读者文摘:奇迹生还的男孩(5)（在线收听）

The skewer had missed his facial nerve, which controls facial expression and the sense of taste.

尖杆没有刺到他的面部神经，该神经控制着人的面部表情和味觉。

Most important, it had missed both the crucial arteries: the carotid and vertebral.

更重要的是，它没有刺到两个重要的动脉：颈动脉和椎动脉。

In fact, it appeared to have actually nudged them out of the way without puncturing them.

实际上，尖杆似乎是把动脉挤开了，而没有刺到它们。

I don't know how a kid can be so lucky, thought Dr. Ebersole. "Jeremy," he said, "put your hands on that thing, get a feel for how easily it'll move."

埃伯索尔医生说，我不知道这个孩子怎么会这么幸运。他说，“杰里米，把你的手放在那个杆子上，感受一下它容不容易松动。”

He was speaking to chief resident Jeremy Peterson, MD, a burly 32-year-old who stood near the boy's head.

站在他边上和他说话的是总住院医师杰里米·皮特森，现年32岁的率直的医学博士。

It would be up to him to remove the skewer. Truth be told, Dr. Peterson was nervous,

他将是把尖杆去掉的那个人。说实话，皮特森医生很紧张。

but he placed a steady left hand at the base of the skewer to anchor it; his right hand grasped just above his left.

但是他稳稳地将左手放在尖杆底端将其固定，右手则在左手稍上方握住尖杆。

He nudged it back and forth ever so slightly while Dr. Ebersole watched on the monitor in case the movement harmed a vessel.

他非常轻微地前后推着它，而埃伯索尔医生则盯着监测器，以防尖杆损伤血管。

It barely moved. "It feels pretty solid," Dr.Peterson said. "OK, let's go," said Dr. Ebersole.

皮特森医生说，“它几乎没有动，刺的很结实。好吧，我们走。”

He'd be the eyes, watching the monitor constantly, while Dr. Peterson would have the feel of the thing as he worked on getting it out.

他充当着眼睛，经常看着监测器，而皮特森医生则要找到感觉，把尖杆去掉。他必须得很慢，有力，而且得平滑地把它拔出来。

He'd have to do it slowly, strongly, yet smoothly, mostly from his right arm, while being careful that his left "base" hand didn't exert too much pressure—because it was literally on Xavier's eye.

这个过程主要是使用右手的力量，同时得小心，底端的左手不能施加太大的力-因为左手就在泽维尔的眼睛上。

The skewer was surprisingly hard to budge. It took all the strength in Dr. Peterson's right arm to move it an inch—then it stopped.

令人意外的是，拔动尖杆非常难。皮特森医生用尽了右臂所有的力量才拔动了一点-然后就卡住了。

"It feels stuck on something." "OK, hands off," ordered Dr. Ebersole.

“感觉是卡在什么东西上了”。“把手放开”，埃伯索尔要求道。

Dr. Peterson carefully let go of the skewer and took a half step back, while Dr.Ebersole enhanced the view. The clearer picture showed that it was hung up on a neck ligament, not a danger.

皮特森医生谨慎地放开尖杆，并往后退了半步，埃伯索尔加强了检测视图。更清晰的图片显示它挂在颈部韧带上，没有危险。

But the skewer was now so close to the vertebral artery that it was bending it.

但是尖杆离椎动脉太近了，使它产生了弯曲。

"Jeremy, angle it a little toward you." This would move it away from that artery. Dr. Peterson did as asked. "OK, go again." It worked.

“杰里米，把角度朝你那调整一点。”这会使它离开椎动脉。皮特森医生照做了。“好的，来吧。”奏效了。

Dr. Ebersole watched the tip of the skewer safely pass the vertebral artery. "It's sliding pretty easy now," said Dr. Peterson.

埃伯索尔看着杆子的尖端安全地通过了椎动脉处。皮特森医生说，“现在移动它非常轻松”。

Yet he continued to pull it very slowly, especially as it passed the jugular—would it pull open the seal that had formed? No; the jugular had healed itself.

但是他还要继续慢慢地拔，尤其是尖杆经过颈静脉的时候-它会将已形成的创面扯开吗？不会，颈静脉已经自己痊愈了。

Then, finally, the last hurdle: the carotid artery. The metal passed it smoothly, too—and suddenly, the skewer was out.

然后，最后一个障碍：颈动脉。尖杆也很平滑地经过了它-突然，尖杆就出来了。

It was 3 p.m. when Dr. Ebersole came into the waiting room and told Xavier's parents, "It's out.

下午3点，埃伯索尔医生走进候诊室，对泽维尔的父母说：“拔出来了。

He's OK." There was a cheer from the crowd of family and friends. "Can I hug you?" asked Gabrielle, and she did.

“他没事。”亲朋好友马上就欢呼起来。加布里埃尔问，“我能拥抱你吗？”她就拥抱了医生。

The only physical evidence of Xavier's unplanned adventure is a tiny bump beside his nose and some numbness on the left side of his face.

这次意外的冒险在泽维尔脸上留下的唯一痕迹就是鼻子边上的一个小肿块，还有使他的左半边脸有些麻木。

And yet, things are different nowadays. Xavier often grabs the leash to take Max for walks—he's no longer scared to walk the dog alone.

然而，现在情况不同了。泽维尔经常抓住皮带带麦克斯散步，他不再害怕独自遛狗了。

And when he gets a scrape or has a mishap, instead of going straight to ten on the pain scale the way he used to,

当泽维尔被刮伤或是倒霉的时候，他不再会像以前那样直奔疼痛评分表上的10分，

he'll look at his mom calmly and say, "This hurts pretty bad." "Is it skewer bad?" Gabrielle will ask, and Xavier will laugh.

他会看着他的母亲，平静地说，“这个很疼。”“像尖杆刺到那样糟糕吗？”加布里埃尔会这样问道，然后泽维尔就笑了起来。