On Transparency — Getting Personal
You may have noticed that I’ve been missing in action a bit lately. I’ve been feeling a bit punky, and, a week and a half ago, I had some fairly intensive abdominal pain. I saw a Physician’s Assistant on Friday, Sept 30. They ordered an x-ray and then a CT scan on Monday, Oct. 3. They tried to get me an appointment with a surgeon for Tuesday, but were unable to find anyone that could see me for several days.
So, on Tuesday, I followed medical advice and checked into the Emergency Department at Elliot Hospital. They admitted me, and on Wednesday I had surgery to remove my “very angry” gallbladder and three “HUGE” gallstones. I came home on Thursday.
I’m not used to being sick. Once I’m done with the antibiotics (tomorrow!), I’ll be on one prescription medicine (Pepcid), so this is unknown territory. I’m happy to share that I’m feeling better. I’m still moving slowly, resting more than normal, and trying to get caught up with what I missed while I was down. However, the expectation is that I will be back to normal in another week or so. Actually, the doc said I had a pretty serious infection, so I should soon feel better than normal!
If you missed me at the ZBA meeting on 10/4, or the Charter Commission meeting on 10/5, you now know why I missed these meetings, breaking my perfect attendance record. I also missed the Greater Salem Chamber Candidate’s Night, and Isaiah 58’s big dinner honoring my friend, Larry Belair. This probably couldn’t come at a worse time, but you can’t plan emergency surgery. At least it’s a temporary inconvenience.
Some people will take offense to my sharing this personal info. However, I believe in transparency, and I believe you are entitled to know why I have been MIA.
And, just like this, when you send me to Concord as your State Rep, you can count on me to keep you informed about what the NH House is doing. And you can count on me to have a perfect attendance record – unless I have a really good reason for being absent!