I was under anesthesia when it wore off too early. I couldn’t open my eyes, but I heard my son’s wife tell the surgeon: “If something goes wrong, don’t call her lawyer. Call me first.”

The anesthesia began fading long before the surgery was over. At first, I thought I was dreaming. Everything around me felt distant and heavy, like I was floating underwater while the world continued somewhere far above. I couldn’t open my eyes. I couldn’t move my hands. Even breathing felt borrowed, controlled by the machines surrounding…