I flew to the Midwest to visit my little brother, Fred, one of the top spine surgeons in the United States. Fred picked me up at the airport and told me he either could drop me off at his home to visit with his wife and their kids, or I could go with him to the Children's Hospital, where he'd just been called in for an emergency procedure. He would outfit me as a medical student and I could watch him perform the surgery. "Are you kidding? Let's go!" I agreed excitedly. Without stopping to think about what I was going to see. Wearing blue scrubs, booties, cap and mask, I stood by Fred along side a gurney while he talked to the...