an appendectomy and a new year

It's amazing how little things can rock your world. Neil's appendix was (yep, past tense...you already know where this is going) oh so insignificant in the scheme of our lives, until Friday night when it decided to inflame itself and put him in a great deal of pain. At first he thought it might be gas, but when it didn't go away after a few hours, and after me trying to convince him that he was just hungry, Neil called the advice nurse who told him to come to the emergency room right away. The emergency room! Oh my, I had better quickly make myself some peanut butter toast. All my trying to convince Neil that he was hungry had made my own tummy start to rumble.
So off we went down the road to Oakland at 2am. In all my rushing about I had forgotten to put my contact lenses in and I suddenly realized how badly I needed a new prescription on my glasses. It was all I could do to keep from running through every stop sign, but thankfully we were the only ones on the road and made it there all in one piece. We started walking toward the emergency entrance, which seemed like a mile away as Neil leaned on my arm for support, and with him groaning in pain with every step. It must have looked like I was the one in pain because the security guard asked if we were in labor. I tried to crack some joke that there was no way my husband could be in labor but it didn't fly -- I guess it's inappropriate to joke around on the emergency runway. In any event, we got there and it wasn't long before Neil was given some pain meds that made him feel a whole lot better. A few more hours and a chat with a doctor and a surgeon later, and my sweetheart was being wheeled away to the operating room. Everything happened so fast.
It was 6am and my tummy was rumbling again. I was glad that Starbucks was open and I sat there with a cuppa and a croissant, crying like a baby. Appendectomies are a common everyday procedure -- I had even had one myself -- but knowing that my darling was under anaesthesia with a ventilator breathing for him was no comfort to me. I headed back to the hospital to sleep on a couch and wait to hear some news. Two long hours later, I was told he was in recovery and was doing well. What a relief. By the afternoon of the next day we were on our way home, and spent the next couple days sleeping and resting, and trying not to tell too many jokes because it hurt for Neil to laugh. It was good to be home, just being grateful to have each other and be together. Well I don't have any exciting hospital photos to show, but I will include some pics with some highlights of 2008. Having come to appreciate our health a little bit more this week, I'll end by wishing you all a happy and healthy 2009! Happy new year!