Tuesday 31 January 2012, a date I won’t forget, atleast not very soon and if I do, I got the scar to remind me. Everything happened so quick……
In the early hours of that morning I had immense pain on my abdominal area and it was swollen. As is the case when I usually have pain, I took two pain killers, waking up that morning for my daily activity the pain had ease a bit and I could thus carry on with my day. Early afternoon the pain struck again and my stomach was still swollen, colleagues “pressured” me to go see the doctor. He suspected it could be one of three things or all three – so he referred me to a specialist and for x-rays.
After admitting myself at the hospital, they took some blood and I went for X-rays. As the doctor scanned his eye over the results, at 21h46 he uttered the words, I probably thought I would not have had to hear, “emergency operation now.”
On my way to the theatre I did what I do “best”, multi-task. Because I had to hand in my phone, I smsed my parents, asked the doctor about the operation and I prayed. Because of the uncertainty of what exactly could be wrong, they had to make a bigger and horizontal cut. I asked God to 1) make me calm, 2) to go ahead not only with the operation but the healing process and 3) recover at his pace.
Being admitted, the test, the operation – all happened so quick, there was no real time to think or reflect – I had faith though and it carried me. Born with a leak heart, having regular visits to the hospital, I’m “use-to” having a family member next to me – especially when I go for an operation. This time round there were no one it was me, all by myself.
I woke up ±6hours after a successful operation, “glued” to a bed with machines and drips and stuff all over me, not forgetting the very large cut on my body. Or as someone said days after the operation “you’ve been under the knife a number of times, full of cuts.”
After two days in the intensive care unit, I was moved to a single room for a day and a half before finally being moved to a room I shared with others and five days after an operation where they had to cut through my stomach muscles, I was able to eat.
One of the nurses told me I set a record at the hospital with phone calls. Within the first three hours after being admitted I received more than a hundred phone calls of people looking for Earl September, Earl-Ryan, Mr. September; and this is excluding close family.
The doctor and other medical staff all told me I’m recovering quite quickly, faster than normal, that’s not bad but a good sign. I should still take it slow though.
A week after the operation I was discharged, in time for the SONA, but not physically ready to attend it – or even to walk for that matter.
The entire incident and everything that lead to it, made me think.
We come into this world on our own but as a gift to someone. What we do, goals we set and how we achieve it, is up to you alone.
We all faced with challenges (mountains to climb, rocks to catch) – it’s not our destination, not Gods plan for us, but its part of his plan, part of reaching our destination.
So the “emergency” operation and some say if I waited longer I could have died, taught me to live a healthy lifestyle. It also taught me standing alone makes you stronger.
It is the late Pop icon (singer/actress) Whitney Houston who sang “I’ll try it on my own” and “The greatest love is to love yourself.” This is confirmed by my favourite bible scripture, 1Corinthians 13:7 and 8 (a) reads “Love never gives up, and its faith, hope and patience never fail. Love is eternal.”
