of my appendix.

It was summer vacation and I was working as a waitress at JoJo’s  in Hoffman Estates, IL. I had to work the dinner shift and as the night wore on, I started feeling sicker and sicker. Eventually I was freezing, wearing the manager’s jacket, and he said I really needed to go home.

I called my mom to come get me and she came to take me home. But I didn’t feel any better and she ended up taking me to the emergency room around midnight.

The doctors had a hard time trying to figure out what was wrong with me because I didn’t have any pain in my lower abdomen but, instead, had pain closer to my sternum. After many hours and many tests, they finally figured out that it was my appendix and they scheduled me for surgery.

As I waited in my hospital room for the surgery, my mom came in and she was crying. Thinking she would be relieved, I told her, “Hey mom, I’m going to be okay. They know what’s wrong now.” To which she replied,

“But Elvis died!”.

Oh.

Wow.

Well.

I guess I knew where I rated in the whole scheme of things.

Yes, Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, died the same day as my appendix in 1977.

It’s kind of strange to remember the very day you had an appendectomy when you were 16 but given that Elvis died the same day, I am never able to forget.

And so, as it is every year, this will be a day given over to fond remembrances of the King and, of course, my appendix. 🙂