bodies, walling off intruders into a stalemate chamber that can last for
years, even decades. I scrape the last of the material out of the cavity,
pondering that it looks like cream of wheat (seemingly everything in the
body can be described by food analogies). A bulb syringe full of saline and
antibiotics (resembling a turkey baster implement full of dish soap) is used
to lavage the pocket, and within a few minutes, the first fungus ball
infection is conquered. I am intensely focused on eliminating all seven
fungus collections, and not on the HIV virus pulsing through Rick’s body
and not on the fungus that could theoretically infest my own body. I know
the possibility of contracting either pathogen is extremely unlikely, but this
mindset of not giving a damn about the risks of surgery is mandatory for
those contemplating a career in the operative theater. You simply cannot
be disquieted over sleepless nights, noxious fumes, sore feet, X-ray
exposure, caustic surgeon-bosses, deadly viruses, and agonized patients.
Those medical students who wish to preserve a more normal existence for
themselves go into other fields like radiology and dermatology. If you read
the previous paragraphs with wonder and curiosity, wishing you could see
fungus balls being sliced out of an AIDS patient’s limbs ... maybe you have
the makings of a surgeon.
Halfway done excising the fungal colonies, I notice Dr. Bonamassa at
the window again, scrutinizing our case. A knowing glance among us
confirms all is well. Removing subcutaneous infectious tumors is among
the simpler tasks an intern can perform, but I am nonetheless euphoric
over my first solo case. Intricate and risky cases will be mine in the future,
but for now, I can luxuriate in the fact that I am making a difference in the
life of this patient while taking another step in becoming a surgeon.
The innovators and pioneers who change the world are often tortured souls
who perceive the truth far earlier than everyone around them. This is
certainly the case in the development of medicine and surgery, where the
visionaries are often considered malcontents and rabble-rousers, and are
commonly shunned for challenging the status quo. This is perhaps best
illustrated in the case of Ignác Semmelweis, a Hungarian-born physician
who turned Vienna on its head and set in motion a series of discoveries
that convinced the scientific world that germs are real.
At a time when Marie Antoinette was fearing for her head in Paris, her
brother Joseph II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, was dramatically