A Ramble around Anaesthetics, by Elizabeth Kay
There’s nothing quite like having a procedure you haven’t had for over forty years to make you realise how different things are today from what you once knew. This may even determine whether you set your book in the present or the past! Going to the dentist as a child was the ultimate horror experience. I don’t remember ever having an injection – although cocaine was involved somewhere along the line, so to speak. A filling was a lengthy and painful procedure. What you did get for a tooth extraction was a general anaesthetic through a mask. I don’t remember anyone other than the dentist being present for this, but I do remember having weird dreams, one of which consisted of a series of treble clefs doing some sort of circular dance. I liked general anaesthetics, which came in pretty handy in later life when they didn’t frighten me in the slightest. A few months ago I had a broken molar removed, and this was done with the aid of seve...