Another Reality

For most of us, our reality is living a fit lifestyle. We are for the most part healthy, and our bodies allow us to swim, bike, run, and pursue our triathlon goals. We are not sick, and we rarely go to hospitals other than for a routine check up or for a sports related injury. Our lives are good. I got to experience another reality today, and the experience left me feeling grateful.

Without going into too much detail (which I may decide to blog about one day), I underwent a liver biopsy today. This is not a new procedure for me, in fact, it is my third liver biopsy in 10 years. The entire procedure required that I be in the hospital ambulatory care unit for 8 hours, and most of that time spent waiting on a gurney and being pensive. The following are some of my thoughts:

Wow, I feel really out of place, everybody looks so old and sick.

I love it when the nurses ask me if it's normal for my heart rate to be so low.

Thank goodness for modern medicine, I can't imagine doing this procedure without lidocaine and being sedated. I'm so glad I live in the 21st century and not during the 1800's.

I got lucky with the nurses today, they all are so bubbly and upbeat, makes everything so much better. I think it would be awesome to be a nurse and be able to help others. Unfortunately, I'm a hypochondriac and I cannot be around sick people.

For some people, and children sadly, hospitals, being poked, drawing blood, catheters and the ICU are their realities.

I can't imagine going to a hospital every week or having to stay here for an extended period of time. I've never even stayed in a hospital overnight. The place not only looks depressing, it feels and smells depressing.

OMG, is my surgeon really telling his nurse about his neighbor belonging to a dispensary and smoking a bowl with her this past weekend? Does he know I'm not out yet and I can hear his conversation. Good thing for him that I went to Humboldt State, am a total liberal and I was a borderline hippy.

I feel a bit of a kinship with Teresa right now.

I'm looking forward to going back to my normal reality of swimming, biking, and running, and pursuing my goals (and making paleo donuts).