I went in for surgery on my arm on the 20th. I had carpal tunnel in my right elbow. Everything was to be routine, it was not a major surgery.

But it wasn't routine, I got a pulmonary edema. (Blood and fluid in the lungs to the point I could not breathe.) The Dr said I had 24 hours to recover,and if I didn't, well, I was a goner. They put me on a Darth Vader machine to force oxygen into my lungs. That was a lot of fun (not!) My poor mom got to see me all fried and out of it. I feel bad about that. She is no spring chicken, and the shock was hard on her.

And they gave me lasix. That makes you pee & pee. Here I was hooked up to everything imaginable to monitor my heart and lungs and I had to get up and pee every 5 minutes. Plus I was very weak because I could not breathe very well. (The Darth Vader machine helped this, but it was not perfect).

I am very lucky to be here. A pulmonary edema is very dangerous. I got a good present for Christmas- Life.