Alas port blog, I have neglected and ignored you. The last month + has been a very trying and tiring time, and my inspiration to compose even these meager ramblings all but dried up and became one with dust.
In the time since my last true update I have been to New Jersey, flown with the child, been to Atlantic City and was told that I am too Montanan to properly cut sausage and peppers.
Oh, then I tried to die. I know, I know, my last post claimed that I had not died. Well I guess that fate decided that I had just tempted it a bit to strongly. Like putting a chocolate covered hazelnut next to a bottle of 15yr old single malt scotch, on top of a pre-release copy of Pat Rothfuss’s “The Wise Man’s Fear”. I mean temptation.
So fate, in its drooling frenzy sent particles of poo down my GI into the Appendix and corrupt it. Diseased is how the surgeon described it. Tuesday the 13th I felt ill at 2am. Went to work at 6am, left at 7:15am. Went to the doctor at noon, was sent home at 6 or 7pm, I don’t remember, as at this point I was pretty sure I was going to die. But the folks at radiology didn’t look at my appendix, and told me I had a mild viral infection or gas. Fucking Gas.
Thankfully, my blood tests came back in before we made it more then 20blocks from the hospital. My loving lady got a phone call instructing her to bring me back in immediately. That my white blood cell count was “Through the Roof”. In essence, my feelings about my impending mortality were not wrong at all. I was very, very sick.
To the E.R., where they didn’t make me drink nasty iodine, or wheel me over bump after bump to leave me in a waiting room. They got right to the fucking morphine. All of a sudden I could see again. And sleep. I slept for an hour, as my ER attending Doctor looked over my case and others. When he woke me, Dr. Trueworthy (i am not shitting you, that was his name) , again told me I had a viral infection that was causing my abdominal lymph nodes to swell. And that, sometimes that can be very painful. I really didn’t buy it, but he was the fucking doctor, so be it.
Prior to the Morphine, I must tell you that to my pain riddled existence, I thought the primary pain was first in my left side, then top middle of my stomach region. Not the traditional right side of the appendix. So in defense of the medical staff, I pointed them wrong. However, they are the professionals, and I was in agony, and then on narcotics. Why did they trust only me? I was a bad reference point. They did not scan my lower, my pelvic region. Now that the morphine was in me, Dr. Trueworthy (god I love that name) poked and pushed on me again. He hit the lower right quadrant and I flew out of the bed screaming. While on a large dose of morphine. This was agony. Without the fine refined opiate in my system, I probably would have thrown up and passed out. So another, properly aimed cat scan, another nap as he upped my sweet nectar of the poppy, and an hour later a bad joke delivered the news. ”Like I said, a viral infection can cause the lymph nodes to swell, or its appendicitis. Which it is. The surgeon is on his way.”
Wow, here it was, nearly 8pm, eight hours of medical professionals working on one of the most common emergency medical issues, and they finally got it right. At the time I was too relieved to be annoyed, but that came later. Some phone calls, (Dana and Holden had gone home, thinking I was not staying the night). She came back after leaving the little one with dear friends, the nurse, surgeon, etc. came to visit and the next thing I know i’m being rolled down the hall to have my gut cut into.
You’ll feel a little burn in the IV and then yo ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………
When I woke I was very very groggy. Understandably so, but alive, and in less pain.
Well more to come. Glad to be amongst the living.
Galaxy of Heroes by Gus Flory
