A young patient came into the trauma bay with part of her face blown off. Someone had shot her point blank with a high-velocity round from an assault rifle.
It was horrifying inspecting the damage one human being was willing to inflict upon another. But seeing the evisceration of the delicate anatomical structures in this patient's face furthermore felt like a personal affront. As I've come to know the human body, I've come to appreciate it as a elegant, beautiful specimen. Examining this patient was like beholding a Monet painting that someone had torn off the wall of a museum and then smashed a hole into with their knee.
Gunshot wounds are more than just murderous. They are profane.
