By
Dr. Deepak Gupta 
Corresponding Author Dr. Deepak Gupta
Self, - United States of America
Submitting Author Dr. Deepak Gupta 
Thirteen Lives, Anaesthesia
Gupta D. Thirteen Lives: Take A Bow, Humane Anaesthesia. WebmedCentral ANAESTHESIA 2022;13(12):WMC005804
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No
My opinion
Ron Howard has done it again [1]. He has directed a masterpiece [2]. As synopsis in metaphor, there is a trinity called Brain-Heart-Lungs [3]. Its metabolism needed to be under control for survival and rescue of Thirteen Lives. It needed practice of meditation while awake to survive for days. As it could never achieve certification in diving within days, it emergently received anaesthetic medication to remain asleep and alive during the rescue from Great Cave of the Sleeping Lady. In my more than two decades of providing anaesthesia, I have never felt as proud of being a provider nor as humbled by being a human. This masterpiece is an apt celebration of how global community and human ingenuity come together to take a dive and come out alive. This masterpiece should have keynote screenings and discussions at anaesthesia conferences worldwide not for thumping our chests but for humbling our minds as needed to deliver our "packages" safely and soundly. Anesthesiologists in the United States may find depicted Doctor-Diver Harry remotely directing, supervising and leading other four divers in administering top up anaesthetics to "packages" on the way to safe deliveries. However, respect and glory are not in the name but in the game to safely innovate and adapt practice in desperate and crunch times. Interestingly, for "packages" as well as divers, the time was of the essence and yet rushing was never the option. I hope that our fellow providers worldwide screen this masterpiece for their surgical colleagues who all may take a pause for the cause. Depicting trauma of almost losing "packages" is a sour reminder that even though intentions and executions count, outcomes always overwhelm minds especially the overbearing fear of negative ones. This masterpiece is a much-needed respite for safer science of anaesthetic administration in guided hands after sodium thiopental, propofol, opioids and ketamine recurrently taking hits for respective involvement in execution by lethal injection, accidental overdose of Michael Jackson, perpetuation of public health emergency and mis-utilization by law enforcement. I am running short of words to express my overwhelming feelings so I will just dive again into this moving masterpiece to feel the pride in what I do and who I am.
Reference(s)
- IMDb (Internet Movie Database). Through the Lens: Ron Howard - The Power of True Stories. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10431506/
- Amazon Original. Thirteen Lives. https://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Lives-Viggo-Mortensen/dp/B09ZSKD17J
- Gupta D. Trinity of Life: Brain-Heart-Lungs. WebmedCentral CARDIOLOGY. 2019; 10: WMC005560. https://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/5560
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