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Tomorrow morning we set sail on our first cruise. If Internet access is reasonable I’ll try to post an at-sea update or two with some pictures.

I have a mental rating I do on movies…

5 – So good I have to buy a DVD to see it again at will.

4 – Good enough I’d see it one more time and like to share it with someone.

3 – Enjoyed it, worth the ticket price, would not see it again.

2 – Waste of money, should have waited for TV version

1 – Avoid it like the plague.

For Peggy’s birthday, Wendy and I took her to “Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian”. For me it was a 3.25

I never said my mental rating was perfect.

Like Melissa, I went through a period of time when ANY fat, dairy, or meat product would make me either sick, or at the very least just feel rotten. That started when I was about 32 years old. I went vegetarian for about a year and a half, and then gradually back to meats and dairy. Once again about 5 years ago, I went veggie for about a year for the same reasons. You’d think I’d get a clue. A year and a half ago I had such a sharp and intense attack, I knew it must be “the big one” (heart attack) and spent 3 days in the hospital. Nothing would ease the pain for two days. I do have (always had) a funky heart murmer that made them think it was pre-heart attack pain, so they ran a million tests and found nothing. Comforting.

A week and a half or so ago, I began to have a slight chest pain, in my right side, I thought I pulled a muscle. That was a Sunday. By Tuesday night it was as bad as it was a year and a half ago, so I spent Wednesday in the ER. Now, when your gall bladder is in ful attack mode, you cannot tell where the pain is coming from, it just hurt like hell everywhere in my chest and back, from the ribs up. Once again, they checked my heart, negative. They did blood tests for everything, including gall bladder, all negative.

Then they sent me to get an ultra-sound, same as last time. But, this time, they gave me a mean old crotchety nurse (ultrasound tech?) who I thought was trying to kill me. She jammed that probe WAY down into my stomach, ribs, sides, and pushed HARD. As I complained and writhed in pain, she very rudely said, “You are just going to have to take it and lay still! Every time you move I have to do it again. I have to push down hard or we can’t see anything but your FAT!” And she said it like a drill sergeant, so I just bucked up and took it.

Well, thank God for her and her stubbornness, because she found what they couldn’t find before. So I had a gallstone, several, but one biggie causing the problem. At the time it was stuck in the opening of the Cystic Duct, causing blockage and inflammation. As a side note – they mainlined morphine into me twice. I had only had it once before and that was right after surgery on my shoulder. Then, I was so out of it from the anesthesia I just slept through it. This time I was awake and felt the full effect of the drug. Euphoric is the best word for it. Absolutely wonderful. I can see why people would get hooked so easily.

By the time the drug wore off, I felt great, and began to think about surgery. I felt like I could alter my diet and it would be fine, and with a cruise in a few weeks, I didn’t want to mess that up. Well, a few days later the pain started returning and I just felt totally run down. My body was fighting a battle in there, sapping me of strength. I finally saw my doctor last Monday and he recommended surgery ASAP. I went to a specialist on Thursday, and he said the stone was immobile, already stuck in the opening of the duct, and would not move. In other words, it would only get worse from here and could cause very serious problems. He scheduled my surgery right away, for early next morning. From the Monday I saw my doc, until the Thursday I saw the specialist, I had been in pain. When I woke up yesterday to go to hospital, I felt great again. After the surgery we found out why. The stone DID move, but the wrong way. It moved up into the Cystic Duct, giving me temporary relief, but it would have been very temporary. Apparently, once it is firmly lodged into that duct, serious problems can ensue, so I’m glad I didn’t wait on the surgery.

So, now I’ve had two major surgeries in 4 months (rotator cuff was the other), and I’ve only been 50 for 5 months. Hopefully, nothing else will fall apart. The doctor said I will be fine in time to enjoy my cruise. I hope this puts an end to the general crappiness I’ve felt for the last couple years. Seriously, I would wake up 5 out of ten days feeling achy like a bad cold makes you feel.

Today, day one post gall bladder, I feel great other than a sore throat from the tube, and the pain you might expect from having 4 stab wounds. They had only planned 3 incisions, but I ended up with 4. Maybe because the stone wasn’t where they expected it to be and they had to dig deeper. I don’t know. I’ll find out in a follow up next week.

If this leaves me feeling better every day like I hope, we (Wendy and I) will begin daily walks after our cruise and I am going to start bike riding again… I am really looking forward to that.