The Joyous Celebration that is Appendix Liberation Day

The 13th of November was a day of joyous celebration.  Why, you might ask?  Was it because it was the birthday of King Edward III?  Was it because it marked the anniversary of the new Constitution of Greece?  Perhaps.  But most importantly, it was the 5 year anniversary of my appendectomy.

Now, you might be asking yourself, what's an appendectomy?  Well, an appendectomy is a dectomy of the appendix, or, in non-scientific terms, they cut you open and take something out that you don't actually need because it's become infested with gangrene.  Yeah.  That's what happened to me.

(I was going to put a picture of the appendix here, but they all look disgusting.  So I didn't.  You're Welcome)

It was a stormy November eve.  I had just finished a good dinner of Burger King and was settling down for a spot of Jeopardy before hitting the olde bed.  However, upon the watching of Jeopardy, I was beginning to feel pain in my abdomen.  Thinking that it was food poisoning, I just sat there, on the couch, in the fetal position until my mom came home at midnight.

My mom said that I should probably get some sleep.  Apparently, me in the fetal position with a hand on my gut and cringing with each breath that I took didn't mean anything to her.  No pain there.  Anyway, so I tried to get some sleep...didn't...and was still laying on the couch when morning came.

Side note:  In our living room, there is a clock that is unnecessarily loud, so I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway.

So, as my parents see me still in pain, they decide it's officially serious.  So they take me to the Med Center, they say that I probably have appendicitis.  I go to the ER.  They say I probably have appendicitis.  Nobody has given me a straight answer at this point and by now, the pain is so mind blowing that I just want them to remove all of the organs in my abdomen.

They bring me to surgery and hook me up to all sorts of gadgets and doodads.  Then, they inject me with anesthesia.  First of all, anesthesia is cold...like in the veins, you can feel it swimming around because it's so cold.  Second, they tell me to count backwards from ten and I should be unconscious by then.  I made it to zero and felt fine.  I started panicking.  I vaguely remember saying "Don't start the surgery until I'm dead" or something to that effect.  Anyway, they gave me oxygen (or chloroform) and that knocked me right out.

I awoke an hour later in a daze.  Where was I?  Who was pushing me?  Am I dead?  Once again, no straight answers.  In the end, I find out that the surgery was a success and I couldn't keep my appendix because it exploded on the table once they got it out.  Worst news all day.

Flash forward to this year:  my brother is in the same predicament.  What do I do when I get home and see my parent's huddled over him?  I laugh.  That's right.  He laughed at me, I laughed at him.  The world moves on.  Plus, my mom wanted to stay with him.  HE'S ALMOST 18!!!  I was 14 and she said that she was too tired to stay with me.  Middle child syndrome anyone?

Anyway, now, every 13th of November is a national holiday that everyone shall partake in...OR ELSE I will find you and force you to participate.

I celebrated by enjoying time with some friends in South Bend, Indiana (nothing to do there unfortunately), but it was an enjoyable experience.

That's right.  Touchdown Jesus.  Notre Dame.  Yeah.  I was there.

Also, as a closing note, how wonderful would it be if your shoes had rockets and wheels attached to them?!?!  Imagine how fast you could travel over long distances!  Or even, if your shoes had rockets and your friend's shoes had wheels. THE CAPABILITIES ARE ENDLESS!!!!