It Was A Perfect Weekend, Except For....

Our ‘perfect’ weekend started with snowshoeing in beautiful Snake Creek canyon, riding bikes from Midway to Heber and concluded with a trip to the hospital. Got your attention now?

We love weekends in Midway. It is so peaceful and relaxing. You can now be a fly on the wall listening to our conversation as we walked into the condo:

Roger: “Bev, what would you like to do?”
Bev: “Uummm, ummmmm, a nap sounds good. “ Mind you, it was 10am and I hadn’t slept well the night before.
Roger: “A nap, why would you want to take a nap?”
Bev: “cuz I’m on vacation….and that means I’m not compelled to organize or clean anything”
Roger: “OK…..I’ll just read” 1.5 hrs later. I stagger into the small cozy living room.
Roger greets me with a smile and asks, “Now what do you want to do?"
Bev: “go back to bed”…..remember, I’m on vacation.
Roger gingerly asks, “Would you consider snowshoeing?”
Bev: “Not really…..but I’ll go becuz I know you want to go.” Roger first bribed me by saying, “Let’s go see if there’s any snow on the golf course.”

My hopes were dashed when I saw golfers on the eighth hole. Roger continued driving up the mountain until we got into the snow line. He then pulled over and exclaimed, “What a beautiful day!” We got out of the car, put our snowshoes on and started venturing into the snow covered trees, blue skies, breathing brisk fresh air…I was glad I had come.



There's only one thing I don't like about being an empty nester. When we share beautiful sites together,one of us takes the picture, so our memory is solo. I hate this. Well this time I put the camera in a fork of a tree, set the timer and then made a dash to stand by Roger to take the picture. Here are the results.





We then drove into town and had lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Tarahumarara’s.

http://www.tarahumara.biz/menu.html

Then off to the local bike shop. We were told there were no bikes to rent because it was still the snow season….they were still renting skis. Checking out the new Schwinn Sierra….we really wanted to bike. It was good fortune that today (Saturday) was the first bike rental season at the Homestead rental shop. However, as we got to the rental shop, we saw a family with 8 kids marching from the rental shop to the bike storage location. We asked the clerk about bikes…..she said that family had rented all their bikes and the bikes wouldn’t be available for 2 hours. I thought of going back to the restaurant for nibbles (remember we’ve on vacation), but we stopped at the new grocery store in the heart of Midway. We loaded up on fresh fruit, cereal for Sunday morning, and chocolate (we’re still on vacation, you know). The next 2 hours were spent leisurely relaxing enjoying the condo.

At 6pm we arrived at the Homestead rental shop.


We drove off down the hill towards Midway and looked back groaning about anticipating our return trip up that same hill. It was a gorgeous day with perfect temperatures for biking. Naturally, Roger biked ¼ mile ahead of me, waiting for me to catch up every 15 minutes. (OK, so I’m slow….but I’m still on vacation) We turned around just before entering Heber and started back. I asked Roger to go on ahead and a get a good workout and to bring the car to drive me back. Surprisingly, I got halfway up the hill …..walking my bike. Roger came with the car, decided it wouldn’t fit in his trunk and instructed me to drive back while he biked up the hill back to the Homestead. I chuckled to myself, “my husband looks like a circus bear riding my women’s small bike.”




Where else in the country can you snowshoe and drive 20 minutes to bike on a beautiful spring day? We are fortunate to live in such a place.

Unbeknowest to me…Roger was having some abdominal cramping which was progressing at this time. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying the comforts of the condo. Roger didn’t complain of pain (you know those Harries). In fact he described how he felt as, “a little gassy”. To me, I dismissed his comment because that’s how I feel most of the time, plus, I had had a bout of gastroenteritis 10 days prior and had the same kind of symptoms.

Roger didn’t sleep that well Saturday night and spent part of the night reading on the couch. He didn’t feel like having breakfast the next morning and we decided to skip church because he wasn’t feeling well. (another plus about Midway, if we don’t feel like it, we don’t attend which is quite a change from our ‘bishoping’ days.) By the time I had washed the sheets and towels, we headed home making a trip to “Smith’s” in Heber for jello and gingerale because Roger’s stomach was upset. I drove as he slept peacefully beside me.

We got home and went to our favorite spot in the house….our ‘serenity room’ in our bedroom…equipped with tivo backup, and soft leather furniture. I made Roger some soup and gingerale and went to visit a sick friend. I returned with Roger laying down on the loveseat. While I was gone, he had a call from the contact for his Indonesia trip in June. He related to me that during this call the cramping was ‘uncomfortable and that he just couldn’t get comfortable.’ I insisted he keep a barf bag close by, just in case. However, he went to the bathroom and didn’t think on taking it with him. As he starting coming back towards me, he LOST IT...in his hands and on the carpet. Poor guy.

He started feeling warm so I took his temperature and it was 100.5. By this time he suggested we go to Instacare and get a WBC blood test. The clinic wasn't busy and we got right in.





The nurses had a hard time finding a good vein to draw blood and infuse fluids. He was poked 5 times..ouch!

His white blood count was elevated. However, the doctor prefaced the results by saying, “our machine is acting up”, I’d feel better if we send you to LDS emergency to repeat it and also have a CT scan. Now mind you, the doctor pushes down on Roger’s stomach without him flinching an inch. She probed his abdomen multiple times asking, “doesn’t it hurt here?” Roger replied each time, “not really”. The doctor suspected divertiticulitis.

We arrived at LDS Emergency room anticipating a long wait with lots of tests and being sent home. However, to our surprise, the CT scan showed a ruptured appendix with air pockets indicating perforation. The doctor asked him if he would like a pain med. “Not really”, was his reply! (those Harries!!). We visited with the on-call surgeon and felt comfortable with the emminent surgery. He was wheeled into surgery at 12:40am Monday. Alicia and Matt arrived shortly thereafter at the surgery waiting room which was void of any persons other than myself. I was so happy to see them. Alicia brought me some sorbet with spoons and we ate and visited until the doctor walked in at 1:10am. The surgery went well….a lap appy. Hooray for laparoscopies!!!!! The doctor was surprised that Roger had such a large appendix….not due to inflammation, but anatomically, it was the biggest one he had ever seen. Once again, ‘those unique Harries’.

The infected appendix had perforated and was resting on his bladder. His bladder had become paralyzed and distented, hence he’ll have a foley catheter in until it starts working again. Shortly after the doctor left, the recovery room called and we were on our way to his room. After a brief visit in his room, we left Roger in good hands for the rest of the evening.

It’s 5pm on Monday and Roger has walked the halls numerous times, shaved, brushed his teeth, washed his face and answered emails from his laptop….and again, I marvel at a “harrie”!

Reflecting upon this experience I shall like to describe what it’s like being married to Roger Harrie. While generalizing to the whole family group may apply, I only make these conclusions based on my own experience:

1. My ‘Harrie’ never complains. Author’s opinion: could be good, could be fatal
2. Determining what is actually going on in his head requires ESP and intuitive mind-reading. Author’s opinion: it gets frustrating
3. My ‘Harrie’ has a high threshold for pain. Author’s opinion: could be good, could be fatal
4. I must be more specific in my inquiries. Instead of asking ‘how do you feel’ (which is a generalization) I must ask, “on a scale of 1 to 10, what is your pain level?” It was news to me that my husband described his pain at a level 9 BEFORE throwing up; but decreased to ‘not much’ after throwing up. Author’s opinion: I must be more detailed
5. My ‘Harrie’ is unmistakenly low maintenance. He is content at any given time, in any given place, in any type of circumstance. (Sure helps in third world trips). My opinion: could be good, could be fatal

I conclude with this final thought. While Roger and I may agree that he can be 'oblivious' at times. I believe he had the last laugh. When I got home last night, I noticed the back bedroom light was on. I know I had not been down the hall all week. But the following picture is what I discovered.



You may wonder what this is. It is the autotimer that Roger places in the house when we go on long humanitarian trips. Conclusion: Roger's mind was not in 'harrie oblivian'....his mind was methodical and calculated. He KNEW he was not going to come right home after the clinic visit. Roger lets me pontificate on and on about his perceived idiosyncracies knowing all the while, HE'S IN CHARGE! TOUCHE' HARRIE!!!

P.S. Roger/Dad has appreciated all the calls and special treats to help him feel better.