My patient, an elderly woman with a warm smile and bright lipstick greeted me enthusiastically though I didn’t know if she remembered me from the day before.

“You know, they did a surgery on me yesterday,” she told me.  “The doctor there, he was really surprised.  You know why? What came out was tiny fish! Can you believe it, tiny little fish swimming!”

I saw a tube, a small hose, snaking from her lung through her gown all the way to the plastic box on the floor.  The fluid in the box was blood, almost a liters worth.

“Oh?!” I said, picturing betta fish floating in the drain box, like an extravagant party table decoration for a strange medically-themed party.

“Yes! He said he had never seen anything like it before.” She shook her head.

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