I wish I had called a taxi. That was a good suggestion. Unfortunately that's not how it turned out.
The short answer is: I am doing fine, very slightly sore throat, but nothing bad. They took a biopsy of a gastric polyp in the anterior of my stomach, but the injury to my esophagus appears to already be healing (the Gastronenterlogist had predicted this would be the case.) I'll know more when I follow up with him after the biopsy comes back. In the mean time he's instructed me to increase the fiber in my diet (even more?!? How much bran and whole-wheat can one eat?)
I didn't get all of this directly from the doctor, I was too sedated. It was supposed to be one of those waking sedations, but I went out like a light. I guess I was not too much trouble for them to handle me like that. <*snap*> I certainly don't remember a thing.
Now the long story <Warning>. I got there about a quarter past 9 AM. I wasn't going to at first, but I called W before going in. I was aggravated and hurt because she had said she would support me in this, said she would drive me to the appointment and back, then backed out saying she would be there if they wouldn't let me go otherwise. But then she never once asked for the location of where the procedure was being performed.
So after I arrived and parked the car, I sat there a moment to write down all her contact info to give to the medical center staff. And then I gave W a phone call. I told her the location of the medical center and that I would call her if their policy was to not allow me to drive myself home. She asked me if I had found out yet whether they would require someone else or not. I told her I hadn't been in yet to find that out. I told her I would let her know. I tried to keep the conversation short. She started to say something about being off of work today "just in case", but she was still on-call since they are very short-staffed. I concluded the conversation.
Whatever.
I sat there thinking, she has abandoned me yet again. But I shouldn't be surprised. Not anymore.
It still hurts. And yes, I did shed a tear. Just briefly, and then went inside.
But when I checked in the attendant stated that someone else had to drive me home. The procedure itself was only going to last about fifteen minutes, but I was going to still be very sedated and incapable of making decisions or operating machinery for up to 24 hours. So I gave her the sheet of papre with all the contact information for W. I was thinking to myself, "Oh, boy, W is going to just love being called in on my behalf, especially since she was sooo convinced that they would let me drive myself after I came to and she was thinking she was off the hook."
Whatever.
When I came to, the nurse told me they had contacted my W and she would be there shortly. In a daze I got dressed and ready, and then sat on the gurney trying to read over the information the doctor had printed out for me.
Eventually W arrived and she asked for my car keys. She drove me home in my car. I was semi-conscious enough to know what we were talking about on the way back. She was talking about all her preparations for moving out of our house into her new bachelorette apartment. Yes, she still is moving, this weekend no less, despite having no offers on the house as yet. Again, I resisted the urge to ask her rhetorically why she's doing this stupid thing. Even her own L doesn't have a clue why she's proceeding with this nutty move.
And yet again she was suggesting that once she was out then I could move back into the house myself since I cannot really afford this apartment I am in right now anyway along with half the mortgage on the house (and yet again, I am asking myself then how does she think she can afford both an apartment lease and a house mortgage if I cannot?) And she acts like I am the crazy one here.
I tried not to engage her too much in this nonsense, partly because I was still under the influence and thus prone to poor judgement myself-- and partly because I had already decided there is nothing to be gained or learned by trying to argue with an obsessive compulsive mental case like her.
She asked me when I was getting paid. I told her today in fact. And she asked about my share of the mortgage -- I told her I could write her the check now once we got back to the apartment. Which I did. She led me into my apartment, I wrote her a check and she then said she was going outside to wait for OM to pick her up. (another dagger appeared in my back, its tip protruding into my heart.) She said OM had his truck with him to help her with some of the moving -- she would get him to drive her back over to the medical center to retrieve her car. Lovely.
I thanked her again for picking me up and driving me home. She said she would pick up the boys from school for me this afternoon. She told me to get some rest and then she left.
A few minutes later I thought I'd go check my mailbox (at the apartment office building a couple of blocks down the street)... and to see if she really was out there waiting on her "ride". At first I didn't see her, but as I approached the office to get my mail, I saw W sitting on the curb out front talking on her cell-phone. She looked up and saw me, gave me a disgusted look like "WTF?" I pointed to the office and said, "Mail."
I retrieved my mail and stopped to give W a piece or mail addressed to her (another credit card junk mail offer). She then asked me, snidely, "Do you mind?" I was going to offer her some lunch as a token of appreciation for me putting her out today, a sort-of peace offering, but she was irritated at not having her "privacy" it would seem and i wasn't going to press it.
I told her good-bye again and went back to my apartment. I was thinking to myself how she would rather sit outside on the curb than in a comfortable chair indoors to wait if that means being in my presence. She can't stand me that much. But then she was obviously playing the love-sick adolescent girl talking to her "boyfriend" on her cell-phone again.
