I have had a pacemaker implanted for many years but I am not self reliant on it. It is there because a genetic defect sometimes during stress can cause issues with my heart that the pacemaker takes care of. I found out a few days ago during a checkup that the battery had died and since they cannot be changed I was scheduled for surgery yesterday to have the old pacemaker removed and a new one implanted. I told the surgeon that I wanted to be awake for the procedure and that I did not want any sedation. He asked if I wanted a bullet to bite down on and I said no, I would do zazen instead. So he numbed the area on my chest where he was going to make the incision and I started. Since I couldn't sit cross legged and had to lay on the operating table I had to modify it slightly. Instead of just sitting I just laid. I noticed my breathing and tried to not think. There were a couple of times when I noticed pain or discomfort but was able to let it pass and return to zazen. More than that though it wasn't a whole lot different than doing zazen on my cushion. My mind would wander to things that had nothing to do with the surgery and I would let those thoughts drift away and return to not thinking. Every now and then the surgeon would ask if I was okay and I would respond "Great". One time when he asked how I was the nurse told him that I was meditating. After about 45 minutes he stitched up the incision and said "that's it, all done" and I stopped my zazen. I was ecstatic. I was not drugged up and I didn't have to spend the night in a hospital. In fact, since I hadn't had any sedation, I was driving myself home an hour later.
I hope this doesn't sound like bragging because that's not why I'm relating this story. I just wanted to tell someone what zazen did for me and most of my family and friends wouldn't understand so thank you all for letting me tell it to you.

Gassho,

Tom