Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
It’s 5:00 am, and there I am, minding my own business, when Alexa erupts with violent sounds, screaming, “Get up, get up now!!” So, I bounce out of bed, asking myself what is going on. Then it dawned on me that we have a doctor’s appointment in Long Beach at 8:00 am. Not JUST a doctor but a certified meat cutter!
Another one of those pesky cancer spots showed itself a few weeks back, and my dermatologist referred me to a plastic surgeon (the same excellent doctor I have used for years).
Off we go in a cloud of dust and a hearty “Ho Ho Silver Fox”. The freeway was wide open, making the trip only 25 minutes. We arrived at his office 45 minutes early, thus allowing us to dine at the elegant McDonald’s.
On the way there, I was questioned by Dr. Mary:
I was innocent!
The doctor came in smiling, carrying a freshly sharpened samurai sword. He stabbed me with a painkiller, but getting stabbed is also painful. What comes first, the chicken or the egg?
He chopped, diced, sliced…it looked like a horror movie with blood everywhere! I looked carefully, and he was practicing on an extra-large tomato! It was not me, yet!!
I screamed and made other funny sounds just before he made the initial incision. I would have passed out, but as you might expect, I wanted to be awake to make snide and sarcastic comments during the procedure.
Mary snapped a photo after they removed all of the IV equipment, blood transfusion equipment, leather straps, and wand wrist restraints.
Dr. Mary watched him put in the stitches so she could remove them in a week. I was worried when she asked about how many stitches would close my mouth! He mumbled something about extra-strength sutures. Sutures can be made from various materials, including natural materials such as silk or catgut, as well as synthetic materials like nylon, polypropylene, or polyester. They can also be absorbable (meaning they dissolve over time) or non-absorbable. I will begin counting the cats in the neighborhood as soon as we get home. Once missing cat and I shall run for the hills!
I kept the phone handy in case he needed any specific instructions or reminders.
The procedure was completed in a few minutes, and the lab reported that he had all the margins, so further cutting was not needed. He looked disappointed, but I am sure he will have another chance. He patched me up, but he didn’t have SpongeBob SquarePants bandages.
Immediately after this painful operation, Mary told me I needed to have a reward, so we went to Chico’s in Los Alamitos. I giggled like a ten-year-old little girl, thinking to myself, “I get to go to Chico’s and watch Mary spend hours looking for clothes!” She takes good care of me.
Now, life gets serious! We’re off to the Elks for Girls’ Night Out. Mary pulled out her camera and got a picture of the license plate in the car in front of us. Some people are so clever.
Follow that car!
We enjoyed lunch with the gang before heading home. We took some dessert over to Jeff.
Mary went to the Loft (now sometimes called The Studio) and completed some paintings while I held the chair down in front of the TV, which keeps it from moving.
We got a call from Mary’s teacher reminding her that her pictures needed to be picked up. We jumped in the car and Mary was chauffeured over to the Tustin Seniors Center and back, at NO CHARGE, I might add.
Returning home, Mary fixed a magnificent stir-fry dinner complete with a peeled pear, followed by some homemade cookies. Sometimes I think I have died and gone to heaven!
We went to the TV room and stayed up until eleven watching The Blacklist. We are in season ten, and we have only a few more episodes to go until we can return to regular TV.
