My Double Date with the Operating Room
Today, just a normal day, looking for a way to serve humanity, I found myself lucky to be on foot again, and be able to play sports... relatively speaking. Let's just say my relationship with gravity, basketball courts, and my knees has been, shall we say, eventful. I've become intimately familiar with the inside of an operating room, not as a medical professional, but as a repeat customer, courtesy of my "illustrious" basketball "career."
Round One: The Conscious Cut
It all started a couple of years ago. Picture this: a heated basketball game, my team surging ahead (naturally), and then... pop. Not the satisfying pop of a perfect three-pointer, but the sickening pop of my left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deciding to take an early retirement. The pain? Let's just say it wasn't subtle. But the real adventure began with the surgery.
Now, most people would probably prefer to be blissfully unaware during such an event. Not me. My curiosity, that insatiable beast, reared its head. I opted to stay awake during the procedure. And, because I'm apparently that guy, I even asked the surgeon if I could watch the whole thing on the monitor. He obliged (probably after a moment of stunned silence). So, there I was, fully conscious, watching a live feed of someone rooting around inside my knee. It was surreal, fascinating, and slightly horrifying, all at the same time. Think of it as a very interactive nature documentary, only the star was my own mangled ligament.
The recovery was a grueling six-month odyssey of physiotherapy, ice packs, and a newfound appreciation for the simple act of walking. But I persevered. I conquered stairs. I conquered sidewalks. And, in a moment of perhaps misguided optimism, I even conquered the ice rink. Yes, you read that right. Fresh off ACL reconstruction, I decided to learn to ice skate. (You can find video evidence of my questionable grace on the ice on my TikTok, linked in the footer – I can at least spin in one foot). I was back, baby! Or so I thought...
Round Two: Time Travel
Fast forward two years. The scene: another basketball game (clearly, I'm a glutton for punishment). This time, my right ACL decided to join the party. Another pop, another wave of pain, another trip to the operating room. But this time, things were different. The damage was more extensive, and the surgeon recommended general anesthesia. It was my first time going completely under.
And let me tell you, general anesthesia is the closest thing to time travel I've ever experienced. One second, the nurse is calmly explaining that she's injecting the anesthetic. I might have blinked. The very next second, I'm waking up in the recovery room, groggy and disoriented, with the nurse cheerfully informing me that the surgery was a success. There was no intervening period. No dreams, no awareness, no counting backward from 100. Just... gone. Then, back. It was like hitting the fast-forward button on existence. A truly bizarre, and frankly, unsettling experience. The weirdest thing is I could not tell the difference from sleeping, only that I did not experience time.
