Anesthesia Awareness
December 3rd, 2007 by Jared MorrisWell, ABC GMA ran a story this morning on Anesthesia Awareness. I first read about this in a Readers Digest a few months ago. We discussed it on the air briefly. I think it’s just about a nightmare to think about. As someone who just went through two surgeries, I can’t imagine having to be awake for those, let alone something more drastic. When the anestiologist asked me if I’d prefer to be knocked out or if I just wanted a local… I almost panicked. “Knock me out… now!” — Yes, the idea of this is terrifying:
“You’re screaming inside your body,” said Carol Weihrer, a victim of anesthesia awareness. “You’re trying to crawl off the gurney, you’re trying to move a toe, you’re trying to wince … and there is absolutely nothing you can do.”
Weihrer woke up on the operating table while doctors were removing her diseased eye.
“I heard my surgeon say to the resident, ‘Cut deeper and pull harder,’” she said. “And I finally realized they were not finished; they were just starting. So the senses that I felt were the tremendous pulling. I had seen them cut my optic nerve and I knew when everything went black. I wanted to get off that table or to die.”
But, the truth is… You’re not really in danger. Doctors say less that one tenth or one percent of patients experience this in surgery. But, it is another way for the news to scare the you know what out of you. So, go now! Continue to terrify the people!
December 3rd, 2007 at 10:13 am
Once again Jared you have proven that the media does the american public no good. They group us as gullible and village idiots who cannot decipher fact from fiction on our own.
Much like the governement and politicians, perhaps the common man should be running the country and telling its story. After all, we are the ones living it!
December 3rd, 2007 at 11:43 am
The chances are slim like you mention. My grandfather always wakes up at the end before they finish. The problem is that it’s hard to mix up just the right dose for each different person. Our bodies all react different to Anesthesia. However, he said he could feel them scraping his hip bone (getting hip replacement) but there was no pain. That’s because the numbed it first. Most surgeries are numbed first before they put you out just in case you do wake up. I can see where eye surgery could be a little scary though if you woke up during surgery. A lot of eye procedures they can’t even knock you out during them. They just numb it. As potnetgal said, it’s a dumb article to put out and strike fear in people’s hearts.