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Saving King
An intense dramatization of the 64 minute struggle to save MLK's life after he was shot in 1968—and how it might have been different if he was shot in 2013. Creative nonfiction at it's best. This is a study of the trauma system as it existed in Memphis in 1968, and as it exists throughout the United States of 2013.
According to King biographer Taylor Branch (At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68), King was standing on the balcony outside room 306 on the second floor of the Lorraine Motel when Jesse Jackson hollered up to him: “Doc, you remember Ben Branch?” King replied “Oh yes, he’s my man.” King then said, “Ben, make sure you play ‘Precious Lord, Take My Hand,’ in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty.”
Ben Branch replied “Okay, Doc, I will.”
There was no reply.
King had spoken his last words, and in the words of biographer Taylor Branch, time on the balcony had turned lethal and King’s sojourn on earth went blank.
But did it? Did it do so immediately? Was King doomed the moment that bullet crashed through him? Is there any action that might have saved his life as he lay supine on that balcony. Bleeding profusely from a wound to his right jaw and neck? He wasn’t pronounced dead for 64 minutes. Was he, in fact, alive during that time? Was there ever a chance he could have been saved by the relatively crude trauma care of 1968? And how about today? If King was shot in 2013, might he survive?
The answers to these questions and more are interesting and worth pursueing. They illustrate, if nothing more, how far trauma care has come in the forty-five years since that fateful night. Based on a close reading of eyewitness reports, the autopsy filing, the 1978 House Select Committee on Assassinations’ investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King, and other sources, I have put together a creative but nonfictitious account of the efforts to save Dr. King’s life in the 64 minutes that followed his shooting.
This is an intense, no holds barred look at what transpired in 1968, and an equally intense account of what might occur under similar circumstances today. If you have any interest in medicine, surgery, the drama of the emergency room, or trauma in general, you won’t want to miss this.
According to King biographer Taylor Branch (At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68), King was standing on the balcony outside room 306 on the second floor of the Lorraine Motel when Jesse Jackson hollered up to him: “Doc, you remember Ben Branch?” King replied “Oh yes, he’s my man.” King then said, “Ben, make sure you play ‘Precious Lord, Take My Hand,’ in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty.”
Ben Branch replied “Okay, Doc, I will.”
There was no reply.
King had spoken his last words, and in the words of biographer Taylor Branch, time on the balcony had turned lethal and King’s sojourn on earth went blank.
But did it? Did it do so immediately? Was King doomed the moment that bullet crashed through him? Is there any action that might have saved his life as he lay supine on that balcony. Bleeding profusely from a wound to his right jaw and neck? He wasn’t pronounced dead for 64 minutes. Was he, in fact, alive during that time? Was there ever a chance he could have been saved by the relatively crude trauma care of 1968? And how about today? If King was shot in 2013, might he survive?
The answers to these questions and more are interesting and worth pursueing. They illustrate, if nothing more, how far trauma care has come in the forty-five years since that fateful night. Based on a close reading of eyewitness reports, the autopsy filing, the 1978 House Select Committee on Assassinations’ investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King, and other sources, I have put together a creative but nonfictitious account of the efforts to save Dr. King’s life in the 64 minutes that followed his shooting.
This is an intense, no holds barred look at what transpired in 1968, and an equally intense account of what might occur under similar circumstances today. If you have any interest in medicine, surgery, the drama of the emergency room, or trauma in general, you won’t want to miss this.
29 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 16, 2013
5 people want to read
About the author
Edison McDaniels
25 books124 followersAudiobook narrator and producer, as well as an author myself..
My hallmark in fiction: ordinary folks caught in the maelstrom of extraordinary circumstances. My tales are calculated to keep you in suspense & my writing is intense, no doubt about it. I like to think of it as life charged to the highest intensity. Engaging, heartbreaking fiction that doesn't disappoint.
In the words of Charles Dickens, AMERICAN NOTES: "All that is loathsome, drooping, or decayed is here."
My stories run to the darker aspects of human nature, but no gratuitous violence. I paint pictures with words. I am one of those who believes a story is a found thing, like digging a fossil out of the ground. At first you work with big tools, taking large swipes. Later, the tools get more refined and the picking becomes more focused as you try to get the thing out with the least damage possible. In this regard, writing is all about revision, revision, revision. I can't stress the importance of that idea. Revision. And you have to read. Can't be a writer if you don't read. Period.
I am a surgeon in the daytime. I rarely write about medicine and surgery as the prime subject, but frequently feature some offbeat account of medicine or surgery in my stories. I take great pride in my ability to write for the masses (for lay readers). I do often include graphic scenes of surgery—not necessarily in an operating room and not necessarily by a trained surgeon—so if you are the sort who covets shows like Trauma in the ER or New York Med, or you secretly long to be a voyeur amid the trauma and carnage of a big city ER (Bellevue in New York, Charity in New Orleans—which was destroyed by Katrina, Parkland in Dallas, MLK in Los Angeles, etc) my books are probably for you. As noted above, I put ordinary people in extraordinary situations. The machinations of how they squirm is the story.
Influences (in no particular order) include Cormac McCarthy, Alexander Laing (The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck is a spectacular & classic horror story from the 1930's), Stephen King, Neville Shute, Ray Bradbury, Shelby Foote, Erich Remarque, Ken Follett, Antony Beevor, Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Herman Melville, & many, many others.
You can follow me on twitter, @surgeonwriter. Thanks!
My hallmark in fiction: ordinary folks caught in the maelstrom of extraordinary circumstances. My tales are calculated to keep you in suspense & my writing is intense, no doubt about it. I like to think of it as life charged to the highest intensity. Engaging, heartbreaking fiction that doesn't disappoint.
In the words of Charles Dickens, AMERICAN NOTES: "All that is loathsome, drooping, or decayed is here."
My stories run to the darker aspects of human nature, but no gratuitous violence. I paint pictures with words. I am one of those who believes a story is a found thing, like digging a fossil out of the ground. At first you work with big tools, taking large swipes. Later, the tools get more refined and the picking becomes more focused as you try to get the thing out with the least damage possible. In this regard, writing is all about revision, revision, revision. I can't stress the importance of that idea. Revision. And you have to read. Can't be a writer if you don't read. Period.
I am a surgeon in the daytime. I rarely write about medicine and surgery as the prime subject, but frequently feature some offbeat account of medicine or surgery in my stories. I take great pride in my ability to write for the masses (for lay readers). I do often include graphic scenes of surgery—not necessarily in an operating room and not necessarily by a trained surgeon—so if you are the sort who covets shows like Trauma in the ER or New York Med, or you secretly long to be a voyeur amid the trauma and carnage of a big city ER (Bellevue in New York, Charity in New Orleans—which was destroyed by Katrina, Parkland in Dallas, MLK in Los Angeles, etc) my books are probably for you. As noted above, I put ordinary people in extraordinary situations. The machinations of how they squirm is the story.
Influences (in no particular order) include Cormac McCarthy, Alexander Laing (The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck is a spectacular & classic horror story from the 1930's), Stephen King, Neville Shute, Ray Bradbury, Shelby Foote, Erich Remarque, Ken Follett, Antony Beevor, Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Herman Melville, & many, many others.
You can follow me on twitter, @surgeonwriter. Thanks!
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 10, 2014
One hell of a read! Awesome.
March 15, 2015
Saving King is a fascinating look at the tragic death of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. It's also a history lesson on prehospital emergency care, EMS, trauma surgery, police procedures and so much more. Author Edison McDaniels is a neurosurgeon and a preeminent expert on trauma. I HIGHLY recommend reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews