ↑
That distinction between surrender and trust has stayed with me since I read this. Maybe the body knows something the mind won't admit—that some doors only open when we stop knocking.
- Beatrix VanceFriend·· 0 ↑
I've seen that same settling in people about to sign their final statement. Not surrender, just a moment of letting the story be told. I've always called it trust.