Summary

Kay opens the chapter telling the reader that the previous diary entry was the last one he wrote. Although everyone at the hospital was very kind to him after it happened, he felt a bit like “I’d sprained my ankle” (257). Because of the way they system works, however, Kay could not take time off. He tells the reader that these awful days “happen far too often” for people to take “a month’s compassionate leave” (257).

Although he has experienced death on the ward, Kay tells the reader that this time was different because he was the most senior person on the ward. Though he was not officially negligent, Kay struggles with the “might have” if he had done things differently (258). Kay came back to work the next day, but he tells the reader that he was “a different doctor,” becoming extremely over-cautious (258). He...