Wit

Vivian tells the audience that most dramas would only show the highlights of a story, or as she puts it, the “most interesting aspects” of her illness (34). But Vivian wants viewers to understand her daily experience, too, which is mostly waiting. She says time drags on, despite being scarce, and warns the audience that if she were “writing this scene, it would last a full fifteen minutes. I would lie here, and you would sit there” to fully capture the tediousness of her treatment (35).

But the scene changes anyway, and now Vivian finds herself in the middle of “Grand Rounds,” which is when Dr. Kelekian and Jason bring in medical students to review her case. After a quick, “How are you feeling today,” Jason lifts Vivian’s gown to expose her abdomen (35). There she lays on full display as the doctors discuss her case among themselves. Jason uses clinical terms to outline Vivian’s cancer, its locations, and her treatment, and some students even reach over to poke at Vivian’s abdomen. As Jason speaks over her, Vivian tells the audience that the students read her “like a book,” and she remarks that while she once “did the teaching, now I am taught” (37).