My 81-year old father recently had double-bypass surgery at one of the top five medical centers for this procedure in New York State. Despite his age, he sailed through the operation without medical incident. However, the most frightening aspect of the whole process was the recovery experience, specifically the effects of anesthesia intoxication on his mental orientation.

Immediately after the operation, in the intensive care unit, he seemed fine. He couldn't talk because of the breathing tube, but he wrote me a note, albeit shakily, on a notepad. One of the things he wrote was the word "confused," a harbinger of things to come.

The next morning the intensive care unit called me with a problem. My father had had an emotional outburst during the preceding evening and had to be restrained and sedated. Additionally, this morning, he had refused all care. They needed to remove several drains from the wound site in order to prevent infection. Could I come and help?