Reflections and realisations: Unexpected lessons from a surgery

An experience that left the author with new respect for the complexity, and resilience, of the human body

Three weeks ago, I went under the scalpel for the first time in my life. A tumour, thankfully benign, near the right ear, needed to be removed. Given its sensitive location, it was a job best done by a head and neck surgeon, a specialist familiar with the anatomy and physiology of the region.

What made the surgery tricky was the proximity of the facial nerve, which controls the muscles of the face. The surgeon has to be careful to not snip this nerve, else the face is thrown out of whack.

As the day of the surgery approached, I found myself