The Checklist

In Gawande's "The Checklist", he writes about the modern marvel that is the Intensive Care Unit. The I.C.U. is the place where miracles happen at most hospitals, and somehow they are able to save people when the odds are stacked against them. In his article he writes about a patient who was rushed into I.C.U. when a surgery went horribly wrong and his liver and kidneys failed. He was under close watch by hospital staff for 10 days and showed signs of improvement, but suddenly on the 11th day he started experiencing severe complications, because the catheters, I.V. lines and dialysis tubes placed inside him were all infected. This caused him to spend another 2 months in the hospital, the entire time wondering if he would even be alive the next day, much less worrying about when he would be able to leave. The author writes that these complications are exceedingly common in hospitals today, and out of all the patients that spend time in the I.C.U., nearly half experience a serious complication. This is to be expected, when you are dealing with these life or death situations. However, most people would prefer to deal with a complication in a hospital than simply die without a fighting chance.