The teenager is minus one vestigial organ
Friday night the teenager had a bellyache.
He doesn't get sick often so any pain or sniffle or sore throat or general malaise surprises him. Consequently, he's not the kind to suffer in silence. Makes it tricky for the blonde and I to judge just how sick he really is when he comes down with something.
But his bellyache was bad enough that he turned down our usual Friday night pizza, asked for a rain check on our scheduled movie, and put himself to bed.
That's odd, the blonde and I said to each other.
Half an hour later he was downstairs like a bullet, on his way to the bathroom.
Afterwards, he said he felt better and went back to bed.
He slept like a log and got up late Saturday morning.
He still had a bellyache, he said.
I asked him where it hurt.
He put his hand on his right hip.
"Oh oh," I said and told the blonde.
"Oh oh," she said.
I called the doctor's office, where fortunately they have Saturday hours, and described his symptoms to the nurse.
"Oh oh," she said.
The blonde brought him in to see the doctor who said, "Oh oh."
He sent them right over to the hospital where the resident on duty at the ER said, "Oh oh."
All afternoon the teenager was poked, and prodded, and bled, and scanned, and when all the tests were done the surgeon was called in. He looked at the results and said, "Oh oh."
By nine-thirty the teenager was minus his appendix.
There were no complications. He was fine. He spent Sunday and Monday morning in the hospital and came home Monday afternoon.
When the nurse was wheelchairing him down to the car he told her he felt like a wounded warrior returning to the castle after a battle.
He's tired and he's sore but he's been doing great. Monday night when we watched The Scarlett Pimpernell, at his request, he even felt like having a couple pieces of pizza.
He's missing his first day of eighth grade today but he'll probably be able to go in tomorrow. We'll see what the doctor says when he sees him today.
It's amazing how things have changed. When I was a kid an appendectomy was good for at least a week off from school.
But that's the big news from here. Just wanted to let you know why posting has been light the last few days and why I've been slow responding to email.
posted by Lance Mannion @ 2:15 AM
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