I am just now recovering from what was a pretty scary experience. Two Fridays ago, I started having abdominal pains. They never really abated, and on Monday the 29th, my husband insisted I should go to the hospital to have things checked out. We got there at 2:00 in the afternoon. By 7:00 p.m., I was on the operating having my ruptured appendix removed.

Suffice to say, the rest of the past two weeks have been a bit of a blur of IV drips filled with antibiotics, pain, and the kind of fear that fills you when you realize exactly how sick you were, and how bad things could have been.

So, what did I learn from this?

Nurses are God's gift to the world, and are vastly underappreciated and underpaid. They took care of me, soothed my fears, and snuck my kids in to see me. I love them all, and will never forget their many kindnesses.

When you are having a life-altering experience, priorities get set *very* quickly. I didn't even think of my job: all I was worried about was my family.

Nobody is indispensible or irreplacable - things seemed to go along smoothly without me at work: the home front was a little bit more bumpy, but all was well, either way.

You're never too old to need your Mom. Mine came down and took care of me, totally removing all of my stress about the extra burden on my husband. She was, is, and will always be my hero.

Medical science is a wonderful thing. Life expectancies are longer because of it. Fifty years ago, I might not have made it.

Never underestimate the power of a visit, a prayer, a card, a gift, some flowers, or kind thoughts. They all meant so much to me: I will never forget the friend who baked cupcakes for my kids and brought me a bag of "girl stuff", nor will I forget the co-worker who came every day to see me on the way to visiting her very ill mother.

Every once in a while God gives you a smack upside the head. I was in a groove/rut. This has seriously shaken me out of it. I appreciate many things I was taking for granted before.

Thanks for listening!

te "Feeling much better, thanks!" ach