Another Day in the Frontal Lobe 10
Dr. Firlik confides in the tenth chapter that she is not immune from Emotion.
While reporting to a man who just had a brain tumor that was "not benign," and his wife and daughter, she broke down and cried. Nice to know that neurosurgeons have feelings.
Her comments remind me how physicians are able to block the misery of death and dying. Wouldn't be much good if they couldn't. Kind of like not being able to deal with the sight of blood.
When speaking with undergraduate students about the brain, Dr. Firlik remembers the absolute visceral reaction. The whole business of neurosurgery was too depressing to consider as a career.
What price had she paid to "not cry over every patient?" What had she gained? For her, it is an appreciation of the everydayness of life that her patients lose. She will one day lose it but that is what dealing with death has given her.
