Imagine if you woke up during a surgery, but you are unable to move or speak.
You can feel every incision and hear the surgeons talking.
How traumatizing would that be?
Well, 1-2 people out of 1000 wake up during surgery each year in the United States so
let’s take a look at the top 10 times people woke up during surgery.
Starting this terrifying list in at number 10 with Waking up during brain surgery.
A 19-year-old girl from Poland woke up during her brain surgery when her anesthesia wore
off.
Once she woke up, she said to the doctors, “How’s it going.”
Oh you know, not bad except your skull is open and your brain is exposed.
The surgeons said that even though her brain was exposed, she didn’t feel anything because
the brain has no pain receptors and she was never in any sort of danger.
But still, I feel like this would be extremely traumatizing.
Alexandra Bythell comes in at number 9.
She woke up during her surgery and found herself with her eyes taped shut, breathing tubes
in her throat and surgeons talking around her.
The staff failed to check the levels on the anesthesia machine so she was paid an undisclosed
amount for damages and her psychological trauma.
She said she could actually feel the surgeons operating on her and she was panicking on
the inside but she was unable to do anything about it.
Gall bladder operation takes the number 8 spot.
Around 45 minutes into her operation, Caroline Coote said that her anesthesia started to
wear and she was lying on the operation table screaming on the inside.
Because of the muscle relaxants, she wasn’t able to alert the doctors but tears were running
down her face.
Now she is suing the hospital and her argument is that the doctors should have noticed her
tears and racing heartbeat.
She was left with PTSD and other psychological problems that have prevented her from being
able to work.
Number 7 brings us to Jeannie Smith.
She needed to have both of her ovaries removed because of a cyst.
So, she was wheeled into surgery but within moments, he woke up and all she could see
was a bright light shining in her face.
She was paralyzed from the medications and she was unable to speak.
She had to endure every second of the 45-minute operation awake.
She said that she felt every cut and every stich.
She ended up suing the anesthesiologist and she was awarded with $150,000 for her suffering.
Scary eye surgery blinks into number 6.
A woman spent years living with pain due to a scratched cornea and she underwent 17 surgeries
to fix the issue but surgeons told her that they could not save her eye and that it would
need to be removed.
The operation started off successfully but during her surgery she woke up and heard the
doctor say “cut deeper, pull harder.”
Whoa, that just gave me the chills.
She said she was terrified because she couldn’t move or speak.
She tried to scream but no sound could come out.
She said she didn’t feel any pain but the feeling of helplessness that she had was unbearable.
Next in at number 5 is Donna Penner.
Her nightmare became a reality when she was on the operating table and she actually heard
the surgeon say “Scalpel please.”
She could actually feel him make the incision and she was panicking on the inside.
She said she tried to scream out but she couldn’t do anything because of the medication.
Two weeks after her disturbing experience, she was diagnosed with PTSD and she has reoccurring
nightmares that won’t let her forget this horrible experience.
Diana Todd slides into number 4.
She was placed under general anesthesia to undergo a hysterectomy.
She woke up and heard the surgeons talking around her then she felt the first cut.
She continued to feel the sharp blade slice her again and again.
She was under excruciating amounts of pain but she was unable to move or make a sound.
She confronted the medical staff after the surgery but they told her that it was all
in her mind.
She began to suffer from claustrophobia and couldn’t sleep without a light.
She even contemplated suicide because of the trauma that she had experienced.
Next in at number 3 is Open heart surgery.
A man was told by the surgeon that he had a 50 percent chance of dying on the operation
table but he decided to continue with the operation.
After he was given anesthetic, he went to sleep but then woke up to the sound of a bone
saw that was slicing through his sternum.
He tried to tell doctors but because of the muscle relaxants, he couldn’t move or speak.
He couldn’t even cry because the drugs stop tear production.
He said that he felt as if he was being buried alive.
The Man who woke up during an eye surgery comes in at number 2.
Hector Alonso was 69 years old when he went in for a routine cataract surgery on his eye.
He woke up during the middle of the surgery and he claimed that he was a victim of torture
after doctors put tape over his mouth to stop him from complaining.
Wait, what?!
He claims that he was forced down and gagged by the medical staff after he demanded that
the surgery be stopped.
Apparently, because of the tape over his mouth, he ended up swallowing one of his teeth.
He is suing the hospital for assault and battery as well as medical negligence.
Finally in at number 1 we have a very big mistake.
Sherman Sizemore went under the knife for exploratory surgery in order to find out the
cause of his abdominal pain.
He was given paralyzing drugs in order to stop him from moving during the surgery but
he was not given any general anesthesia.
So during the first 29 minutes of the operation, he felt everything.
His abdomen was sliced and opened with a retractor.
The anesthesiologist realized his huge, career ending mistake and gave him anesthesia and
an amnesia drug so that he wouldn’t remember any of this.
After the surgery, Sherman was very anxious but he didn’t know if his memories were
real or not.
This experienced changed him.
He had trouble sleeping and he was convinced that people were trying to bury him alive.
Sadly, he shot himself less than a month after his surgery because he couldn’t deal with
all of this psychological trauma.
Well there you guys have it…