The Appendix Outage: Part I, subtitled "My Evening in the Psych Room"

I cannot shake the feeling that someone "upstairs" is trying to tell me something with the events of the past 6 months. First the precancerous colonoscopy thing-which we all know women my age don't have those problems, then the abnormal pap, which turned out fine after a fun round of cauterization, and now this whole appendix removal. If anyone has any ideas why God's finger is pointing at me and singling me out, I'd love to know. I could say timing on this was perfect since we'll be in Disney in less than 3 weeks, but I don't think the Good Lord gives a hoot or holler about Mickey Mouse and me eating in Cinderella's Castle. I don't need to be reminded of who my friends are, I've been taken VERY good care of by so many with calls, prayers, meals, getting my kids out, you name it. Still, I can't shake the feeling something is going on in a more grand sense....

I personally think my experience with this whole thing is HIGH-Larious. Some may not agree, but try to find the silver lining--I've got great stories to tell. I'm starting today with my time in the ER, and maybe more later. I get exhausted sitting straight up and typing for too long.

So, to pick up where I left off, I waited for about FOREVER for my parents to get to my house to get the kids Saturday. They had to drive home to get their other car to put car seats in (apparently pick-up trucks don't fit 3 kids, huh?), but once my parents got home my mom realized that she left her car keys in her friend's car after they went out for lunch"the other day" so they had to wait for her before they drove up. I felt like crap but still found it funny because a day in the life of my parents is like watching funny movies all day.

Eventually they got here and then headed with the kids to my sister's so that Dad could put lights up. It was good all the little ones got to play together, and my sister did most of the physical work like bathing the kids, etc. I have a hunch that as soon as Maddie and her nappy ass hair walked in the door my sister did her mini-freakout (What is WRONG with Your mother and her inability to ACCESSORIZE??) because my mom said Mads got her hair french braided and her toes and fingernails painted pretty. AND my sister complained to me in the ER during a check in phone call before my surgery that Maddie needs something done because her hair is growing in a mullet, and "That's just not right for a little girl Jenny. You've gotta take care of the situation."

Alright, back to the ER. I get there. I check in. They are so freaking busy that I am put into the psych room. I wasn't tethered to the table or anything but it was so boring that I could have gone some kind of crazy. Plain walls. A double locking door. A camera but NO t.v. in the corner (we found the tv later and it had such a sucky picture it was hardly worth it). Covers over the fire alarms. A corrugated "door" much like a garage door that closes behind you to hide all medical equipment. A security guard outside the door who thought it was fun to show us how the garage door worked and laughed with us when interns and orderlies walked past craning their necks to see the crazy in the room.

I got hooked up to IV antibiotics and was stuck watching "Survivorman" and "Braveheart" because there wound up being a horrible accident that killed a mom and her 2 kids and bumped me. I'm okay with that though. That's sad. I DID get to see the crazy in the room next to mine escorted by 2 cops and tied to her bed to where ever she had to go. Speculate away...I know I did.

Eventually I was taken into surgery. The anasthesiologist and I discussed my cycle class, and triathlon training, because he is working towards an iron man. He also informed me that while I was under and intubated and cathetered he'd redo my IV since it wasn't in a good place. Hey dude, as long as I was asleep I didn't care.

In the OR I heard rock music on the radio. Always a good sign, and I begged them to NOT turn on country. Not that I'd know it being knocked out and all, but the nurses assured me that they weren't country fans either, so I felt like I was in REALLY good hands.

And then I don't really remember anything after that.