Conscious sedation

 

Conscious sedation

The local hospitals are playing catch-up, and some non-urgent procedures are being conducted at weekends. Thus, I received the following from Barry on Sunday afternoon.

‘I’m having conscious sedation and not general anaesthetic. Thing is, I’m not sure I’ll be able to see any difference between being normal and conscious sedation.’

There are many responses to that, most of them rude.

I thought I understood what was meant by ‘conscious sedation’ but looked it up anyway. The most concise explanation follows:  

‘Conscious sedation is a combination of medicines to help you relax (a sedative) and to block pain (an anaesthetic) during a medical or dental procedure. You will probably stay awake, but may not be able to speak.

Conscious sedation lets you recover quickly and return to your everyday activities soon after your procedure.’

The bit I highlighted in red made me smile. Barry is a talker and always has been. When he was three years old and travelling by sea to India with his mother and baby brother, he had to share a cabin with another mother and children. He chattered about everything, until the other mother said, in exasperation, ‘Can’t you keep your boy quiet?’

The answer, of course, was that she couldn’t, and he continued to jabber. The only time he was truly silenced was when he was ten years old, and his father died suddenly. Such was the shock that he withdrew completely and didn’t speak for six months.

This character trait has been reproduced in spades in our youngest grandson, Jack, who will be six years old in November. From the moment he wakes until he finally falls asleep, many hours later, Jack talks. When he’s not commenting on current events, he’s asking questions. He is very entertaining.