forget me nots and second thoughts

The first time I noticed there was a problem, I had just started college. I assumed the constant stomach aches and bathroom problems were related to the new diet of cafeteria food and ramen noodles. Slowly, I cut things out of my diet until I was entirely vegan. For the first time in a year, there was a bit of relief. After about a year and a half of being a strict vegan, I started reintroducing foods back into my diet, hoping that I'd be able to pinpoint what was causing all the problems.

It didn't take long to give up trying to figure out what foods were making me sick. There was no rhyme or reason to it. Usually, though, it was tolerable and I just dealt with it. It wasn't until the stomach aches turned into several days of round-the-clock vomiting and missing school and work that I decided to see a doctor. Ok, so in reality it took six months of the round-the-clock vomiting to let The Captain convince me to see a doctor.

I had theories of my own. None of them quite fit, though. I went to the doctor on one of my days off work after the worst bout of vomiting I'd experienced so far, which was an adventure and a half of itself. Since I'd never seen a doctor in this city, I had to find one who was accepting new patients, and the soonest I could get an appointment was a week and a half after missing two days of work while praying to the porcelain gods every 7 minutes like clockwork. Eventually I did get seen by a doctor and was sent for further testing and was diagnosed with gallstones and cystic fibroids (not to be confused with cystic fibrosis).

The doctor told me that I should have my gallbladder removed, but it didn't have to happen immediately, so I went back to ignoring my symptoms until I started missing work again. My first impression of the surgeon (which didn't change until the day of my surgery) was that he was an industrial-strength asshole. I realize that surgeons don't have the best bedside manner, but sheesh. My surgery was scheduled for 32 days later, and all the paperwork was signed.

I showed up at the hospital last Monday, very early and incredibly nervous. The Captain went with me, despite the painfully early hour and even volunteered to wait with me at the hospital for the 5 or 6 hours I was planning to be there instead of going home to nap while I was in surgery.

The Captain and I were sitting in the pre-surgical holding area, both of us being nervous wrecks. (yes, I know it's routine surgery. I'm also a wimp.) Eventually, the surgeon came in to see me and was actually trying really hard to be nice. He was joking around with us and even cracked a smile at one point. He assured The Captain that the surgery would only take an hour or so and that he'd be able to see me within an hour of that. Fast forward through saying goodbye to The Captain and being wheeled into the operating room, hooked up to machines, being strapped to the table, and getting some IV sedatives.

*********To be continued*************