We get in our scrubs and the Medical Examiner (ME) says, "Ok you guys can go into that room and wait for me," and he points to the room were the body is. So we all stand near the body for a few minutes while we wait for the ME. It was weird that they just left us in there with the body. Anyway, this dead woman was there in a hospital gown waiting to be opened up. The ME gives us the rundown of what happened and removes her gown and begins.
They cut the skin in the way you would imagine...the way you see it done in the movies. It's crazy how well the scalpel cuts through flesh. I felt stable at that point and was suprised at how unnerved I was about seeing a human cut open. The ME starts pulling the skin away and describing the body. Oh I forgot to mention how the tongue was pushed through the teeth. And the body was so stiff...I can't believe it was a living person yesterday.
Anway, this other dude that is assisting (not sure of his exact title) gets this tool out that is basically bolt cutters, like this...
and starts chopping through the rib cages. The sound of rib cages snapping sounds like really big branches snapping. At that point the smell was getting to me. I don't know if it was chemicals or the body or both. I also underestimated how much the sight was affecting me. I sit down on a swivel chair with no arms because I feel light headed, and I feel this will remedy the situation. The next thing I remember was telling myself, "Wake up!" because I heard these voices. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw the doctor, the other dude, and the interns standing over me. So I'm a huge baby and fainted. Fainting is sort of like half dying to me. My head smashed on the ground when I fell off the chair. I think I won't die, but I'm going to get an MRI tomorrow to make sure. Now everyone in the office nows me as "The Girl Who Fainted at the Autopsy."
Hope I'm ok because I have a race to run on Saturday. River to Sea. It made The New York Times.
