Chance of a ghost

When Randal has a severe heart attack in the film "Clerks III" and is rushed to hospital, the surgeon tells him he has a 20% chance of survival. My prognosis was considerably rosier. Ahead of my heart op, the doc informed me the odds were 90-something percent in my favour. High 90s. I know I pride myself on an above-average level of recall, but I wasn't in my right mind. Let's say it was 97%. I was also given the option of an additional procedure which would lessen the likelihood of further ticker trouble in the future. However, this would mean (a) heavier medication for the rest of my life, and (b) only a 92% chance of the two-part operation being successful. I declined. Maybe it was the gamer in me, who'd failed too many "easy" dice rolls in the past, but that extra -5% was a short-term risk I wasn't willing to take. The day before I went for surgery, my father said, "There's no point worrying, because if something goes wrong, you won't know anything about it." Which was comforting in a way. Sort of.