Room 32 is Empty!

Part 2: I'm still here

It’s still Friday, April 19th. It’s been a long day. I woke up in the same area where they told me what they were going to do to me. First things first, I woke up. I see a white light, but it’s not Jesus beckoning me to follow him to his throne. It’s the nurse who I believed shaved me, (I’ll spare you those details) and the doctor who operated on me. His name is Dr. Sales. He went on to say my appendix ruptured and I will have to remain in the hospital for the next several days. I was too high on the meds to respond to this or even care. All I know is, the pain is gone. All I could say was, “Ok doc.” Next stop, the fifth floor, room 5232. This will be my home for the next several days.

Those of you who have had hospital stays will understand my next statement: there’s no such thing as getting rest at a hospital. I realize my nurses were just doing their job but coming in every few hours to check my vitals, my IV, and Lord knows what else, was starting to get to me. When one nurse asked how I slept I couldn’t help myself. “Well, I had a rough night because I had a few visitors who kept poking me during the night.” Thankfully she laughed and apologized for all the visits but assured me it was for the best. I know she was right. When I did finally sleep, the pain was gone. What happened next? The meds wore off.

The next day was tough. I won’t go into detail about day two. All I’ll say is that I was very uncomfortable. I wasn’t in severe pain, but the effects of having an operation were certainly felt. Things improved as the days went on. The reason I had to stay in the hospital several days was because my white blood cell count was too high. I needed to be under 13. I was at 18. I was given antibiotics to get rid of the infection and lower my number. In time, the infection was at an acceptable level, but I still needed antibiotics even after my hospital stay.

Thursday April 25th - I’m finally being released. Dr. Sales tells me I can go home but will need to see me for a follow up appointment in a week. “See you in a week, Doc.” I was feeling much better. He said it will take several weeks to fully recover so take it easy. I followed his advice. Thanks to him, the several nurses who looked after me, my friends and family who visited me at the hospital, I was able to get through this. I can’t wait to get home and sleep in my own bed.

As I’m waiting for the nurse who will wheel me out of my room, I walk, slowly, to the restroom and try to freshen up as best as I can. I look in the mirror and almost don’t recognize the face. It’s me, but man I’m getting old. I never realized how much gray I have in my beard, but there it is. It did finally hit me that I survived this. People don’t die from a burst appendix as much as they did in the past, but it still could’ve happened to me. What if I tried to brave one more day at home? Could it have been fatal? Maybe. I do know now that I’m not going out this way. I’m still here and have so much more to do before it is my time. I have a grandbaby coming and I need to be here for that. I thank God Almighty for telling me in his own way, “get to the hospital, now!”

The nurse arrives and asks if I’m ready. I say, “yes sir!” and off we go. As we leave the room, he yells out to the nursing staff behind the desk, “Room 32 is empty!” They all repeat it back to him in unison. They wish me well and I thank them profusely. As we enter the elevator to go down to the lobby, I thank my driver and he pats my shoulder and says, “you’re going to be all right man.” I thanked him for that.

I look out the window of the car on the drive home and can’t help but start to cry. I’m still here.