Chapter 2

White light assaults my eyes as I find myself waking up in a strange place. People are standing over me and beeping noises fill the air, I try to sit up, and a hand stops me, "shh,it's OK Lance, lay back down, your in the hospital you're safe"a nurse says. As soon as I lie back down the pain suddenly makes a reappearance, a whole heck of a lot worse than before. I feel a hand grab mine, "shh it's ok, easy", and then a needle thrust into my arm, then almost automatic relief. "what needs to happen now"I hear a nurse ask, "we need to get him down to the Or sooner rather than later, but right now I need to relieve the pressure in his chest"the doctor says. "k turn him towards me,so his left side is close to me"I hear the nurse tell another nurse. As soon as they do it I find myself holding back a yell because it hurts so bad, "easy, this may hurt a bit, we're going to try and numb the skin,but it will still hurt a bit alright"she asks, "yeah,i just want this over with"I say grimacing, "I know,ok one pin prick"she says.

They slide the needle into my side and then I can't feel anything as the cool metal touches my flesh. One long stroke and then two more cuts into the chest wall and then I see blood splatter on the floor as I take a deep breath, realizing that I can breathe. "k hold pressure, the Or is ready , let's go"I hear the doctor say. They take me down a long white hallway and then behind some double doors. Then we're in a room with lots of space and a metal table in the middle. Very gently they transfer me to the table, cool metal touching my bare back. Then several people come in, surgeons and doctors, all stand at the side of the table except one who stands at the head of the table. "k we're going to get you put under alright"the person at the head of the table asks, "yeah,thats fine"I say. Very carefully she puts the mask over my nose and mouth, "I need you to count back from 10, ok"she asks, "yeah"I say. I count backwards from ten and about the time I hit two, the world is no more.