“We’re going to have a hard time today,” the surgeon says to the X-rays.
This method in which this story is told almost reads like a news story. It makes the narrative sound transactional and dramatic, like you would see on a medical drama.
“We’re going to have a hard time today,” the surgeon says to the X-rays.
This method in which this story is told almost reads like a news story. It makes the narrative sound transactional and dramatic, like you would see on a medical drama.
Hemostats snap over the arteries of the scalp. Blood spatters onto Dr. Ducker’s sterile paper booties.
This sentence alone sends shivers down my spine. The concept of cutting into someone's head is enough to freak a reader out, but words like "snap" and "spatters" make it even more uncomfortable.
The steady pop, pop, popping isn’t loud, but it dominates the operating room.
I love the use of onomatopoeia in this tense description; it really adds depth for all senses of imagination.
He was lost in his self-pity, but he was and is always full of empathy.
This mention of empathy adds a new layer to the narrative, which establishes that she does care and he cares too. At the end of the day, regardless of the state of the relationship, they will always be siblings and have empathy for each other.
“We are not family,” he replied, and added a smiley face emoji that read like a middle finger.
I really enjoy this interpretation because it connects with a large audience that will instantly understand what she means. It also then argues what he means by that message, and if he has malicious intent or is trying to settle it nicely, but regardless, it comes off hostile, which I think sets the tone for the rest of the essay; the confusion about intention.
My brother was a nightmare of tubes and wires, dark machines silently measuring every internal event, a pump filling and emptying his useless lungs. The stench of dried spit was everywhere in the room. His eyes were closed, his every muscle slack.
This gruesome commentary exposes how violent the event was to witness; the reader almost cringes at the thought of any family member being in such a condition. This statement does justice to the entire narrative as a whole, highlighting the beginning of the core.