Organless
My two best friends, Abhishek and Yousuf came to stay over on Tuesday night. We fell asleep that night, after watching videos of autopsies and explanations of the tenth dimension [we're a studious lot!].
On Wednesday, we went to the American University of Sharjah to see a friend, Sabah. She had an exam so we didn't get to see her for very long.
When I went home after that, my abdomen started to hurt. At first it was just a dull pain, but it grew worse. At around 19:00, I took a painkiller [I really want to tell you about its mode of action, but I shall not..] but the pain wouldn't go away. Then the pain moved to the right side and I knew it was my appendix flaring up again. We'd been taught in med school that if an initial pain in the abdomen moves to the right - more specificially, to the lower right - part of the abdomen, the cause is most certainly an inflammation of the appendix. Plus I've had this diagnosed before and they had said it was the appendix four years ago.
Anyway, when the pain became bad, Ammi, Arjun and Abeer took me to the hospital. There they told me to get my blood and urine tested and from the results the dough-faced doctor with layers and layers of make-up on her face (at 10 in the night!) concluded that it was appendicitis. Yes, I could've told you that for free.
I wanted to go home because the painkiller had dulled the pain, but Ammi asked me what we'd do if the pain grew worse during the night.. so I agreed to get admitted and have an appendicectomy - surgical removal of the appendix. The doctor told me I shouldn't take anything by mouth until he said I could.
Ammi stayed in my hospital room with me that night. Hospital pajamas are designed to embarrass.
On Thursday morning, a male nurse came to shave my abdomen. "It will feel a bit cold." he said, referring to the shaving cream.. and it was so cold, it made my nerves scream.
They put me on one of those movable beds and took me to the operation theater on the third floor. There, the nurse attempted to slide the ring off my middle finger, but I've got fat fingers, man, and only I can remove the ring.. so I did!
I don't remember much of the operation theater. I remember seeing my name and details on the whiteboard, the surgeon walking about, politely scolding the staff. They gave me general anesthesia through the intravenous needle in my right hand. I remember the plunger slowly moving downards as the anesthetic flowed into me. That's all I remember.
The next thing I know, I was back in my hospital room. I was fighting sleep and hunger. I kept drifting in and out of sleep, it was well weird.. I hate general anesthesia and the way it made me feel. I remember my aunt being the room, answering a phone call from her husband and finding out from him that Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan had been killed in a bomb attack in Rawalpindi in Pakistan. I remember being shocked, despite the drowsiness brought on by the anesthetic.
I remember waking up at 21:00 on Thursday evening, to Abeer sitting on the sofa, grinning at me and I remember feeling great - maybe it was because I didn't feel the need to fall back to sleep or maybe it was Abeer.
I devoured the jelly and soup (not together) that Ammi fed me because I was just so hungry. I spent that night trying to rest, but I couldn't because I got broken sleep.
In the morning, I texted Abhishek to tell him I wouldn't be able to make it to the reunion picnic on the 30th [i.e. today] because I'd had surgery etc. He was quite shocked and he came to visit some time later.
I was discharged later that day, and they wheelchair-ed me out of the hospital. I sincerely hope that I never have to be treated like an invalid ever again.
On Wednesday, we went to the American University of Sharjah to see a friend, Sabah. She had an exam so we didn't get to see her for very long.
When I went home after that, my abdomen started to hurt. At first it was just a dull pain, but it grew worse. At around 19:00, I took a painkiller [I really want to tell you about its mode of action, but I shall not..] but the pain wouldn't go away. Then the pain moved to the right side and I knew it was my appendix flaring up again. We'd been taught in med school that if an initial pain in the abdomen moves to the right - more specificially, to the lower right - part of the abdomen, the cause is most certainly an inflammation of the appendix. Plus I've had this diagnosed before and they had said it was the appendix four years ago.
Anyway, when the pain became bad, Ammi, Arjun and Abeer took me to the hospital. There they told me to get my blood and urine tested and from the results the dough-faced doctor with layers and layers of make-up on her face (at 10 in the night!) concluded that it was appendicitis. Yes, I could've told you that for free.
I wanted to go home because the painkiller had dulled the pain, but Ammi asked me what we'd do if the pain grew worse during the night.. so I agreed to get admitted and have an appendicectomy - surgical removal of the appendix. The doctor told me I shouldn't take anything by mouth until he said I could.
Ammi stayed in my hospital room with me that night. Hospital pajamas are designed to embarrass.
On Thursday morning, a male nurse came to shave my abdomen. "It will feel a bit cold." he said, referring to the shaving cream.. and it was so cold, it made my nerves scream.
They put me on one of those movable beds and took me to the operation theater on the third floor. There, the nurse attempted to slide the ring off my middle finger, but I've got fat fingers, man, and only I can remove the ring.. so I did!
I don't remember much of the operation theater. I remember seeing my name and details on the whiteboard, the surgeon walking about, politely scolding the staff. They gave me general anesthesia through the intravenous needle in my right hand. I remember the plunger slowly moving downards as the anesthetic flowed into me. That's all I remember.
The next thing I know, I was back in my hospital room. I was fighting sleep and hunger. I kept drifting in and out of sleep, it was well weird.. I hate general anesthesia and the way it made me feel. I remember my aunt being the room, answering a phone call from her husband and finding out from him that Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan had been killed in a bomb attack in Rawalpindi in Pakistan. I remember being shocked, despite the drowsiness brought on by the anesthetic.
I remember waking up at 21:00 on Thursday evening, to Abeer sitting on the sofa, grinning at me and I remember feeling great - maybe it was because I didn't feel the need to fall back to sleep or maybe it was Abeer.
I devoured the jelly and soup (not together) that Ammi fed me because I was just so hungry. I spent that night trying to rest, but I couldn't because I got broken sleep.
In the morning, I texted Abhishek to tell him I wouldn't be able to make it to the reunion picnic on the 30th [i.e. today] because I'd had surgery etc. He was quite shocked and he came to visit some time later.
I was discharged later that day, and they wheelchair-ed me out of the hospital. I sincerely hope that I never have to be treated like an invalid ever again.