If it weren't for bad luck...

Yep, if it weren't for bad luck, Dennis and I would have no luck at all! I finally thought I could see a bit of very dim light at the end of our medical tunnel..Not to be..October 1st I woke up with a bad belly ache...It didn't get any better, and in fact got worse throughout the day. Finally, about 3PM, Dennis talked me into ANOTHER  trip to the ER..I really didn't want this. I felt we were becoming "frequent flyers" at the Sandwich Hospital ER lately,..But...I also somehow knew I was NOT going to get any better at home..I was thinking gall bladder..Nope. .peritonitis and appendix trouble..Surgery 9PM that night. Yep, plans made in jello.

 

They began pumping me full of antibiotic immediately..Apparently, they didn't rupture..but were very close to it..Sheesh!

The good news is I got to go home the next afternoon, promising to behave myself. My intentions once home were to resume normal activities...I soon found out that emergency surgery can take a person down and the healing process can be a bit slower than I planned. Just today I took up my normal 2mile walk..at a much slower pace, I might add. Hey, and guess what?? My surgeon took some great 8 X 10 glossys of my infected appendix before he yanked them..Christmas cards, maybe???

Some good news, though...Dennis got his cast removed from his arm..He has one more Xray and the doc will decide if he needs Physical Therapy..Of course, you know darn well he is in the fields combining beans as I speak. I think Den and I might need to live in a padded room..or at least wrap ourselves in bubble wrap..

Also good news was the fact that our granddaughter was home from Ball State University for a few days for Fall Break .

Trying to be optimistic, Den and I are still planning a Winter Trip to Texas this year..We are re-visiting a few "old haunts" in Cowboy Country..One of our first stops will be Clear Springs Campground at Wright Patman Lake in Texarkana, TX. We almost always make this our first long stop..

It can still be pretty cold there in December..but anything is better than Illinois!!If you hope to stay here in March, you had better have reservations..Those Arkansas/Texans fill up the park over Spring Break..One drawback to this park...it is a dry county..Gotta go back into Arkansas to buy any adult beverages!! One really good thing about this park...it is only 2 miles from a nice RV dealership and parts place..!(We know this because we have had things break at times here!!)

Our next stop will be Lake Jefferson, TX, about 2 hours South of Texarkana..We love this place at Christmas time!

The town of Jefferson has a great Christmas Parade too!

Jefferson, TX was a riverboat town at one time. The riverboats came up the backwaters of the Mississippi from New Orleans until the passage got overgrown and too narrow to accommodate the boats..The railroad was a big deal here too!

Our next planned stop will be at Canyon Lake, Texas..Cranes Mill campground is where we will be for 2 weeks over Christmas..This is an Army Corp campground, and there is another one on the other side of the lake called Potter's Creek. Texas is another place you need reservations for Christmas..They even set off fireworks over the lake..Here are a few photos from Cranes Mill campground.

Dennis is a firewood gatherer, and you are allowed to pick it up here! This park is close to a little town called Startzville, TX. It has a great VFW, grocery, hardware store and laundromat..Not  to mention a local pub just outside the park..We will spend Christmas here..if we get to make this trip!

Soooo, all in all, Dennis and I are blessed. After this last trip to the ER, I did learn a few things :

 

~ When contemplating a trip to the ER, don't worry about your apparel..Sweats, stripe socks, crocks , a sloppy T shirt and no bra...that's how I arrived.

~Your ER Doc is "the luck of the draw"..Expect anything from Barney Fife to Superman..I lucked out with Superman this time!

~If you get the hospital gown with no working snaps on one sleeve, the "off the shoulder" model,you need to "rock it"...own it..Walk that hallway like a runway model!
~I now can add Dilaudid to narcotics I cannot take. The ER doc tried a 1/2 of 1/2 dose in my IV, then sent me for a chest X-Ray. I became a fainting vomit comet and scared the bejesus out of the poor X-Ray tech.
~Remember that the hospital is not the Ritz-Carleton..That button by your bed is NOT Room Service
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~Also remember that this is called Out Patient Surgery for a reason..Yep, you're IN..and you're OUT..Botta Bing, Botta Boom!
And here are some things to remember after you go home
When they gave you Milk of Magnesia with a Prune Juice chaser, this could have a delayed reaction of epic proportions. Stay close to your commode...and..keep in mind that "passing gas" might be beyond your expectations.
~Even though your mind feels 18..(OK, 40), your sphincter is almost 70..and it's similar to an old rubber band..The pucker power is kaput.
~This is no time for doing "chores". If you must do laundry, dump it all in one load and pray the colors don't bleed.
And, lastly, everybody tells you that the 2nd day after surgery is the worst..Truth here. So, just chill out, relax, read a book, order out, hang around in your jammies. I sit on my front porch and watch the neighborhood, reminiscing about the movie "The Burbs"..All I need is Bruce Dern. As for my personal choice of bed time meds, I have found that 2 Extra Strength Tylenols followed by a vintage glass of Franzia box Refreshing White is good for my pain control...And this time of year it MUST be in my skeleton head wine glass...Life is good, if not interesting. (Ah, but it is both!)