A visit by the anesthesiologist
Part One: the 'cramp' story
(a transcription emphasizing the semantic content is also available. This sequence is discussed mostly in Part I.2 "Extraordinary times" of the presentation)
Above all note the stability of the positions of the participants for more than a minute and a half, particularly the anesthesiologist who may have triggered the long story and is the designated recipient. Cotter fusses with the camera but she stays in place, Lonnie flexes her leg, the husband barely moves at all.
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Greeting from the anesthesiologist on a joking mode joined by the researcher |
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a brief medical moment as the anesthesiologist asks Lonnie to evaluate her pain level. |
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The beginning of the story |
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"and that Chinese doctor said: 'Give me a cramp, give me a cramp'": The punch line of the joking story, laughter |
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"She is dangerous": General laughter around a possibly consequential identification (an index to the previous index?) |
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from one episode of interstitial chitchat to another |
Footnote #1
The cramp story indexes (points to) an event in Lonnie's history. As told
to the anesthesiologist during the labor, and concluded with the unchallenged
"she is dangerous," this index indexes a now "real"
feature of Lonnie for the purpose of this labor. This fact, possibly new
for the anesthesiologist who is being taught various things about Lonnie,
itself points to significant features of labor: pain is possible, pain
can be mitigated, pain is mitigated by medical intervention that is not
under the authority of the patient though the patient has the power of
the slave over the master: she can lie.