Rollercoaster Rides
Three weeks and 5 days until I have open heart surgery...
Yesterday was the last day I had a chance to have a day with Will before my surgery. So I took him to our local amusement park. It has many good thrill rides and rollercoasters. This is always an annual trip and is a special day for my son and me. RobbieMax doesn't share the same love of scary thrill rides. He's not really an adrenaline junkie. (Plus, he used to get sick while spinning Will around in the living room. I don't think he could handle the rides Will and I go on...)
It's my fault that Will loves these rides. I took Will on his first rollercoaster ride when he was 3. (Gimme a break - he was tall enough and it was the Ripsaw at the Mall of America - a very tame rollercoaster.) Since then, we've had a blast going on rides whenever we can. And he's been tall enough for years to go on the big rides. (My 10 year-old is already 5' 2" - almost as tall as me!) He is my favorite riding buddy.
Anyway, despite the fact that severe weather was in the forecast, Will and I headed to the amusement park and got there at opening - 10 AM. I ignored the heart warnings on the signs at each of the rollercoasters and drop rides and went on them all. I've never had trouble in the past (and I've never considered myself a heart patient until 6 months ago), so I figured I'd ride at my own risk. I never had a problem yesterday. My ticker kept on ticking.
It was very humid and we were sweating after the first three rides. So we decided to go on some water rides. They were fun, cool, and refreshing. Then it rained - a downpour that soaked us to the bone. This lasted about 20 minutes. A few hours and many rides later, we were almost completely dry.
Then at about 6:30, it rained again. Another downpour that soaked us within 3 minutes despite huddling under our meager shelter of a tree. This lasted for another 20 minutes or so. Then it started getting dark and cooler. For the next 3 hours Will and I rode on our favorite coaster (in the back seat, hands way up) over and over again.
This ride has a camera in the tunnel so you can get your picture taken of you riding on the coaster. Will and I know exactly when the picture is snapped, so we enjoy doing strange things for the camera. Yesterday we planned out our shots - we made faces, we pretended to sleep, be scared, act like we were dead, and my personal favorite, we pretended like we were going to puke.
I was tired and ready to go home after that last downpour at 6:30. But Will was so excited to stay until our pre-determined time of 9:30 that we stayed. And we were wet and freezing for 3 hours. It was a blast.
I had never looked forward to getting home and into warm and dry clothes more than I did last night. We spent the majority of yesterday being wet. But Will had a great time. And I had a great time hanging out with my son.
I've realized that the last 6 months have been an emotional rollercoaster ride for my family and me. We went from not even thinking about possible heart problems at all (I was led to believe that I was "cured") to finding out that I need to have open heart surgery this summer. During this time I've felt every emotion you can feel. I'm angry that I was never told that a reoperation was possible. I'm apprehensive about the surgery. I'm scared about the effect this (and my future as a heart patient) will have on my family. I'm exhausted worrying about it. And now that it's less than 4 weeks away, I'm positively frightened about having to go through this. Again.
It sucks.
I prefer to ignore the heart warnings and go on a rollercoaster ride. Not live one.
Yesterday was the last day I had a chance to have a day with Will before my surgery. So I took him to our local amusement park. It has many good thrill rides and rollercoasters. This is always an annual trip and is a special day for my son and me. RobbieMax doesn't share the same love of scary thrill rides. He's not really an adrenaline junkie. (Plus, he used to get sick while spinning Will around in the living room. I don't think he could handle the rides Will and I go on...)
It's my fault that Will loves these rides. I took Will on his first rollercoaster ride when he was 3. (Gimme a break - he was tall enough and it was the Ripsaw at the Mall of America - a very tame rollercoaster.) Since then, we've had a blast going on rides whenever we can. And he's been tall enough for years to go on the big rides. (My 10 year-old is already 5' 2" - almost as tall as me!) He is my favorite riding buddy.
Anyway, despite the fact that severe weather was in the forecast, Will and I headed to the amusement park and got there at opening - 10 AM. I ignored the heart warnings on the signs at each of the rollercoasters and drop rides and went on them all. I've never had trouble in the past (and I've never considered myself a heart patient until 6 months ago), so I figured I'd ride at my own risk. I never had a problem yesterday. My ticker kept on ticking.
It was very humid and we were sweating after the first three rides. So we decided to go on some water rides. They were fun, cool, and refreshing. Then it rained - a downpour that soaked us to the bone. This lasted about 20 minutes. A few hours and many rides later, we were almost completely dry.
Then at about 6:30, it rained again. Another downpour that soaked us within 3 minutes despite huddling under our meager shelter of a tree. This lasted for another 20 minutes or so. Then it started getting dark and cooler. For the next 3 hours Will and I rode on our favorite coaster (in the back seat, hands way up) over and over again.
This ride has a camera in the tunnel so you can get your picture taken of you riding on the coaster. Will and I know exactly when the picture is snapped, so we enjoy doing strange things for the camera. Yesterday we planned out our shots - we made faces, we pretended to sleep, be scared, act like we were dead, and my personal favorite, we pretended like we were going to puke.
I was tired and ready to go home after that last downpour at 6:30. But Will was so excited to stay until our pre-determined time of 9:30 that we stayed. And we were wet and freezing for 3 hours. It was a blast.
I had never looked forward to getting home and into warm and dry clothes more than I did last night. We spent the majority of yesterday being wet. But Will had a great time. And I had a great time hanging out with my son.
I've realized that the last 6 months have been an emotional rollercoaster ride for my family and me. We went from not even thinking about possible heart problems at all (I was led to believe that I was "cured") to finding out that I need to have open heart surgery this summer. During this time I've felt every emotion you can feel. I'm angry that I was never told that a reoperation was possible. I'm apprehensive about the surgery. I'm scared about the effect this (and my future as a heart patient) will have on my family. I'm exhausted worrying about it. And now that it's less than 4 weeks away, I'm positively frightened about having to go through this. Again.
It sucks.
I prefer to ignore the heart warnings and go on a rollercoaster ride. Not live one.
posted by Julia Hart at
5:31 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home