Counting Backwards: A Doctor's Notes on Anesthesia
Description
“An engaging and illuminating exploration of the invisible medical specialty that is anesthesia.… Counting Backwards pulls back the veil on the very act of being alive.” —Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, author of What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear
For many of the 40 million Americans who undergo it each year, anesthesia is the source of great fear and fascination. In Counting Backwards, pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Henry Jay Przybylo delivers an unforgettable account of the procedure’s daily dramas and fundamental mysteries. Przybylo has administered anesthesia more than 30,000 times over his thirty-year career: on newborn babies, screaming toddlers, sullen teenagers, even a gorilla. Filled with intense moments of near-disaster, life-saving successes, and simple grace, Counting Backwards is for anyone curious about what happens after we lose consciousness.
Praise for Counting Backwards: A Doctor's Notes on Anesthesia
A rare and thoughtful look behind the scenes of this crucial yet arcane specialization.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Stirring.… [A] rare peek into the world of one of the more underrated and mysterious procedures in modern medicine.
— Library Journal
[A] vividly written, candid exploration.… [S]triking in content and quite moving.
— Kirkus Reviews