Eat, Pray, Hurl: Pre-Surgery Fun
Sunday morning, we hit the road at 5am headed to Little Rock. Made it in plenty of time for Robert’s 9am pre-surgery testing. Checked into the ER (hello, foreshadowing) and knocked out a few quick tests, out before 9. Little did I know we weren’t done with the ER just yet.
With the whole day to kill, we asked: what do you even do in Little Rock at 9am? Apparently, you hit the zoo. We get there right at opening, welcomed by loud primate hollering. A look back now and I’m wondering if that was a recording. LOL! We start walking… and realize there are no animals. Just empty habitats. Turns out the animals know their worth and weren’t clocking in early. Respect.
By 11:30, we wrap up our animal tour and head to our favorite restaurant, Taj Mahal. The guys order some meat thing, I get my beloved cashew curry. Cue ominous music — it looked different but still tasted good enough to gamble my life with, or so I thought.
Stuffed (and naive), we head to our favorite theater — the one with cushy chairs that recline like a dream. I wanted to see The Chosen, but Denver pointed out we hadn’t seen all the earlier ones. I said, “We do know how it ends…and begins… and all the stuff in the middle” (Cue teen side-eye.) So we watched The King of Kings — an animated telling of Jesus’s life that was very good.
During the movie, I start feeling weird. But weird is kinda my baseline these days, so I ignored it. We check into the hospital hotel, and I crash while the guys grab dinner. Later, I feel better-ish, nibble some leftovers (ominous music, take two), and call it a night.
Until about 1am. I’m in the bathroom, tossing my cookies like a silent ninja trying not to wake the family. (Mission: barely accomplished.)
By 2am I’m wrecked. 4am hits and it’s go-time. We pack up and head to the hospital by 5am. Robert’s mom (Helga), his sisters (Cindy and Carole), our preacher (Lance), and church friend (Jason) all show up soon after. They call Robert back to prep for surgery — and suddenly, it all feels very real.