Oh the gall!

I'm counting down the days till my gall bladder surgery. Nineteen days from now, I'll be going under the knife here at Mayo Clinic.

Lately, I've been doing a lot of video taping for various projects (Have flip cam, will travel) and since any personal medical issue I have is an opportunity to show what we do here at Mayo Clinic, I'm wondering if I can bring in my flip cam for the surgery.

"Oh hey, Dr. Jenkins, is it okay if I just put my tripod on the gurney with me?"

I've already signed a release to allow Mayo to video tape the surgery which they don't expect to do, so why can't it work both ways?  Think about it...you would have the rare opportunity to see me in a loose-fitting gown that isn't in my color palette AND I'll be wearing those sexy compression hosiery.

Thinking about it further, maybe I should just do the pre and post-surgery. Shooting the surgery would mean exposure and let's just say "my core" isn't as toned as I would like it to be. (Not that it ever has been)

Many people have been surprised by the fact that I scheduled my surgery almost five weeks out instead of doing it immediately. "oh, you must be in so much pain."  I might be spontaneous on most parts of my life, but with things like this, my inner control freak comes out.

I couldn't do it in early July because of the move - can't lift more than 10 pounds after the surgery.  Then there were work retreats during the last two weeks of July that I didn't want to miss and, well, the first week of August is the Freeborn County Fair and my bestest friend will be home that week. 

My calendar appeared pretty open after that and Dr. Jenkins seemed fine with the date, so August 8th it is! He just told me that if I start to have a lot of pain or start to turn yellow, I have to go in early. Well, if it works with my schedule...

The whole gall stone thing surprised me because, after doing lots of Web surfing, Dr. Harty had diagnosed kidney stones and figured, "these, too, shall pass."  Only they didn't.

Bummer.