On Friday I experienced general anesthesia for the first time.
Previous to last week, the closest I’d come to surgery was having my wisdom teeth removed, for which I chose local anesthesia. I wanted to be awake for the procedure, and I wanted to avoid the nausea that general can sometimes cause. Plus, it was fascinating to witness the extraction–it’s much louder than you might think.
A few days ago, while vacationing at the Outer Banks in a family reunion, I woke up with a stomach ache. I thought it would pass, but it got more painful and more bloated throughout the day, to the point that I knew something was actually wrong. Megan drove me to urgent care, who suspected that my appendix was infected (they poked the lower right of my stomach, which hurt intensely), and then I was redirected to the nearby hospital. After a CT scan, the diagnosis was confirmed, and I was admitted to stay the night and prepare for surgery the following morning.
This is when the “time travel” portion of the story happened. When it was time for surgery, I was wheeled over to a stationary bed (and almost tugged right back off the bed by an attendant who didn’t realize some cords were caught in a wheel) and a mask was gently placed on my face.
Then I woke up in another room, appendix-free.
It was just like that. One moment it was 7:00 am, and the next it was just after 10:00. A tesseract connecting present and future. I was stunned by how seamless it was: Close your eyes for 1 second, then imagine it’s 3 hours later when you open them. It’s the closest to time travel to the future I’ve ever experienced.
Almost as amazing was how normal I felt for the rest of the day. Sure, I was groggy for a bit, and my stomach looked and felt like a horror movie, but by 10:30 I was completely myself (mentally…physically I have a long road to recovery). Megan and I hung out for a bit, then she went back to the vacation property to sleep while I got in a good day’s work in a very comfy bed, stopping for occassional strolls around the hall.
I’ve always thought that interstellar travel might be possible with the advent of cryogenic hibernation. Just put people to sleep with the nutrients they need and wake them up a few hundred years later. Sure, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but it addresses some of the barriers for deep space missions and generation ships.
Have you ever had general anesthesia? What was your experience?
I had general anesthesia twice, both shoulder surgeries. I remember they asked me count to 3, I don’t think I made it to three. Time travel is not how I would describe it, not to sound morbid but it was more like being dead. Completely free of any feeling, sensation, dreams etc. Just complete nothingness for three hours. The difference from your experience from what you write is that I did feel groggy for a many more hours. My wife drove me home, I remember flashes of road from that experience but I wasn’t nothing more. I was out of it for the rest of the day. But general anesthesia is definitely an experience like no other.
I can see what you’re saying–it was a little like I blinked out of existence for a little while. I’m sorry your resulted in grogginess!
Good luck. Hope your recovery is short and simple. You are a good writer. Time travel. An interesting concept.
Thanks Shary! 🙂
Hi Jamey, I commented practically on Instagram, as for general anesthesia, I was just put under a few months ago for carpel tunnel repair.
The nurse said she was giving me a medication to calm me down first, that it wasn’t the knock out medicine, but it would make me feel like I did a tequila shot. I went to sleep immediately, and when I woke up, the same nurse was in the room and I said “just like tequila.”
I’m impressed you had a quip ready as soon as you returned to consciousness! 🙂
Apparently I don’t respond to sodium Pentothal very well. When having a hernia operation,I went from counting down from 10 to 7 or so, then waking up alone in a hospital bed 6 hours later. Stranger still is the disorienting experience of a colonoscopy. You are supposed to be awake but much of the experience is a blur. Makes one question consciousness in general. Glad you are well.
That’s rough, Garth–I’m glad you’re okay!
Well, at nearly 57, I’ve never had general anesthesia until last Monday when I went in for an inguinal hernia surgery. I had proferyl for several colonoscopies but never general. I have to say, it was exceptionally good sleep.