The trauma surgeon: introduction
The general medical officer: the early postgraduate years
My first major trauma: the junior surgical resident
Indoctrination, brainwashing, and sleep deprivation: the training of a surgeon
Baptism by fire: the county hospital
The university experience: the world's greatest trauma surgeon
A tragic ending: Albuquerque
Pure hell: cardiovascular surgery
Good fortune: the chief surgical resident
The independent surgeon: Fort Polk Louisiana
the day that changed everything: transition to civilian practice
Limb lost, life saved: the mutilated limb
Cold-blooded killer: a mother's undying love
Broken minds and damaged bodies: mental illness
The illegal alien: everyone has an angle
Off to war: deployment to Afghanistan
A desolate wasteland: Afghanistan
Suicide by crossbow: treating the full spectrum of the ages
Trauma and the flesh-eating bacteria: the brutal disfigurement of a woman's body
Parking lot murder: a senseless killing
The sniper's rifle: the benevolence of a SWAT team member
The alcoholic trauma patient: one of many ways to ruin one's life
Back to the combat zone: deployment to Iraq
Guns, knives, and drugs: urban violence
Poor Roger: a painful, bitter ending
The final chapter: it has been a privilege.
