The Surgeon

The first time, a green line announced that operating room 9 would be free at noon, although the bypass scheduled before it never took less than four hours. The second, Nathan Kessler’s name was still listed under “7:00 a.m.,” even though his latest scan had not yet been reviewed by the surgeon who was supposed to open him up.

He remembers his patient dying on the operating table. The operation is in an hour.