‘This is IMPRESSIVE, how’d you stay awake that long’: Woman fights anesthesia by talking about googly eyes and nipples during surgery

Some people have always got to have the last word. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, it could just mean they really, really like to chat. Such is the case for TikTok star Jen Hamilton who shared a hilarious video of the time she managed to fight off anesthesia when she went into surgery, by regaling the medical team with a funny anecdote — and it’s seriously impressive just how long she lasted before sleep took her.

Despite getting a healthy dose of anesthetic, Jen begins the video as chirpy and chatty as if she wasn’t lying on a table in an operating room. Clearly making a game of seeing how long she can last before giving in, Jen keeps herself awake by telling her doctors and nurses about how she went to Hobby Lobby the night before with her husband. Jen reveals that she was going to prank her surgeons by buying some googly eyes to put on her nipples, which gets a big laugh from the room.

They probably expected her to drop off after that, but Jen continues to stay awake for a full two and a half minutes before she finally starts to drift — even then, it takes a dose of oxygen before she finally disappears into sweet unconsciousness.

The reactions in the comments reveal that the people of TikTok are split between being fellow anesthesia fighters and those who cave in as soon as they get a whiff of the stuff. “Damn girl how do you do that? They asked me my dogs name and I think I got the first letter out,” joked one lightweight. Others, though, are just like Jen: “Is fighting anesthesia common? Because this was literally me when i had my gallbladder removed.”

The best part of the video has to be how Jen’s thoughts begin to jumble and loop as she fights to stay conscious, resulting in some hilarious wording. “Because of this video I now call hobby lobby the hob lob,” someone laughed. Many took the opportunity to share their own hysterical drugged-up dialogue. One recounted: “After my egg retrieval I found out that I kept shouting “Forrest Whittaker” in a South African accent and insisting I was going for a bath in the Thames. That was fun!” Someone else teased, “I came out of mine speaking Portuguese.” OK, we have a lot of questions.

“This is IMPRESSIVE, how’d you stay awake that long,” another person asked. But is Jen just doing her best to battle it or could she be one of those who naturally have a greater resistance to anesthesia? When it comes to general anesthetic, some individuals may be difficult to put under due to a variety of factors — including their younger age, larger weight, or long-term smoking and/or drug habits. For local anesthetic, meanwhile, recent studies have found that there is a “mutation in the genetic structure of the sodium channels” which leaves some people entirely immune to its effects. That may sound like a superpower, but it means these folks have to endure dental procedures, for instance, without pain relief.

That’s probably why some take the opposite approach from Jen when they go into surgery. “Any time I get anesthesia I just let it take me,” one commenter admitted. “Best vacation I have ever had.”