Friday, September 22, 2006

Newsflash!

On Monday, Sep. 25 at app. 1:00 (Central), a trained medical professional will be removing my gall bladder. (His name is Roger Leir. And while we only discussed the operation tangentially, he seemed competent and at least marginally familiar with the tools of the trade.)

Anyway, this might have an effect on regularly scheduled programming here at Posthuman Blues. Or it might not. Just letting you know. (Fortunately, it won't interfere with my scheduled jaunt to Nova Scotia next month, as I'd become concerned it might.)

I'll be auctioning my gall bladder on eBay for those of you interested in medical curiosities, so get those wallets ready!

16 comments:

Dustin said...

Woo Hoo! I want it, I want it! I just don't want to have to outbid Paul for it...hurry up and get it out before he comes back!

Hurry up and get better. We'll be thinking about you here.

Mac said...

Let's not get greedy, Dustin. We can *share* the bladder!

Katie said...

OMG! They're going to remove the whole thing? Wow. I refuse to get stalker-ish to the point where I ask for the whole thing, but a play by play might be kind of fun to hear about. :o)

Seriously though, I hope all goes well, and that you're up and about in no time!

Mac said...

OMG! They're going to remove the whole thing?

Every painful ounce of it.

Carol Maltby said...

Geez, all the interesting weird experiences to be had, and you had to be the guy who had the aliens implant a lemon of a gall bladder in you...

If it wasn't sounding so biochemically dysfunctional, I'd actually seriously ask for your gall bladder. I've occasionally done paper marbling over the years, and was good enough to get some pieces in international juried shows of marbled paper a long time ago.

We use a solution of oxgall as a surfactant, to keep the colors floating on the water, and I always thought if I had to have mine out I'd have it saved to try to see how it would work for marbling.

I do remember keeping my tonsils on display on the mantlepiece when I was five. It's something I certainly would do, but I never quite figured why my mother did it, as she was pretty Normal otherwise in those days.

Mac said...

Will they keep it on ice if I request? Or in a chemical preservative? (I can always claim it's a religious thing...)

Ray Palm (Ray X) said...

Mac:

Good luck with the operation. Please let me know that you're doing OK ASAP. And if they find any alien implants, I've got dibs on the first interview with you!! [G]

Best,

Ray

Tony said...

Hey Mac. The best of luck with that, I know everything is gonna go just fine. Keep us posted and I know I'll always look forward to your posts.

Carol Maltby said...

I think you should be able to do whatever you want with the bits that formerly were part of you. Let me see if I can remember where I saw an article headline about that recently. When I had my first child in a hospital, there was no big deal about having the placenta saved in a fridge there (and later frozen until we used it in a ceremony to welcome the baby).

Katie said...

When I had my first child in a hospital, there was no big deal about having the placenta saved in a fridge there (and later frozen until we used it in a ceremony to welcome the baby).

Oh yick. Please tell me you didn't eat the thing. :oP I don't know...maybe it's because I'm not maternal in the least, but this seems a revolting practice.

Dustin said...

Good luck tomorrow Mac. I'm sure we'll all be wishing you the best and waiting to hear from you.

Carol Maltby said...

Oh yick. Please tell me you didn't eat the thing. :oP I don't know...maybe it's because I'm not maternal in the least, but this seems a revolting practice.

Nah, I prefer fresh foods to frozen. ;)

All kidding aside, it was buried at the foot of a favorite tree, in a ceremony to mark my daughter's first taste of food that wasn't breast milk. I put it in a ceramic bowl with a deep blue glaze, and it was quite a beautiful object. Wasn't smelly, or gross in the slightest.

The research I've done indicates that just about the only mammals that don't eat their placentas are the cetaceans, which may mean that ingesting them is more useful for not attracting predators.

I still can't figure out where I saw the piece on claiming your own organs. So I'd say if you want it for a souvenir, or because it is just cool to get to know your body better, you just tell them in writing (maybe in a very large type size so they can't claim they didn't see it) and in person that it is yours, and you'll do whatever you damn well please with it, and to put this in your chart. If someone gives you a hard time about the rules, talk with their supervisor.

Paul Kimball said...

Best of luck Mac, and good wishes for a sppedy recovery! :-)

Paul

Mac said...

Don't worry, Paul. I've heard really good things about this Leir fella.

Katie said...

All kidding aside, it was buried at the foot of a favorite tree, in a ceremony to mark my daughter's first taste of food that wasn't breast milk. I put it in a ceramic bowl with a deep blue glaze, and it was quite a beautiful object. Wasn't smelly, or gross in the slightest.

Now that is something I could totally get behind. Very cool! :o)

Paul Kimball said...

Don't worry, Paul. I've heard really good things about this Leir fella.

Who knew your gallbladder was in your feet??

Hope it went well.

Paul