sat down on my hospital bed . My very own ER room was uninviting . I had what looked like a 20-year-old TV with a remote that only had four buttons : guide , volume increase and decrease , and “ OK .” My hospital bed was small and compact , and I had almost no room to move around . Although I could recline and raise my bed , it only went up a couple of inches . Finally , there was a big curtain covering the windows looking out onto the hallway , which was decorated with hundreds of tiny goldfish swimming in a bright blue sea .
The nurse came in a while later . After explaining my pain and symptoms , the nurse scheduled my very first , and hopefully last , ultrasound . I was anxious , queasy , and skittish . I knew that after this ultrasound , I would either be going back home to sleep or getting my inflamed appendix removed , my first surgery ever . I had no idea what to expect during a surgery . On top of that , I had never visited a hospital before , for medical reasons . Therefore , I faced my fear of being operated on . Around three in the afternoon , the nurse finally arrived with a big machine , which apparently was the ultrasound . She proceeded to place some creamy substance on my stomach and push violently on it . Fifteen minutes later , she left to report back to the main nurse . It was an incredibly busy day in the hospital , so naturally the doctors took a while to come back to me . However , when they did , they came with the news that I did not want to hear . In her Queens accent , the doctor said , “ So , Loukas , you ’ ve got an inflamed appendix , honey . We gotta take it out tonight .”
I was terrified . I would have to have my first surgery ever , and I couldn ’ t see my father , although he was boarding the earliest flight he could to come back to New York . Not only that , but I would disappoint my hockey team , for which I was supposed to play goalie in our upcoming game . Even more
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