Chapters 3 and 4, The Tao of Laugh-In and Fear Itself Summary and Analysis

By the time Lucy has had three operations leading into the major surgery to remove the majority of her jawbone, she's come to dread pre-operative injections but hasn't fully comprehended what's about to happen. The nurse she likes best is Mary and at least part of the affection is because Mary doesn't say that the coming injection isn't going to hurt. Instead, she laughingly tells Lucy that "it's not going to hurt me a bit." Mary tries to tell Lucy about her upcoming surgery, but Lucy doesn't listen. When she wakes in recovery, she's hurting all over and finds she has had a tracheotomy, meaning she can only talk by covering the tube with her finger. As soon as she's up walking, Lucy discovers that...