As retold by Bruce Lowitt

Irvin Steinmetz starts coming out of anesthesia after a surgical procedure. Becky, his wife, sits by his side.

After a while, he opens his eyes a bit, looks at her, says, "You're beautiful," then slips back into unconsciousness.

An hour later he stirs again, gazes at Becky and says, "You're cute."

"Cute?" Becky says. "What happened to 'You're beautiful.'"

"The drugs are wearing off."