GOD DAMN IT KYLE

I WANT HELP

That's it. That's the one. Thank you sir.

I have a note on the Doctor laughing as he performs surgery upon himself - other than to remark "Physician, heal thyself."

There is mention in The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann of a rather unique reaction to thoracic surgery. The story focuses on a hotel in the alps that had been converted to a sanitarium for those infected with tuberculosis. Part of the treatment includes the removal of several ribs in order to ease breathing. During surgery the lung may be touched induced an autonomic response from the patient in the form of a giggle or laugh. This suggests that the lungs are ticklish. This stood out to me as one of the more disturbing scenes. Compounding this is the fact that those who had undergone this surgery formed their own special club at the sanitarium. The would smugly breathe in a whistling fashion to prove their status, as if somehow they were superior.

The novel is full of such absurdism, essentially mirroring the state of Europe leading up to WWI.

Anyhow, the laugh of the doctor reminded me of this, making me wonder if he, too, touched his lung while performing self surgery.