A Guest Arrives Unannounced

Chapter 1

 A Guest Arrives Unannounced

November, 2013

The first indications that that something was wrong went completely unnoticed. Around Thanksgiving, I started to have a slight sore throat. I passed it off as allergies due to weather changes. 

As some of my readers may remember, the fall of 2013 in the Batesville, Indiana area was damp and chilly. We had already had at least one good round of snow and I recall my granddaughter, Alys, making the comment that she hoped we had have a white Christmas. I was hoping that if we did have snow it wouldn't be much. 

As November faded into December and the days grew shorter my attention was focused in my wood shop. I had requests from my son, daughter and grandchildren for birdhouses (of course, the most challenging patterns). Building a Peterson Bluebird house is not difficult, just challenging in a small, cramped space. It was around this time that I noticed that I was waking up at night with an earache. The sore throat remained, but now it came with a more painful friend. Again, I passed it off as part of living in an old house and allergies. I felt great and I was keeping busy.

January, 2014

By January, 2014 the sore throat was still present but the earache was persistent. My wife, Connie and I discussed whether to enroll in the Affordable Care Insurance (ACI). I argued that we were healthy and I was willing to pay the fine for the first year or so due to the lack of affordable premiums here in Indiana. I believe that the Republican-leaning Indiana government was deliberately trying to sabotage the ACI in any way that they could; even if that meant keeping premiums high for anyone without insurance.

I had already heard the arguments both for and against the Affordable Care Act. As far as I was concerned, I was healthy and wouldn't be enrolling. I would pay my fine and enroll at a later date if premiums became affordable.

By the end of February I started to suspect that I had a tooth problem. The sore throat and earache was only relieved by my reliance on generic over the counter medications. It was then that I decided to get an appointment with Dr. Noel Garcia here in Batesville. He does excellent work and he could get me in quickly. So by the middle of March I was sitting in the dentist chair wondering why I had a sore throat and an earache.

You probably realize by now that it wasn't my teeth. I did need to get an old filling replaced, but Dr. Garcia was confident that my teeth were not at the root of my problem (pun intended). He recommended that I contact an excellent E-N-T doctor here in Batesville, Dr. Robert Schrimpf. I mentioned that my wife and I knew Bob and his wonderful wife Joanne from our years as counselors at Fort Scott Camps. I now was getting concerned.

As I waited for the day to arrive to see Dr. Schrimpf Connie and I decided to enroll in the insurance through the ACI. I think we were both being guided by the Holy Spirit. Our values and beliefs as Catholic Christians has always been a source of comfort and guidance throughout our lives. We didn't realize until the month of May rolled around how fortunate this guidance would become.

April 17, 2014

I arrived a few minutes early to Dr. Schrimpf''s Batesville office. I was immediately greeted by our good friend JoAnne and we had the other waiting patients laughing as JoAnne and I recounted our years as counselors at Fort Scott Camps. At 2:45 p.m. JoAnne ushered me back to one of the waiting rooms.

After exam and consultation, Dr. Schrimpf stated that my ears were clear but he noticed a hard lump at the base of my tongue. He said that it didn't look serious but he wanted to perform some out-patient surgery and have it tested. I was quick to ask that he wait another couple of weeks until my insurance kicked in at the beginning of May. My out-patient surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, May 7th. Connie would be off on that day and she could drive me into Cincinnati for the early morning procedure. No problem correct?

May 7, 2014

Finally! The day of my out patient surgery had arrived. I was looking forward to getting rid of this lump that was giving me my sore throat and pressing on some nerves that was causing the constant ear ache. I would be so relieved. I checked into the recently opened Mercy Hospital just off I-74 at the North Bend Road Exit. The staff was phenomenal! Connie and talked with the nursing staff about the new facilities and I prepared for the surgery. Dr. Schrimpf came in for a final consult before he would meet me in the operating room.

Two hours later I awoke in the greatest mood! Due to the anesthesia, there was no pain in my throat or ears. I felt even better when Dr. Schrimpf came in and cautiously stated that it didn't look cancerous but he was sending it to the lab to make sure. Connie and I told him to feel free to call as soon as he had the results. I was scheduled for a follow-up visit at his Batesville office the following week. I was silently thanking God and asking Him to bless the wonderful staff in the hospital. I was home by lunchtime and feeling so much better now that the pain was relieved.

As my uninvited guest was packed off to the lab, I recuperated at home and worked with my consulting company. I did notice though that my earache had returned by the end of the week. I attributed the pain to the recovery process and once the swelling at the base of my tongue subsided, I believed that my earaches would disappear and become a distant memory.