A couple of weeks ago, I received an assignment to photograph Lewis Gale’s emergency department Super Track program, which is aimed at getting people seeking non-emergency, less serious problems through the system faster. I went into this assignment not knowing if anyone would agree to be photographed (with strict HIPAA laws, you can’t photograph in a hospital without the patient’s consent). Luckily, the Lewis Gale’s  Nancy May greeted me at the front door and said that she had checked and there was a patient waiting to have a procedure done in the Super Track and had agreed to be photographed.  The patient, Christopher Tucker, was being treated for a MRSA abscess, which he was to have lanced and drained.  My thoughts going in this assignment were that I would be photographing a person getting their temperature taken or ankle wrapped, but being a photojournalist, you have to be prepared to shoot what is in front of you. Physicians Assistant Adam Lunnie pulled out a needle about three inches long and proceeded to shoot a numbing solution into Christopher’s abscess about six times.  With each shot, Christopher yelled in pain, and it was obvious that he was experiencing serious discomfort.  Disturbing to see and hear, but I kept taking pictures during the whole numbing process and the first picture in the gallery is from this time.  The picture is graphic and powerful, and I thought that it might possibly be to strong of an image to run in the paper. Next, Adam lanced and squeezed the abscess…again a hard thing to see…so much so that the p.r. person left the area. At the end I managed to get a shot that was less graphic and would be acceptable to run in the paper (second picture in the gallery). In the newspaper industry there is a saying “does it pass the breakfast table test?”, meaning if someone sits down to eat breakfast with the paper, would they find the picture disturbing. In this case, I think most people would feel uncomfortable looking at this picture. You never know what you will see or experience when you are on assignment. I like to say that in photojournalism you see the full pendulum of the human experience, from the saddest moments of someones life to the happiest moments, to the most painful. This picture definitely records a most painful moment. While disturbing, I love the first picture. It shows a powerful physical reaction to pain and creates an equally powerful emotional reaction when you look at it. I welcome your thoughts or comments.  -Kyle Green