读者文摘:我从死亡事故中学到了什么(2)

The ride to the hospital took about 20 minutes.

坐车去医院大概用了20分钟。

The double doors of the ambulance opened to the sunlight, and from there it was straight to the emergency room, where, for the next eight hours, I kept dying.

救护车的两扇门向阳光敞开，从那里直接到急诊室，在接下来的8个小时里，我一直昏迷。

I would flatline, someone would do CPR, and they'd pull me back from the abyss.

我的心电图会变平，有人会给我做心肺复苏，他们就把我从深渊中拉回来。

They did this over and over. People had to keep rotating because keeping me alive was exhausting.

他们反复地做着心肺复苏。人们不得不轮番看护，因为让我活着非常累人。

At the same time, the orthopedic-trauma¹ team was debriding my insides—cleaning out the gravel² and rocks and debris³.

与此同时，骨科创伤小组正在清理我的内脏，清理碎石、岩石和碎片。

My stomach was ripped open, my backside was ripped open, my pelvic bone was severed⁴.

我的腹部被撕开，背部被撕开，骨盆骨断开了。

The pelvis holds up all the vital organs, so when it's compromised, internal hemorrhaging doesn't stop.

骨盆支撑着所有的重要器官，所以当骨盆断开后，内部出血不止。

On top of that, my left femoral artery⁵ was severed. The blood would run through me and right out again, over and over.

除此之外，我的左股动脉被断开了。血液会一次又一次地流过我的全身，然后流出来。

Our bodies hold roughly ten pints⁶ of blood. That day, I went through 78 pints—eight bodies' worth.

我们的身体大约有十品脱的血液。那天，有78品脱的血在我身体流过-足足是八个人的血量。

At times, I had lost so much blood that there was nothing left for my heart to pump.

有时，我会失血过多，以至于心脏都没有血可以跳动输送了。

Twelve hours after I'd left for work that morning, I was stable enough that Sean was allowed to see me in the ICU.

距那天早上我出发去工作12小时后，我的情况已经比较稳定，医生允许肖恩去重症监护室看我。

I had tubes running into my nose and mouth. I was bloodied⁷ and swollen⁸. My belly⁹ was so distended¹⁰ that I looked like I was pregnant with triplets.

我的鼻子和嘴都被插着管子。我浑身是血，全身肿胀。我的肚子胀得像怀了三胞胎一样。

Sean gingerly took my cut-up hand in his. He had been by my side for only a minute when a nurse saw red fluids staining my gown again.

肖恩小心翼翼地把我受伤的手握在他的手里。他在我身边只待了一分钟，护士就看到我的手术服又被红色液体弄脏了。

"You need to leave. We have to keep working on her. Now!" she said firmly.

护士坚决地说道，“你需要离开。我们得继续看护她。现在！”

He kissed my forehead and said a quick prayer before being ushered¹¹ back to the visitors' lounge.

在被推到访客的休息室之前，他吻了我的额头，快速地做了一个祈祷。

With the odds¹² stacked against me, the doctors decided¹³ to place me in an induced coma¹⁴,

由于我的存活几率不大，医生们决定让我进入诱导性昏迷状态，

a lifesaving step that slows down brain function and reduces swelling¹⁵ in order to prevent or lessen¹⁶ brain damage.

这是拯救生命的一个措施，它可以减缓脑功能，减少肿胀，目的是为了避免或减少脑损伤。

During this period, I was in and out of surgery several times. Once, I woke up just as the surgeon was starting to operate on me.

在此期间，我反复几次进出手术室。有一次，我醒来时，刚好医生要开始给我做手术。

I saw a bright light and masked faces hovering¹⁷ over me. I remember my chest rising and falling, but I couldn't take a breath.

我看到一束亮光和戴面具的脸庞在我上方移动。我记得我的胸上下起伏，但是我不能呼吸。

As I woke, the pain hit hard, but I couldn't move or communicate no matter how hard I tried.

我醒来时，痛得很厉害。但是，不管我有多努力我都不能移动或者交流。

Well, except for my fingers. "Her fingers are moving," someone in the room said.

除了我的指头。房间中有个人说，“她的手指在动。”

"There's no way her fingers could be moving. She's out," someone else said. I'm right here! I wanted to scream. I can hear you!

另外一个人说，“她的手指不可能动。她已经昏迷了。”我想大喊，我就在这里！我能听到你们说话！

"Maybe she's having a seizure¹⁸." Then another masked face appeared right in front of my face, and I remember a strange smell, and then everything went dark again.

“或许是她癫痫发作了。”然后另一个戴面具的脸庞出现在我的脸的正上方。我闻到了奇怪的味道，然后一切又变得黑暗。

They wrote "mild seizure" on my chart. People have the wrong idea about what a medically induced coma is.

他们在我的病历上写道“轻度癫痫”。人们不知道诱导性昏迷是什么情况。

They think it means you're totally unconscious, unable to see or hear or respond in any way.

他们认为，这种状态意味着你完全没有意识，不能看到、听到或者以任何方式做出反应。

But that's not how it is. For weeks after the trauma, I felt like I was locked in a nightmare, imprisoned¹⁹ in my body.

但是事情并不是这样的。创伤四周后，我感觉我被锁到了一个梦魇里，被囚禁在自己的身体里。

Sometimes I was unconscious, but other times I existed in a state that has no easy comparison.

有时我是没有意识的，但是其他时候，我处于在一个不容易做出判断的状态。

I couldn't focus on anyone or anything, but I could hear sounds and feel sensations.

我不能专注于任何人或任何事情，但是我能听到声音，有感觉。

I was so hot all the time that it felt as if my body were on fire.

我每时每刻都感觉太热了，感觉就像是我的身体着火了一样。

I began having thoughts that were almost hallucinations about lying in a pool of water.

我开始出现几乎是幻觉的关于躺在一池水上的想法。

1 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

2 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

3 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

4 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

6 pints   

n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel. 我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two pints today, please. 今天请来两品脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bloodied   

v.血污的( bloody的过去式和过去分词 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• His pants leg was torn and bloodied when he fell. 他跌交时裤腿破了，还染上了血。 来自辞典例句

8 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

9 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

10 distended   

v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童
• The balloon was distended. 气球已膨胀。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

15 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

16 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

17 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

18 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

19 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。