幸福

开关


今天一大早起来,走路去一家牙医专科诊所拔牙。

正常的拔牙其实比较简单,普通牙医就可以做。我这颗牙算是个反常的例外,我自己的牙医对着X光片看了半响,说离鼻腔实在太近,还是专科医生比较保险。我于是上周约了门诊去专科医生咨询。他看了看,说只要答应他拔牙以前八小时不吃东西,前两小时不喝水,「then it’s going to be a walk in the park.」我问他会疼吗?他笑着说:「Is a walk in the park painful?」

后来跟护士聊了一会儿才明白,医生说的是要静脉点滴全身麻醉。护士说,这是一种介于局部麻醉和全身麻醉之间的麻醉方式,麻醉过程中还可以下意识地听医生和护士的指示行动。比如护士要是说「把头向左转一点儿」,人就会下意识地转头。

我听着像天方夜谭,觉得好神奇啊。不过万一英文听力不过关,下意识里听不懂英文,就不知道会怎样了。

今早在诊所帮我准备静脉点滴的是另外一位护士。她一边给我胸前加入几个测心率的传感器,一边夸我心率低,问我是不是经常运动。我开心地说是啊,每天早上跑步。然后跟她聊了几句,夸她的仪器真先进。她说这些仪器先进啥,你还没去过ICU呢——接着给我讲她在ICU帮医生装心率调节器(PaceMaker)的经历。讲了几句她说:「我一会儿开始给你加一点儿药量。」

这是我现在记得的最后一句话。

醒来时已经在休息室了,医生没有见到,护士也不见了。我回家吃了止疼药想,与其说是「walk in the park」,不如说是「sleep in the park」,醒来时没有梦。

不过如果后来一直没有醒来呢?

乔布斯的传记作者Walter Issacson为了写这本传记,多次采访了乔布斯。Issacson还记得最后的一段采访:

I remember sitting in his backyard in his garden one day and he started talking about God. He said, “Sometimes I believe in God, sometimes I don’t. I think it’s 50-50 maybe. But ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about it more. And I find myself believing a bit more. I kind of—maybe it’s ’cause I want to believe in an afterlife. That when you die, it doesn’t just all disappear. The wisdom you’ve accumulated. Somehow it lives on, but sometimes I think it’s just like an on-off switch. Click and you’re gone.” He said—paused again, and he said, “And that’s why I don’t like putting on-off switches on Apple devices.”

Click—and you are gone.

还好,我今天只是重启了一下,不是关机。

2021年10月,多伦多