2010 Census and FSM

[ET, the Extra Terrestrial]

...apart from a quick stop at A+E on my way to a burns unit...

Good luck in the horsepistol, Tig, don't let 'em chop anything off that you're going to want later. Make sure to confuse them as much as is safe.

[Tigger_the_Wing]

Thanks everyone! I think I can trust this surgeon not to do any random limb amputations.

I do intend to confuse people if I can, though - it is great fun!

I took my laptop into the sister hospital in Adelaide, but couldn't get onto the internet as no-one knew the password for the wireless connection. And this hospital specifically states not to bring in any electronic equipment, even mobile phones!

I shall ask Arceus to keep you posted!

I will take my small FSM with his pirate ship and insist they allow it on my bedside table as a religious symbol.

However, I think they'd draw the line at the big FSM shrine…

Should I dress in pirate regalia on the fifth day? It WILL be Friday…

I wonder if I can insist that I need to eat gluten-free pasta on that day?

[ET, the Extra Terrestrial]

Well, whatever it is they're planning to do to you, they better not mess it up or I'll have to go down there and pound the crap out of them. I'll bring MWB and Roy along to increase the intimidation factor. Hopefully the five days will see you back home and being waited on hand and foot.

[Tigger_the_Wing]

A bit of my intestine has 'telescoped' inside itself and the surgeon has to straighten it out and stitch it to my spine to make sure it doesn't do it again. Whilst he's rummaging in my guts he'll remove anything that shouldn't be there (adhesions, polyps etc.) - he's going to poke a camera in before operating. I'm glad I'll be asleep…

[TwistedSister]

Good luck Tig! Maybe you can wear pirate bloomers under your hospital gown, just to keep them all guessing.

[Tigger_the_Wing]

[quote="TwistedSister"]Good luck Tig! Maybe you can wear pirate bloomers under your hospital gown, just to keep them all guessing.[/quote]

I LOVE it! Oh, how I wish I'd got this suggestion [i]before[/i] hubby took me clothes shopping today!

I'll just have to make another trip… :wink:

[bacon]

wishing you a speedy recovery tig

[Tigger_the_Wing]

wishing you a speedy recovery tig

Thanks Bacon!

I have just three weeks to prepare…

Uuughhh. I HATE hospitals.

I just hope hubby and sons behave themselves whilst I'm in. One if my boys is homeschooled, so at least I'll have a cabin boy/personal slave available for when I come home!

I wonder what happened to the formatting in my previous post?

[Edd]

Well, whatever it is they're planning to do to you, they better not mess it up or I'll have to go down there and pound the crap out of them. I'll bring MWB and Roy along to increase the inebriation factor. Hopefully the five days will see you back home and being waited on hand and foot.

fixed

[Tigger_the_Wing]

Well, whatever it is they're planning to do to you, they better not mess it up or I'll have to go down there and pound the crap out of them. I'll bring MWB and Roy along to increase the inebriation factor. Hopefully the five days will see you back home and being waited on hand and foot.

fixed

[Scott the Pirate]

Hope all's well there Tig.

[Tigger_the_Wing]

OK, folks - update!

I have my pre-admission meeting on Friday.

Has anyone any suggestions about clothing/behaviour on that day? It is our Holy Day!

Sorry, I should say that I won't be using Pirate-speak. After all, it is a serious discussion; among other things, they need to work out a change to my medications so that I don't die due to my heart stopping on the operating table or bleed to death afterwards.

Which reminds me - are there any Pastafarians in Canberra with O-negative blood like mine? Apart from my sons, that is. Just in case I need it. I can't donate my own in advance due to the aforementioned medications.

I'm being semi-serious here. I'm actually terrified despite surviving several previous operations. This will be the first time that they actually cut me wide open; all the previous were laparoscopic (lucky me!). All the previous anæsthologists had problems with my heart. And my health has taken a nose-dive in the last twelve months so I'm nowhere near as fit as I'd like to be. I've had to postpone the neurological tests until September (the original booking was the second week of July; no chance to recover after the op - and the tests would have been meaningless).

I hate being such a wuss.

I want so much not to die in Canberra. I would like finish raising my youngest sons and to see my older sons, my daughter, my son-out-law and my grandsons again before I go - preferably back home in Ireland. Although both my older boys managed to make visits to Australia, I haven't seen my other relations since February 2005.

[Ubi Dubius]

Tigger, we all wish you the best of luck. We're all hoping that everything will be all right. You've every right to be scared. Stay focused on getting well.

I'm not in Canberra and I'm not O-, but I donate blood!

As to what to wear, I suggest nothing distracting. You want your medical team focused!

[daftbeaker]

In all seriousness try and relax, don't think about what's going to happen.
Don't forget to take any assortment of pills with you.
With the blood thing, while you can't accept any other blood types O negative is the default blood to have on hand in surgery (given that everyone can accept it blah blah).
Remember that if anything does go wrong you're in the best possible place.

In my experience being chopped open doesn't hurt that much afterwards. I will say that if it starts hurting ask for pain meds immediately, given the time it takes for nurses to get pills authorised it can get rather uncomfortable.

[Scott the Pirate]

You know what scares the sh*t out of me? That big-ass, noisy MRI. Sitting in a tube that's only a bit bigger than the width of my shoulders with thoughts like "tumor" and "clot" and "stroke" running through my head. Not a good time.

Stay focused Tig. We're not really a praying bunch, but you'll be in our thoughts.