Last week, I let my imagination get the best of me.
My 4-year-old grandson was going to have surgery to remove enlarged adenoids.
Routine by most standards, I guess.
I was told that the surgery would take about 15 to 20 minutes.
Sounds simple, but I’ve come to learn that no surgery is routine, and that’s what worried me.
We were putting the life of our beloved grandson into the hands of strangers, and that spooked me.
It was a long morning before I got the call from my wife telling me that things went well.
Our grandson was out of the recovery room and would be discharged the same day.
When I first heard of the impending surgery, I wondered aloud why the tonsils weren’t going to be yanked out also.
Apparently, the trend these days is to allow youngsters to keep their tonsils for as long as possible to save them the permanent psychological damage of ever eating solid food again.
There are some things a kid never forgets.
Asking me if I remember having my tonsils removed would be like inquiring if I recall the first time I got hit in the head with a baseball.
You’re darn right I do.
I was 6 years old when I was told that my tonsils had to be removed.
I was taken to Lee Hospital and dressed in a gown that had no back to it. That was embarrassing even for a kid.
I was in a semi-private room, although I didn’t know the term at the time. There was a kid about my age in the next bed, crying and sounding like a bullfrog when he talked.
A nurse came in to reassure my family, and she told me I could have anything I wanted to eat after the operation.
“You can have as much ice cream as you want,” she said, which triggered a near convulsion from my pale roommate.
It seemed as if he was trying to tell me something.
A big hospital orderly with a tattoo walked in and asked if I was ready to go. The tattoo didn’t bother me. It was the stranger’s size that worried me. Before I had a chance to protest, the giant scooped me out of bed and put me on a gurney.
My mother kissed me, and my dad uttered the same phrase he always said when I suffered personal injury: “Don’t cry, you’ll be better before you get married.”
After an elevator ride, I found myself pushed against a wall in a hall.
I remember lettering on a big swinging door, but since I couldn’t read, I was on my own. The giant stayed with me until a nurse wearing a shower cap and a mask over her face showed up to take over. She pushed me into what I would come to realize later was an operating room.
The nurse told others in the room my name, and a chorus of greetings was delivered. This was when my most vivid memory occurred. The nurse kissed my forehead. She had onion breath.
The last thing I remember was a guy, who also wore a mask to protect his identity, telling me to count backwards from 100.
“I can’t count that high,” I remember saying.
Almost instantly I went to sleep, dreaming of the mountains of ice cream that awaited me.
When I woke up, I saw my mom and dad standing over me.
“How do you feel?” Mom asked.
I swallowed to give her an answer and felt a pain that can only be described by someone who just ate a porcupine.
Following my grandson’s surgery, we took him a few gifts to help soothe his pain.
He loved the get-well card. It showed a porcupine eating a dish of ice cream.
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Onions an ice cream don't mix
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Events | Arts fitness
“Music and Art for Heart and Soul” will be held from 6 to 10 tonight at Art Works in Johnstown! 413 Third Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.
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'New York City Subway Idol' | Soul, rhythm and blues singer in concert Feb. 18 at Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center
Alice Tan Ridley is just as popular above ground as below it. The singer, known as “The New York City Subway Idol,” will perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center on the Pitt-Johnstown campus in Richland Township.
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All things afield at annual sportsmen's show
Folks who crave the great outdoors will have the chance to get a jump on their adventures by attending the 27th annual Allegheny Sport, Travel and Outdoor Show at the Monroeville Convention Center. The show, which runs from Feb. 15-19, is the only western Pennsylvania show dedicated to hunting, fishing and camping. It offers hundreds of exhibitors, dozens of live demonstrations and many seminars presented by experts in their fields of interest.
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Venue of Merging Arts to host Slovak Mardi Gras
Slovak heritage will be the center of attention at an upcoming party. A Slovak Mardi Gras, or Fasiangy, will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Feb. 19 at Venue of Merging Arts, 305 Chestnut St. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.
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Go jump in a lake | Laurel Highlands Polar Plunge at Que to raise funds for Special Olympics
It takes a hearty soul to jump into a freezing Pennsylvania lake in February and pay money to do it. But that’s what organizers of the first official Laurel Highlands Polar Plunge are counting on. On Saturday, if people donate to Special Olympics of Pennsylvania, they can go jump in a lake.
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Westmont Hilltop High School has reached theatrical milestone
“The Pirates of Penzance” will mark Westmont Hilltop High School’s 50th year of presenting musical theater.
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Curtains rising | Students acting out roles in spring productions
A variety of performances that promise to be entertaining are scheduled for area high school stages.
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Tribute band to play best of Pink Floyd at War Memorial
This arena show will bring the lights and sounds of Pink Floyd. Brit Floyd, billed as the world’s greatest Pink Floyd show, will perform at 8 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena, 326 Napoleon St., Johnstown.
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