The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: My Lucky Day Summary & Analysis

Bauby is having a difficult morning. The alarm on his feeding tube beeps incessantly, he is sweating profusely, his right eyelid—taped shut since the sutures have been removed—is irritated from said sweat, and his catheter has become detached, leaving him drenched in his own urine. Bauby can do nothing, though, but lie inert and hum to himself while “awaiting rescue.” When a nurse finally enters the room, she switches on the TV before even looking at Bauby—a commercial plays in which a computer spells out the question: “Were you born lucky?”