Appendix I

As many of you know by now, last week, to the day, I had my appendix removed. My experience with European surgery wasn't too bad. The only thing I didn't enjoy, besides surgery of course, is the interns, for one. While in the emergency room they needed to take blood and insert an iv. Ok, no problem I can handle that. What I didn't know was that they were going attach the tourniquet for an hour BEFORE even having anything ready or attempting to draw blood. So as I'm laying there with my arm slowly decaying, an intern that clearly had not been practicing on her oranges came up and took another hour assessing her next move like a champion chess player. Now I've begun to sweat and am nearly in tears. I've told the others my arm hurts and they just nod. In my head I'm screaming "HELLO! Patient is in PAIN because of YOU loosen the damn thing" but they didn't until what felt like years later, after the intern poked me WRONG. My arm was entirely purple and I thought for sure I was losing much more than appendix that day. All that and I didn't even get a needle in me. So then I had to endure it again a few moments afterwards, only this time tourniqueting my hand, which still doesn't feel good as its necrotising, but at least it was just a hand rather than my whole arm. The other unpleasant thing was when they wheeled me into the operating room. Once in the room they made me lay on the metal slab they call a table. Now ordinarily that wouldn't matter because I would expect to be knocked out before I even saw the operating table but no, I layed there shivering because its about as cold as an arctic tundra in there. So then this brutal woman comes over, rips off my socks and underwear on a side note: . Those were a good pair of underwear! All those rumors "clean underwear for the hospital" total crap. I had been sick the entire day so I never got a chance to shower, so before heading to the hospital I at least changed my underwear, putting on a comfortable, yet nice pair that I wouldn't mind everyone seeing and they never gave them back!!!! Next time I'm wearing a pair I'm thinking of throwing away, anyway.

she also popped open all the buttons on my johnny, roughly forced my hands at my side where she wanted them; my feet aswell and then left. So all this fussing and hurrying and being forceful, one would think they were ready to go. NO! I layed there like that for about a HALF HOUR. I know, there was a clock there. I mean Christ, I would have rather of layed in the more comfortable emergency room bed with my socks and underwear and blanket than the metal, cold table with nothing but the flimsy johnny covering my privates for a half hour.

after all that I made it out alive. In some serious pain, but alive. The nurses on the floor were pretty nice and helpful, so that's good.

I also should be getting my bandages off either today or tomorrow. Hurrah.