Trauma Fifty-Four.

963 October 2015 Anesthesiology, V 123 • No 4 963 October 2015 TThank you, Trauma Fifty-Four. Although our encounter was extremely brief, you had such an impact on all of us. You never said a word. There was never any eye contact. I didn’t even know your name until the next day when it was broadcast on the local news. You left this world, only 34 minutes after we met. At that moment, I noticed a hand gently caressing your head. Behind me was the sound of nurses and technicians as they quietly sobbed. Those in front of me seemed frozen in time. It was not until my own tears were absorbed by my surgical mask that my eyes and mind cleared enough to realize that it was my hand that was on your head. You came to us in the wee hours of the night at a time when most were snuggled in the warmth and comfort of their beds. Thirty-four minutes later, it was time for the people who came in to help care for you to go home. For those of us who had to stay, it was time to prepare for the next case.