
- Psychiatric Times Vol 25 No 14
- Volume 25
- Issue 14
Between Reason and Panic
One minute she's breathing room air and the next you're barking orders at a team wheeling in a crash cart. You review signs and symptoms you missed, the rough rhythm of her heart before she coded. You want to believe your reasoning was as elegant as a glass filled with cabernet, and you want to forget the bottle you imagine resting on a tray table at forty thousand feet, ready to tumble when the captain announces the plane is diving for an unscheduled stop. But I don't need images of air disasters to convince you doctors live somewhere between reason and panic: just flip open your laryngoscope, visualize the vocal chords, and forget you have fifteen seconds to thread the tube before the breathless body on the bed turns blue.
One minute she's breathing room air
and the next you're barking orders
at a team wheeling in a crash cart.
You review signs and symptoms you missed,
the rough rhythm of her heart before she coded.
You want to believe your reasoning
was as elegant as a glass filled with cabernet,
and you want to forget the bottle you imagine
resting on a tray table at forty thousand feet,
ready to tumble when the captain announces
the plane is diving for an unscheduled stop.
But I don't need images of air disasters
to convince you doctors live
somewhere between reason and panic:
just flip open your laryngoscope, visualize
the vocal chords, and forget you have
fifteen seconds to thread the tube before
the breathless body on the bed turns blue.
Articles in this issue
over 15 years ago
The Blue Mask: Uncovering the Cause of the Nightmarealmost 17 years ago
Forensic Issues in Child Sexual Abuse Allegationsalmost 17 years ago
Insanity Defense Evaluations - Basic Procedure and Best Practicesalmost 17 years ago
Is There a Gene for Postpartum Depression?almost 17 years ago
Invitation to Disaster: Mutual Attraction Between Therapist and Patientalmost 17 years ago
When in Rome . . . Museo della Mentealmost 17 years ago
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