Scary Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep - I woke up during surgery and they weren't trying to save me...

Episode Date: August 19, 2021

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Talk to nicely. Hey, guys, I will now be posting new episodes every weekday at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Be sure to follow the podcast to get notified when new episodes are released. Thank you all for tuning in, and now time for the story. All right, let's get this started. Incision time, 9.45. A manly voice said loudly, jolting me awake. I felt groggy, and my eyes were kept shut by tape covering my eyelids.
Starting point is 00:00:26 I tried to call out for help, but quickly realized, I couldn't form any words, nor move a single muscle. Was I paralyzed? Had I been in an accident? My mind was too shattered, unable to recall even the simplest information. Prepare the device, part 108. We don't have much time to get it in place, another voice said. A sharp pain shot through the back of my head,
Starting point is 00:00:48 immediately followed by warm liquid trickling down my neck. I wanted so desperately to cry out in pain, but I could do nothing but listen to what happened as something dug deeper into my skull. Apply pressure right there, will you? Don't you see the bleed? The first voice said. It's not working, the second responded after a moment. Fine.
Starting point is 00:01:06 Then cauterize it. The skin flap is already made. The smell of burned flesh filled the air, making me feel sick. Luckily, I could feel my stomach had already been completely emptied. I knew I hadn't eaten in quite some time. Then it dawned on me. Surgery? I was in surgery.
Starting point is 00:01:22 But I hadn't fallen asleep, and I couldn't move. The surgeon continued to burn my bleeding flesh. And as the pain intensified, I struggled to think back. All I had was a vague memory of a disease, some sort of cancer growing inside my abdomen. If that was the case, what were they doing inside my head? How's he holding up? One of the masks.
Starting point is 00:01:41 His blood pressure and heart rate are a bit high, but he's under for sure. Don't worry. Another responded. Well, I could hear and feel everything they did. I had no means of communication. Perforator drill. They started the drill up, shaking my body as they put it against my skull. The vibrations didn't hurt.
Starting point is 00:01:57 But the cracking sound is one I'll never forget. Shit, did you go too deep? Nah, he's fine. Once the bone was cut through, the pain slowly disappeared. With the brain having no pain receptors itself, I could do nothing but listen to the sickly squishes as they rummaged around inside my head. Is the device charged yet?
Starting point is 00:02:16 The surgeon asked. Charged and ready, doctor. I felt a vague sense of pressure as something was pushed deep inside my head. Desperate and terrified. I tried to think about the moments before surgery. I'd gone in for a tumor on my pancreas, and while I'm no anatomy genius, that shouldn't be anywhere near my head. Put the electrodes around the device entry, set it to 650 millamps.
Starting point is 00:02:37 A high-pitched tone was produced as they powered up the device, followed by a violent joy. And then, darkness. When I finally regained consciousness, I was lying in a hospital bed. A smiling woman stood in front of me. I recognized her as one of the prep nurses, though I hadn't caught her name yet. Everything went great, Mr. Jones. We got it all, she said ecstatic. What? What? I responded.
Starting point is 00:03:02 It's all right. The drugs might make you a bit woozy, but you'll be good in another hour or so. A doctor I hadn't seen before entered the room, holding a chart and a syringe containing a crimson but transparent liquid. Good afternoon, Mr. Jones. My name is Ethan. I'm just here to check up on you and finish the treatment. I peeked down in my abdomen. It stung and was covered in a large band-aid. Does it hurt? he asked.
Starting point is 00:03:27 Yeah, quite a bit, actually. We'll up the dosage of your pain medication in a moment. But first, let me give you the final part of your treatment. Now, this stuff burns a bit, he said, waving around the syringe. But even with most of the tumor gone, we've still got to kill off the stragglers. Don't want them to fester. As he prepared to inject me with the contents of the syringe, my mind started to clear. The memory of my surgery returned with a blast, and I'd violently retracted in bed.
Starting point is 00:03:54 ripping the IV line out with me. You drilled into my head, I shouted. What are you talking about? Ethan said, visibly confused. I woke up during surgery. I heard everything the surgeon said. They put something inside my head. Ethan nodded his head in understanding.
Starting point is 00:04:09 Mr. Jones, it's fairly normal to experience vivid dreams while under. Some even feel like they're floating around in the room watching the surgery. Some just have weird dreams. It's perfectly understandable to mix up fantasy and reality. No, it wasn't a dream. I even felt it. I argued as I reached for the back of my head. There was no wound, hair still intact, and no sign of any sutures. As I said, perfectly normal. I calmed down a bit due to his explanation and let him reset the IV and finish the injection. It burned as the liquid entered my veins,
Starting point is 00:04:42 searing up my arm and neck. I felt lightheaded. All done, Ethan said, smiling. You should rest now. You'll be here for observation for a few days. You'll be allowed visitors by tomorrow. It had seemed all too real. Yet my supposedly incurable cancer had been eradicated, only weeks after categorically being told I would die within six months. Even the setup surgery had been suspicious, starting from nothing more than a phone call from a Mr. Burke, representing a newly founded Art Effects Pharmaceuticals. They were working on a new treatment for terminal cancer patients, he had said.
Starting point is 00:05:17 He told me I'd fit the criteria for the treatment, free of charge, seeing as it wasn't FDA approved yet. We set up a quick meet and he explained the procedure which would combine surgery and their new chemotherapy drug. At the time, my choices were either to die slowly and painfully from cancer or die quickly on the operating table. Naturally, being in the last stages of life, I took the gamble, and that's how I ended up miraculously cured, against all odds. The next week came and went. I was discharged with a bottle of pain medication to keep me going while I healed. Yet, I just couldn't shake the horrific nightmare from the day of the surgery. Out of curiosity, I looked through the papers I'd been given by the company.
Starting point is 00:05:58 Surprised to find that nowhere in the 50-page-long document did they ever mention the name Art Effects Pharmaceuticals, nor the name of any employee. I tried to call the number they'd given me, but it continuously returned a busy signal. Confused and haunted by the nightmare, I could do nothing but rest, and hope they'd call me back in for a checkup.
Starting point is 00:06:19 I needed answers. Time went on, and after a month in recovery, which I spent mostly catching up on my favorite TV shows, I was ready to return to work. First order of business was meeting with my boss, Daniel Harrison. He had always been good to me and allowed me all the time off I needed while going through with the treatment. While it wasn't an amazingly well-paid job, I was happy to be there. Benjamin, great to have you back. He basically shouted as I entered the office, embracing me in a rough hug. We then returned to more professional means of greeting each other, and shook hands as we went on to talk about my future in the company. I sat myself down in front of the desk when I started hearing a bizarre sound.
Starting point is 00:06:59 Feedback like static, though I couldn't for the life of me figure out its origin. It was just vague, barely audible at first. I tried to ignore it, but Harrison immediately noticed something was off. Are you all right? You look a bit pale, he said. Yeah, I'm fine. Do you hear that? I responded as the sound kept increasing in volume. Hear what? Uh, never mind.
Starting point is 00:07:23 My head just hurts a bit, I said, playing off my increasing anxiety. He gave an odd look while pondering what to say next. Then he saw it. Look, Benjamin, I know it's not easy to recover from such an ordeal. It's a burden, both mentally and physically. In fact, I once went through a similar situation many years ago, and it left a scar on my self-esteem, like I wasn't strong enough to survive without help.
Starting point is 00:07:48 I'm sorry, I never knew, I said. The sound reaching unbearable levels. That's all right. I never really talk about it. It was almost 15 years ago anyway. He paused for a moment. His wide smile turned to a confused look. It was odd, though, thinking back,
Starting point is 00:08:03 I was supposed to be a terminal case, told me I'd be a goner within a year. Then, out of the blue, some guy showed up at my doorstep, proposing a miracle cure. His story hit too close to home for comfort. I can't even remember their name. Everything following the surgery feels somewhat vague, distant.
Starting point is 00:08:20 What was that company called again? He asked himself. My boss chuckled. It's all gone. I think something beginning with A. Um, art something. Art effects pharmaceuticals? Yes, that's the one!
Starting point is 00:08:34 He yelled, barely audible over the static sound filling my head. How'd you know? That's the same one that fixed me up. They said they were new. That's odd. He simply responded. I excused my son. from the office, claiming the headache was worse than I thought, and Harrison said I should
Starting point is 00:08:49 take as much time off as needed. No, he ordered me to take time off. No sooner had I left the office before the sound stopped. I let out a sigh of relief, and hurried back home to once more go over the documents. After a fruitless search, I tried the internet, more phone calls, and looked through my email filled with thousands of junk messages. Nothing. If they had truly cured Harris in 15 years in the past. The drug had to be well past at the experimental stage, and I demanded answers. My awakening during surgery, the sound breaking my eardrums from within my own head, and the fact that no one I knew had ever heard about artifacts pharmaceuticals outside my treatment. It was all too much to handle. I decided that in the morning I'd returned to the hospital
Starting point is 00:09:33 and find one of the doctors working on my case, but my head was shattered. I needed to rest. That night, I spent lying awake, unable to find any comfort in the fact that I was cancer-free. Around midnight, my phone rang. One of my old co-workers, whom I hadn't spoken to since my treatment. Benjamin, he said in a somber tone, Alex, I didn't really expect to hear from you. Why are you calling this late? Is everything all right?
Starting point is 00:09:58 It's Harrison. He... He's dead. Dead? When? Ow! Apparently Harrison had suffered a brain hemorrhage from an undiagnosed brain aneurysed. not long after I left the day before.
Starting point is 00:10:10 Just like that, he was gone. Morning rolled around, and without a lick of sleep, I headed for the hospital. I asked the receptionist to speak to any representative of artifacts pharmaceuticals. She claimed she'd never heard of such a company. When I then asked for one of the doctors, I realized I couldn't exactly remember their full names.
Starting point is 00:10:28 So, I asked if anyone in the surgical department was named Ethan. After doing a quick search on the computer, she simply shook her head. Defeated, I left without answers. I continued the fruitless internet search for a couple of weeks, but work quickly occupied most of my time. It was a dreadful place in the wake of Harrison's death.
Starting point is 00:10:48 New management took over, and I had to start moving on with life. After half a year, I started to settle down in my life, free from the disease, but with an additional few pounds gained from the recovery. In a futile attempt at combating the weight gain, I returned to the gym, spending most time running aimlessly on the treadmill. I was just reaching my first mile, a huge achievement for someone like myself, when the god-awful feedback sound returned, almost knocking and clear off the treadmill.
Starting point is 00:11:15 I glanced to my side, noticing a man in his mid-forties who just started running next to me. Unlike myself, he was in an ungodly, well-kept shape, wearing an oversized tank top. It revealed a massive surgical scar on the side of his chest, nicely decorated with a tattoo of a tree, reading Arborvite beneath it. He noticed my pained expression and stare. You all right, mate? He asked as he walked towards me. The sound intensifying as he got closer,
Starting point is 00:11:41 making me clutch my ears in agony. As suddenly as it had begun, the sound just stopped. The man in front of me fell over to the ground, briefly seizing before lying there, lifeless. He'd suffered a brain hemorrhage. At least, that was as much information as I could get from the gym staff,
Starting point is 00:11:57 but I knew it was more than that. The man had died just like Harrison, that horrific sound preceding his sudden demise, following the gym event. I visited three separate doctors, begging them to have a look at my head, CT, MRI, whatever they could offer. I'd take it.
Starting point is 00:12:13 I even told them about my cancer treatment, but no record of my hospitalization even existed. The first doctor recommended to shrink. The second was clueless, and only the third agreed to give me a scan to check for anything abnormal. Well, Mr. Jones, luckily we settled for the CT
Starting point is 00:12:29 because the MRI would have torn your brain to shreds. You really should have told me you had some kind of implant. Outside of that, the starburst basically made your scan unreadable. Excuse me? I said, confused, but not entirely surprised that something in there didn't belong. I'm sorry, a starburst is what happens when we put metal in a CT scanner, but that's far better than putting you inside a giant magnet. You did. No, I mean, what implant? I interrupted. The doctor showed me a section of the CT. A large flare-looking artifact covered most of the picture, but in its center was a diamond-shaped metal object.
Starting point is 00:13:05 I have to ask, have you had any brain surgery at all? I can't for the life of me figure out what this thing is, but it's clearly not a physiological formation, the doctor said, pointing to the thing inside my head. I don't know. Well, have you been in any accidents? Maybe a car crash or other type. Sometimes debris stuck inside you can travel through your blood vessels
Starting point is 00:13:27 regardless of where the original injury was. I had pancreatic cancer stage three. They did surgery and gave some experimental treatment, but what exactly did they give you? He asked, sounding more curious than concerned. It was just an injection, I think, and it was only once following the surgery. Look, Mr. Jones, I'm not an oncologist, but as far as I know, there aren't any single injections on the market that can cure cancer. What you'd need would be months of chemo spanning over several sessions. Whatever they gave you, it wasn't for the cancer.
Starting point is 00:13:59 He looked over my head, and to my surprise, he actually found a scar that I myself hadn't noticed, though only a minuscule one. Well, you have a scar for sure. But it's amazingly well hidden. Never seen anything so small from brain surgery. I tried to explain my experience during the surgery to the best of my limited memory, but he couldn't help. He told me he'd look into some different pharmaceutical trials to see if anything fit my explanation,
Starting point is 00:14:25 but he didn't seem very hopeful. He couldn't even remove the damn thing, claiming it sat too close to my brain stem or something. So, here I am. Living life as best as I can, still waiting for answers. Every now and then, the sound will return. And when it does, I just stop dead in my steps and run the other way. I can't let anyone else die simply by getting too close.
Starting point is 00:14:48 Whatever they did to me, I'm not alone. There are others out there with the same implants, and I fear we'll just have to wait to see what their purpose is. If anyone ever gets contacted by Art Effects Pharmaceuticals, don't agree to any of their miracle cures. Richard Saxon wrote this story and many others for this podcast. He recently came out with his first book. It is only $2.99 on Amazon, and it is free if you have Kindle Unlimited. Search Tales from the Depths on Amazon or click the link in the description below.
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