Anesthesia

"Do you know what it means to relieve man of his pain and suffering?

Anesthesia is the most humane of all of man's accomplishments,

and what a merciful accomplishment it was."

-- Joseph Lewis, An Atheist Manifesto

Self portrait 2-28-14

"Do you know that the religionists opposed the use of anesthesia 

on the ground that God sent pain as a punishment for sin, 

and it was considered the greatest of sacrileges to use it --

just think of it, a sin to relieve man of his misery! 

What a monstrous perversion! 

This one instance alone should convince you 

of the difference in believing in God or not."

-- Joseph Lewis, An Atheist Manifesto

If you've ever needed anesthesia, then you know full well what a good thing it is.

After wheeling me into the operating room to stitch up my "cancer hole" yesterday, the plastic surgeon injected a needle full of anesthetic into my face that numbed the whole right side of my head. Even my teeth. Even my ear. Even my lips. Even my nose. 

I knew he was in there scrubbing and then sewing away, but I couldn't feel a thing. 

I had the procedure at 1 p.m. The anesthetic didn't wear off until about 6 p.m. And when it did, boy howdy I knew it.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Which brings us to the One Good Thing History Nugget!

The first use of ether as an anesthetic in 1846 by W.T.G. Morton 

Anesthesia was discovered by American dentist William T.G. Morton, who, in 1846, first publicly demonstrated the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic by performing a painless tooth extraction after administering ether to the patient.

I, for one, am glad the use of anesthesia has progressed beyond an ether-soaked rag to the face.

I'm also glad that my gaping wound is now closed. I'm puffy and purple and look like I've been in a fist fight.

But I'll survive.