The Weight of a Life Decision

I pronounced a patient dead who was still alive. Three AM shift, trauma bay flooded

with a motorcycle accident victim. No pulse, no breath sounds, pupils fixed.

I called it after twenty minutes of compressions. Started filling out the paperwork

when a nurse screamed from the hallway. His finger moved. I sprinted back, started compressions

again, and his heart kicked back in. He's walking today with his daughter.

But here's what keeps me up at night. I had already told his wife he was gone.

I watched her collapse in my arms, heard her scream that guttural sound that never leaves

you. Then I had to walk back in and tell her I was wrong. She looked at me