It was a concussion, not a serious blow. To meet this goal for a program on head trauma, it was clear that we couldn't rely on a bunch of laboratory shots and lots of narration. Instead, we needed to capture an unfolding coma case, managed by Dr. Ghajar, from the moment it arrived in the emergency room. We needed to bring to the viewers a case that unfolded right before the cameras. I had walked away from my first meeting in New York on the COMA project with about two thousand truly convincing reasons not to proceed.
Doctors use that phrase to mystify the profession and keep it at arm's length from patients.
Medicine should be based on the best scientific evidence available, not on expert opinion, he explained. Treatment should include basic, repeatable steps that can be performed in small and big hospitals, rural and city areas. Dr. Ghajar, and a handful of his colleagues around the world, had set out to standardize the treatment of head trauma, which is surprisingly variable and sometimes detrimental. And I had the opportunity to witness the revolution. It was hard to resist.