In 2006 I was rushed to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. After a CAT scan and some other tests they determined I had a ruptured intestine and would need emergency surgery. Because of the weak condition of my heart and lungs they had always told me I should not have general anesthesia unless it was really necessary. This definitely was “really necessary”. This little adventure inspired me to write a series of blog entries chronicling the events. In order to pull the whole thing together I’m posting an index of those articles here. I hope you enjoy it…
- “Interesting Times”… in the Chinese sense of the words.
- Who You Gonna Call?
- Cruising for Chicks in an Ambulance
- The Diagnosis
- Breath of God
- “Lucky Louie” on Life and Death
- Last-Minute Preparations
- Playing Charades with No Hands
- They See Me in the ICU
- Three Hospital Rooms in One Day
- New Friends and Toxic Spills
- The Language of Caregivers
- Room Service, Cable, and Friends
- Rolaids vs. Morphine
- Home at Last
- Cliffhanger
- Asking the Right Question of a Smooth Operator
Actually that last installment was supposed to be the first article in another long series about my recovery from the first surgery in my decision to have a follow-up surgery to reverse the colostomy. I never did complete writing those articles.