Charles Dickens began his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….” After spending 5 days in the Central Florida Regional Hospital, I can relate to those words. I met some wonderful nurses and healthcare workers while I was there. But I would not wish this experience on anyone. How did I end up in the hospital? I’m glad that you asked.
I will call my saga A Tale of Two Soups. It began Sunday March 21st when I decided to make some good homemade chicken noodle soup. We had some chicken thighs and legs given to us. So, I boiled them, picked the meat from the bone, diced it up and put it in a pot. I added chicken broth and a variety of veggies. To make it more flavorful, I added some of the chicken grease that the thighs and legs were packaged with. But I may have added a bit too much grease. That evening, I felt that old familiar gas pain building up in my upper abdomen. So I took some Gas-X and drank a 7-Up thinking that would do the trick as it always has in the past when experiencing the same gas pain. But things went south fast. Nothing seemed to relieve the pain. By Monday morning, the pain had subsided a bit, but I was running a temperature. That afternoon, the fever was still hanging on, so I went for a COVID test which came back negative. For the next few days, the fever was off and on. Tylenol seemed to bring my temperature back down to around normal for a while. Wednesday morning, I had a virtual visit with my doctor. We discussed the possibility of food poisoning. He told me to continue to monitor the symptoms and if things got worse, then I should check myself into the ER. I did that on Wednesday evening. My white blood cell count was extremely high as my body was fighting the infection in my gallbladder. All these years, what I thought was simple gas pain was actually gallbladder attacks. And this attack topped them all.
After consulting with Dr. Clontz, the best gallbladder surgeon in these parts, it was decided that once the infection was cleared up, then I would have surgery on Saturday morning to remove the infected organ. My gallbladder was in pretty bad shape. Normally, it takes about 30-60 minutes to remove a gallbladder laparoscopically. For me, it took significantly longer. I was taken directly to the OR from my room at 10:15am. I was back in my room at 2:15pm. When Dr. Clontz saw me after surgery, he told me that the procedure took much longer than usual because of the condition of my plumbing. As such, he said that I would have to stay an extra day in the hospital before being discharged. He was right. I was able to come home Monday, March 29th around 5pm.
The care that I received in the hospital was awesome. Dr. Clontz and his team were amazing. I enjoyed getting to know Dr. Clontz on a personal level. He saw me several times before and after the surgery. We spent some of the time talking about my medical situation. But we spent most of our time talking about politics and the Bible.
Dr. Clontz recommended a book by Lee Strobel who is one of my favorite authors. As we talked about spiritual matters, he said that he could not understand how atheists can ignore the plain evidence of the Creator God. He also said that he was absolutely convinced that God was in the operating room on Saturday guiding him and his team during the procedure.
God certainly answered a number of prayers during my stay in the hospital. Here is just one example. I am a very light sleeper. I do not sleep well in a strange location surrounded by strange noises. For me, a hospital bed is not conducive to a good night’s sleep. To make things worse, the guy in the room next to me had to be the “neighbor from hell!” His shrill voice could carry a country mile and it pierced the wall between our rooms. From what I could tell by his cellphone conversations, he seemed like the typical “Alpha Male.” He was on his cellphone incessantly throughout the day. But it did not stop there. The guy talked in his sleep. Did I say “talked?” It would be more accurate to say that he yelled in his sleep all night long. Yet, in spite of his nocturnal babbling prior to my surgery, I had the most peaceful night of rest that I can remember. When I cannot sleep, I will resort to Tylenol PM. But the results of Tylenol PM cannot compare to the wonderful night of rest that I had before my surgery. The nurses woke me up 3 times that night and each time I immediately fell right back to sleep which never happens to me when wakened in the night. That night’s rest was simply amazing. After the surgery was over, I asked the nurse what kind of sedative they used in my IV drip to put me out like that. She had a puzzled look on her face and said that there was no sedative. I said, “that’s not possible.” She double checked her records and assured me that there was no sedative. Of course, I did not believe her. So, I questioned other nurses that looked after me about the sedative used in my IV drip. They all said exactly the same thing—there was no sedative. I related that story to my buddy who drove me home from the hospital. He said that he prayed I would have a good night’s rest before the surgery. God certainly answered that prayer.
When I arrived back home, my buddy’s wife gave me some good homemade chicken soup, unlike my greasy version that landed me in the hospital. For 4 days in the hospital, I was on a clear liquid diet. On the 5th day, I was upgraded to cream of wheat and creamed soup. Being able to enjoy a delicious bowl of homemade chicken soup in my own apartment was a joy inexpressible.
So that concludes my Tale of Two Soups. I could probably write a book about all my hospital adventures. But I better end my saga there.
Please pray for my continued recovery as I regain my strength which was definitely sapped from me.
Blessings,
Bob
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Things Which Gracious Souls Discover
by William R. Newell
1. To “hope to be better” is to fail to see yourself in Christ only.
2. To be disappointed with yourself, is to have believed in yourself.
3. To be discouraged is unbelief, — as to God’s purpose and plan of blessing for you.
4. To be proud, is to be blind! For we have no standing before God, in ourselves.
5. The lack of Divine blessing, therefore, comes from unbelief, and not from failure of devotion.
