Friday the 13th

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Tomorrow is Friday the 13th. What’s the unluckiest thing that’s ever happened to you?

My story begins with a nice family vacation to visit my parents. Right after my dad picks us up from the airport, my daughter throws up in his van. Not a good start.

The next morning, I notice we’re out of milk. I take my dad’s van, go to the store, and drive back. Now my parents live on a dirt road and if you’ve ever tried to make an emergency stop on a dirt road, you know you slide forever. Anyway, my little sister’s yappy little dog comes running out into the road. I tried to stop but it’s too late. She hears the dog’s last bark and comes running out to see her dog in the road. She, of course, begins bawling and I’m doing my best to tell her how sorry I am. Strike 2.

After breakfast, I decide it would be a good idea to take my sister to the mall and walk around a little bit. As every male can tell you, nothing soothes a guilty conscience better than gifts. I load up my family and little sister in my mom’s car (dad’s van hasn’t gotten all the smell out yet) and we head out to the mall. Halfway there, my mom’s car breaks down. We’re standing next to the interstate in 100+ degree heat and the nearest phone about a mile away. My dad comes and picks us up and we head back to his house. I figure if I don’t leave the house, I can’t get into any more trouble so we spend the rest of the weekend at their house.

I can’t tell you how happy I was to get home after that visit.

2

I was hospitalized as my appendix was bursting, on 12/13/91.

I’d gone through the whole week thinking I had the flu or something. I just had a queazy ache just below my ribs from Monday (9th) on.

Wednesday (11th), I avoided wine at a wine and cheese party. After I got home, I thought that I should’ve avoided the cheese too.

Thursday (12th), I bought a bottle of Maalox (sp?) and drank it straight as I watched TV.

Friday the 13th, I called work and said I’d be late, even though my apartment building was a one-block walk away. As I slowly walked down my hallway to the elevators, I doubled-over in front of the laundry room. I crawled back to my apartment, called in sick (I only had 1 day left), and took a shower, which strangely helped. But I was in pain as soon as I got out. I called my Mom and Dad, and Dad took me to the hospital.

(All this time, my pain never focused down where an appendix is.)

I was admitted after some probing :rolleyes:, then scheduled for various tests, since my pain didn’t indicate anything. I had X-rays of my chest and upper abdomen, gall bladder CT scan, drank some nasty barium mixture. All this, and they still couldn’t figure it out.

Saturday (14th), I had more tests. I guess in the evening I started fading. From what I was told, the nurse on duty called doctors to demand that they figure out why I was getting worse. They finally figured out the appendix, and wheeled me to OR.

My appendix was rather high, about level with my belly button, instead of closer to my hip. I spent a whole week in the hospital, then a few days at my parents’ until I could get back to work. Thankfully, this was the week after Christmas, so things were nice and slow.

Plus side: My office advanced me a week of sick time, that I would make up the next few months. But at the beginning of 1992, they changed to a new accounting system. Unknown to them and me, my sick day debt was wiped out! In June, I had the flu (for real). I called the office and asked how much sick time I could use. “35 hours,” was their reply. (This was 7 hours each month since 1/1/92. :D:D

3

Ahem.

I was born on Friday the 13th.

I’ll allow you to judge for yourself whether this was lucky or unlucky.

4

I was born on the 13th but it didn’t fall on Friday in '61. I’ve never considered it unlucky. This F13th I’m taking the day off work then taking main squeeze to see Weird Al Yancovic at the state fair. That’s her concession to me, Saturday we’re seeing Don Henley.

5

I was hospitalized with appendicitis on August 13 1999, but I don’t think it was a Friday. I’m not sure; I don’t remember. My story is a lot like AWB’s: at first I thought it was the flu, and spent four days curled up in a ball on the floor of my room because that made it not hurt. Finally I decided I couldn’t do this anymore and told my mom I was sick. (I’d been keeping up appearances the whole time; she just thought i was in a solitary mood that week.) She spent two hours on hold with our HMO getting permission to take me to the emergency room. We then drove an hour to the nearest HMO-approved hospital. Then we sat in teh emergency room for an hour before we got waited on (a bunch of old people with indigestion came in after me and got dibs).

I spent twelve hours on a cot in an emergency room curtain-area while they performed tests on me. They were convinced I was pregnant. They did two ultrasounds and kept asking me invasive questions. I kept telling them I was a virgin and they didn’t believe me, so each nurse would ask me again as soon as my mom left the room. I was getting very fed up and if I hadn’t been in so much pain I’d have told them all off.

After 11 hours of tests, the doctor who had been helping me went off shift. The new guy came in and told me it was the flu.

Then my appendix burst.

I was in the OR for a while (don’t remember how long; I was unconscious). Then I was in the hospital for three or four days with a primary infection from the appendix-gunk getting into my system. Then I was in the hospital for another twelve days with a secondary infection from somebody not taking care of my incision correctly. After I finally got home I had a 4-inch deep, 5-inch long gaping wound in my lower abdomen that I had to have a nurse fill with cotton and some kind of excruciating disinfectant that smelled like refrigerated bleach. I had home care from a visiting nurse for two weeks until the incision closed up enough that I could change my own dressing.

Damn, was I pissed.

Still got the scar. We were gonna sue for malpractice but we didnt’ have any photos of the gaping wound so we couldn’t.

That’s probably the unluckiest thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve lived a pretty middle-of-the-road life. Not too lucky or un-.
Cool, there’s a Friday the 13th in October this year! Wouldn’t it be cool if Halloween fell on a Friday the 13th some year? –Chikkifriend Carrie, obviously blonde

6

I am flying to Green Bay on Friday the 13th, hopefully I can post that nothing happened…

7

We’re having a DopeFest this Friday the 13th. It’ll be a full moon, too.

8

Oooh since it’s turned into an appendicitis thread let me chime in. All of you who suffered for days are gonna hate me…

I had my appendix removed in March of '93 at the wee age of 11. I started feeling sick around 2PM on a Thursday, and I told my mom that I’d never been in this much pain before. She called my pediatrician, he scheduled an emergency appointment, he immediately realized it was my appendix, and i was in the hospital and on painkillers by 9PM. Surgeons removed my appendix the next morning (I was told it was only a few hours from bursting, so this sucker fired up real quickly I guess) and I went home Sunday night. Between the surgery and going home, I got to watch any movie I wanted and had Nintendo on demand. Not to mention all the ice cream, morphine, etc. The worst part was missing a week of school afterwards to rest at home, as required by the surgeon.

They closed my wound with some special tape. No stitches, no staples, just tape. It healed up fairly quickly and now all I have to show for it is a barely noticeable scar.