Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole: Extraordinary Journeys into the Human Brain

by Allan H. Ropper

All ALS sufferers face a kind of Hobson’s choice. They will die. The only question is when and how. How much suffering are they willing to bear? How much incapacity? How much of a burden are they willing to become?

Many brain dead patients, once the ventilator is removed, exhibit the so-called Lazarus sign, where their arms spontaneously contract and their hands come up to their chest as though they’re grasping for the endotracheal tube. It’s creepy no matter how many times you’ve seen it.

‘Don’t think about epidural abscess the way you were taught, because the way you are taught is not the way it happens. I know. I’ve seen it up close and personal.’”