Coma Quotes
"Medical school is made up of a thousand minor crises occasionally interrupted by truly epochal upheavals."
"Her mind was preoccupied with extracting itself from the clutches of a meaningless, disturbing dream after a restless, near-sleepless night."
"Having entered a profession dominated by males, in which essentially all the professors and instructors were males, Susan Wheeler could not skip a class without being missed."
"Despite the fact that Susan looked on her mentors in a neutral sexless way as her professional superiors, they did not return the view in kind."
"She read voraciously. Radcliffe had been perfect for her. She did well but she earned her grades."
"Susan made a horrible grimace and stuck her tongue out at the girl in the mirror, who did the same."
"The whole is larger than the sum of its parts; perception is too clouded by innumerable layers of emotional response."
"The fate of a sizable number of people depended on what was done or not done, what was found or not found."
"The truth of the matter was that she never really had been very sure she wanted to be a doctor."
"The idea of trial by fire was diametrically opposed to her basic methodology."
"Susan was totally detached from the conversation, almost in a fugue."
"In medicine we don’t ask questions like that. We treat the pneumonia because we have the antibiotics."
"Yet on the inside she just didn’t feel like the part, and there was the thought that she would be exposed at any moment as a charlatan."
"I hardly feel capable of carrying on a reasonable conversation in this humiliating nightgown, in this depersonalized milieu."
Maybe I am," said Susan. "I'll live with being unprofessional but I don't want to be accused of taking advantage of a cripple.
"Not another needle!" voiced Berman, dejected.
"The biggest difference between myself and Carpin was that Susan had an extra obstacle."
Don’t worry about the I.V. rate," said Miss Sterns. "I’ll adjust it shortly.
"Just relax," the nurse departed. Berman’s mouth was open, ready for another question, a hundred questions. Relax? Fat chance.
"I suppose your emotionalism serves constructive purposes," called Susan.
"He’s seen too much, I guess," said the orderly, pushing Berman into the hall.
"The distances between the floors seemed remarkably long to Susan."
"That doesn’t seem too much to ask," he hissed before abruptly turning away and leaving.
This is too much," said Susan suddenly and with obvious emotion. "A normal healthy man with a minor peripheral problem ends up like a vegetable.
"You’ve got to flow with the river or you’ll drown."
"In no time at all you’ll be able to run for medical student Phantom of the Year."
"You cannot possibly extrapolate data from the ER to the OR."
"I’m afraid I’m not in a position to grant it."
"This time she was going to do what she thought was right."
"You’re working overtime and you’re starting to have delusions."
"I thought I’d just come up and sort of get acquainted."
"Well, because I’ve posted a few cases like this before, and I’ve never found anything."
"I’m really sorry if I’ve caused you some difficulties, Mark, really I am. Needless to say, it was unintentional."
"Yeah, it was completely flat. The brain is gone."
"Don’t say anything for a second," said Susan, not daring to look at him.
"I really thought I had stumbled onto something… a new disease or a new complication of anesthesia or a new syndrome… something, I don’t know what."
"Susan, you’ve been staying up watching old horror movies. Admit it, Susan… admit it or I’ll think you’re having a psychotic break."
"I’ve got a case in fifteen minutes. If you want, we can talk about it tonight over dinner."
"He’s still alive, isn’t he?" asked Susan with a tingle of desperation in her voice.
"What the hell is the Jefferson Institute?"
"I’d like to look at some plans; the floor plans for the Jefferson Institute. It’s a relatively new hospital in South Boston."
"Out of curiosity, Miss Wheeler, let me ask you a rather simple question. What do you think is the major goal of this institution?"
"Education is more than a luxury; it is a responsibility that society owes to itself."
"Assholes," she hissed as she kicked a stray, partially crunched Campbell’s soup can.
"The train pulled into Charles Street. With great relief Susan jumped off the car and ran down the platform."
"Getting up and leaving Susan sleeping in his bed had provided a certain comforting feeling for Bellows."
"Stark’s question had caused some short laughs and a few snide remarks by the others on rounds."
"Susan, and his own response to her, remained an absorbing enigma."
"The peculiar, uninhabited look of the city recalled the deserted cities of the Mayans."
"It was as if things had gotten so bad that everyone decided to just close their doors and leave."
"His horribly compulsive mentality magnified the whole affair out of proportion."
"Susan had never been challenged in an equivalent capacity before."
"The power of the hand that held her by the throat was unmistakable."
"The fury of the unexpected attack had been totally overwhelming."
"I thought maybe I was on the track of a new disease or syndrome or drug reaction at the least."
"I’ve got to try to keep everyone as happy as possible."
"Susan felt a definite sense of relief when she had returned the charts to their hiding place."
"I might have known. Susan, it's after two A.M."
"You asked me if I wanted a drink. I’ve changed my mind. I want one."
"Some hospitality," said Susan sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Susan, I think you're jumping to conclusions. There's an easier explanation for this character who seems so interested in getting hold of you."
"Every time I tell you about some aggressive behavior from Harris to this fucker who tried to kill me, all you can come up with is some Goddamn sexist explanation."
"It's too much of a coincidence, Mark. All these cases apparently happened in room No. 8, and room No. 8 has an oxygen line that has a valve in it at a funny place, rather well concealed."
"You mean a type of valve which would allow gas to be introduced into the line?"
"I think so. I don’t know much about valves and the like."
"Did you trace the others to each room to be sure?"
"No, but room eight was the only line with a valve at the main chase."
"Simply having a valve doesn’t surprise me. Maybe they all have one someplace in their lines."
You’re really too much!" He got up and put his robe back on. "OK, what will you have?
"Bourbon, if you have it. Bourbon and soda, light on the soda."
"Carbon monoxide, holy shit." He walked back into his bedroom and got into bed once more.
"Anger per se had never solved anything."
"I’m a third-year medical student. My name is Susan Wheeler. I have no time at this moment."
"Everything will be all right. Just relax. Take a deep breath."
"I just happened to walk blindly into an amazing horror."
"You’re obviously one of the what should I say? . . . elite sounds too much like a cliché, but you know what I mean."
"Sometimes there are situations where… what should I say… the common folk, if you will, cannot be depended upon to make decisions which will provide long-term benefits."