The Women of 2030

              An in-progress oil painting of one of the women that inspires me to be creative and authentic.

39.) Describe, in detail, the  procedure of an Awake Craniotomy for the Right Inferior Lobule Glioma. 

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath;

she knows this, she knows this. 

She imagines herself running through the motions. 

She paints an elaborate portrait of her patient in her mind,

his name is Dave. He’s 53 years old, tall, thin, bald, and suffering from sleep-apnea and seizures:

A quick MRI reveals a tumor in the spatial cognition center,

and then it’s straight to the OR. 

A dose of local anesthesia,

and then the patient’s,

or rather,

Dave’s head is propped up by the right shoulder and turned to the left.  

Neuro-Navigation marks the first incision. 

Responses are regulated by a camera projecting his face on the wall. 

Then it's onto the big moment; the Frontal-Temporal Incision is made, 

and the Dura is opened.

Important anatomical structures are localized, 

the tumor limits are marked, 

and the stimulation threshold is determined. 

Dave, who is still awake despite having his entire head cut open, 

performs a line bisection test.

Then the real fun begins. 

The surgical microscope is brought out. 

The tumor resection and sub-bio dissection begin. 

The deepest point of the resection is reached, 

and there are no more anatomical landmarks. 

Muscle contractions are monitored to look for signs of abnormal sensation as the hardest part of the surgery takes place.

Normal tissue is reached and hemostatic fibrillar and gel foam are placed to stop internal bleeding and to prevent artery kinks. 

The skull is replaced and the skin is sewn up, 

and... that’s it.

 Dave is saved. 

Easy, Easy.

She imagines it. 

The thick circle of cut skin and bone around the vulnerable pink tissue webbed with deep purple arteries.

It’s beautiful. 

The holy grail of the human body, 

connecting synapses and twisting neurons. 

The fabric of one’s personality and the power central of their entire body. 

It’s miraculous, 

it’s fascinating, 

it’s science,

and she loves it. 

She is studying neurology. 

She wants to be a surgeon. 

She will be a surgeon. 

She has just answered the 39th, and final question on her master’s degree program final exam, and now her mind shifts to her doctorate. 

She is a woman who feels as comfortable in the field of science as she feels in her own skin. 

A field that is no longer male dominated. 

She lives in a world where the women aren’t afraid,

where they pursue the art of saving lives, 

where they are treated with the same degree of respect that they give, 

where they aren’t degraded with lower salaries; 

where they are free to be who they are, 

no matter where they are. 

She is determined, 

she is smart, 

she is a woman of the future.

Another woman walks down the sidewalk along a busy, city street. 

She swaggers with confidence and perfect balance in her glossy, black heels. 

Her hair is pulled tightly back, away from her face.

She wears a pair of large sunglasses that magnify her wide, enthusiastic eyes. 

They are fierce with determination. 

She has so many ideas, 

and she isn’t afraid to share them. 

She’s opinionated and she knows it; 

she’s assertive, and she loves it. 

She lives for that tingly feeling that she gets in the base of her stomach when an idea punches her in the gut. 

For that moment when a charismatic spark is fanned into a raging fire of creativity and innovation.

She feels the sun on her face and the slight breeze through the thin sleeves of her blouse as she walks.

She could have called a taxi to get her to the office, 

or she could have taken the train, 

but she didn’t want to. 

She gets all of her best ideas out in the world. 

Where inspiration is infinite.

Where the branches of the city’s trees cast unconventional shadows on the cement. 

She looks down at the gutters, littered with reflective, crushed cans and stubs of cigarette butts. The same spark that lit those dead camel lights now ignites an idea within her. 

As she walks, 

she plans a new project:

She would need to find a team before anything else. 

Then, they could start with a website, 

or a digital platform of some sort to get the word out. 

But before that they would need to start drafting a mission statement.

After all, communication of intent is key. 

From there they could go on to a business plan, 

and then they could solidify their main board. 

If they decided to go down the non-profit route,

then they could viably incorporate and file for a tax-exempt status. 

Of course, then they would have to register with the state agency…

She wants to start a volunteer organization for cleaning up litter around the city.

She wants to improve the conditions of her community, 

she wants to foster a greener world. 

She is organized,

she is resourceful, 

she is ambitious. 

She feels comfortable speaking her mind and sharing her bright ideas. 

She is strong, 

she is controversial, 

she is an innovator,

a businesswoman. 

She is a woman of the future.

A woman sits alone. 

She is older. 

Her skin is rough and folded in places that mark out the vast array of emotions she has used throughout her long life. 

She has been loved and she will always be, 

and now she sits alone. 

A wooden rocking chair placed by an isolated window with the frail old woman who contemplates her long life, 

her hardships, 

her achievements. 

All things that she can’t remember, 

but she tries to remember who she is. 

A woman sits on a sparkly, princess comforter on the edge of a twin bed in a small blue room. Soft whispers of the night air drift in from the open window and an alarm clock faintly ticks on the nightstand. 

As she closes the storybook on her lap she smiles at her daughter, 

tucked in tight.

“Mama,” she whispers, 

“what will it be like when I’m your age?”

The woman slides gracefully off of her daughter’s bed and kneels on the floor. 

She makes direct eye-contact with her little girl;

the child that means everything to her, 

who she will teach to achieve, 

who she will watch become a woman.

“You will be unstoppable,” she responds.