Snow and Appendix Feb 3th

We knew it was going to freeze, and hoping for just a little snow, but WOOHOO we got several inches!  Underneath the now was just a solid plate of ice because the temps went all the way from 75 with rain to below freezing with snow.  Work canceled, can't drive anywhere.  

The kids were hysterical with joy, inside and outside playing in it all day.  I wish that was the end of the story, but it seems like snow and Texas can't come along without drama.  Richard woke up feeling terrible.  He had been complaining about stomach pain the night before, but he thought he had just eaten something that upset his stomach. I kept saying "is it your appendix?" "no."

SURPRISE.  This morning he felt so much worse that he couldn't even take the kids outside to play in the snow, couldn't barely move, just curled up in a ball.  Of course, I can't just drive him anywhere because the cars are iced in.  We did some tests to see and decided it definitely had to be his appendix.  I agonized over having to call an ambulance just because of the ice... he didn't want me to.. but  in the end, that's what had to happen.  I called the non emergency line just to get some info, and the lady sent them out before I could even tell Richard.  I had to run in here and say "hey they are going to be here in like 5 minutes" and I could tell he was really irritated because we didn't have a bag packed or anything.  

I corralled the kids into my bedroom with the door shut and gathered up clothes, backup batteries, chargers, masks, etc for him.  Before I could even hand him his shoes, the EMTs had walked through the door.  They were all wearing masks and just eager to get moving.  They didn't want to go to Las Colinas because of the ice but nowhere else seemed any better so that's where they took him. 

While he was gone, I took the kids out to play in the snow again, and I called Jan to tell her what was going on. I felt awful that I had forgotten to call her earlier, but she was really sweet and supportive.  The kids played forever and then we came inside to get things together.  Richard was extremely miserable they kept putting off his surgery so he was just sittng around without any real pain pills, miserable as could be.  We texted back and forth a lot, and then he went silent.  They didn't have any rooms so he was just in the ER.  I called and found out they had finally taken him back (hours later) around 10 or 11.  I stayed up until the surgery was over and i could talk to him.  It was nearly 1 but I heard from him that he felt much, much better.  I called his nurse to ask if someone had put his mask back on, and they had not.  So she woke him up to remind him to get it. They still had no rooms so he was back in the ER.  

The kids were worried about him, but they were troopers.  Oliver woke up in the middle of the night crying, so I let him sleep with me. 

The next day was just a lot of waiting and playing in the snow.  My foot hurt so freaking bad but there wasn't much else to do.  He finally got home and the kids were so happy.  It was hard because he was in a lot of gas pain for the next few days and the kids were so bummed to see him not feeling well.  The world started to defrost and it took a while but he finally started feeling better.  He was tired for literally months though.