What A Trip!

Elkmont, Alabama

Weather: low 39 degrees, high 45 degrees, rain early, cloudy

It was another cold and miserable wet day here as we went out to the truck to drive to the hospital in Athens. I had to be at the hospital at 0800 hours as an out-patient for the procedure to do a biopsy on my abdominal fat, which the doctor said again was hard to find. The biopsy may tell us definitively whether I have the disease that is suspected, or it may cause us to have other testing performed to find the problem. Either way, at least we are doing something to move forward. Most people who know me know that I don't like standing around doing nothing when answers are needed.

I had never been in the portion of the hospital that I was in today, and I have to say that I was impressed. It was modern, well-lit, and cheerful looking. Everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful. After checking in, I was taken to a small private room, where I changed in to the dreaded hospital gown with the open view. After my vital signs were taken, an IV drip was installed with a minimum of pain. Soon after, I was taken to the operating suite, where I talked to the nurses and anesthesiologist. I understood that I would be sedated lightly, and would recover relatively quickly. Okay, let's go do it.

Well, I am here to say that I experienced the trip of a lifetime. As in, psychedelic in the most extreme sense. What happened is that I stopped breathing and they had to intubate me and administer a general anesthetic. That new anesthetic is what caused my way out experience. Imagine the most extreme representation of a psychedelic experience that you might have seen on television or in a movie, and that's what I think I had. I can't remember all of it, but enough to know I never want to go through that again. Plus, it didn't stop when I was taken back to my room. Even with my eyes open, I was seeing things that were out of this world.

We finally left the hospital about 1500 hours, and Carolyn had to drive, obviously. She stopped at the drug store to fill a prescription for me, and then we went home. I couldn't close my eyes because I kept having flashbacks to the experience. When we got home, where Carolyn had to help me in the house, laid down on the couch. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and saw a huge sock, similar to the ones that are used to make the sock monkeys, floating across my view. At the point where the material came together on the heel of the sock, there was a pulse as though the sock had a heart beat. As soon as I opened my eyes, the sock went away. Thank God!

I fell asleep on the couch and slept for about two hours. When I woke, I felt a little better, and was able to join Carolyn at the dining room table for a small snack and some V-8 juice.

I don't have any pain yet from the biopsy, but have some good drugs, just in case. In the meantime, I hope I can sleep tonight without flashing back to whatever it was that I experienced. I never want to go through something like that again.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Pueblo, Colorado: Pride City

Not all who wander are lost.