Days When Paul's Patients Died
Paul bearing the weight of losing patients described the days when he lost a patient using a simile. He described them as, ' But some days, like a humid muggy day, it had a suffocating weight of its own.' This description likens the days that are emotionally heavy to days that are dull because of being muggy and humid.
Simile to Describe Surgery
Paul described a surgery done by a fast surgeon as, 'The skin opens like a curtain...' This description the narrator has used a simile to liken surgery to the opening of a curtain.
Metaphor to describe the treatment journey of a patient
Paul once had a a patient who had a tumor. As he told the patient of the results of her scan, he tells her that, '... this was just the first step in a marathon.' The words steps are metaphorical for the diagnosis and the marathon is metaphorical for the long treatment journey that the patient would go through.
Metaphor to describe emotional despair
At one time, Paul had an emotional breakdown when he told the mother of a newborn that her child would die because it had been born without a brain. Paul described the emotional weight as, '... in taking up another's cross, one must sometimes get crushed by the weight.' The cross is metaphorical for a patient's suffering while getting crushed by the weight is metaphorical for getting an emotional breakdown.
Residency
The narrator uses a metaphor to describe his experience at residency. He described it as, 'Most people, even your closest colleagues don't quite understand the black hole that is neurosurgical residency.' The black hole is metaphorical for residency for it was tough and difficult for residents.
