The Appendix

In the summer before sixth grade, Charles feels a sudden bellyache while his dad is trying to toughen him up. At first, both parents assume that Charles has just pushed himself too hard, so his mom lets him rest. But the next day, Charles isn't getting any better; in fact, he's gotten worse. He must be rushed to the hospital, or he could die! But Charles has a horrible fear of going to the hospital. When Drew calls him "a scaredy-serf," can his friends help him conquer his fear and become "a big, brave knight"?

Throughout Chas' childhood, his father, Marvin Finster, wanted nothing more than to toughen him up. It all started on Chas' first birthday when he taught the boy to swim—by tossing him into Lake Michigan with a life preserver and some dry toast. The date was April 26, 1958.

And beginning at the age of three, Chas would be put through extra-strenuous, uber-manly activities, such as hiking, rock climbing, dirt biking, and moose hunting. Even after the boy had been diagnosed with asthma, Marvin would put him through these exercises so as to strengthen Chas' lungs.

But Shirley, being Chas' mother, always went easy on him. In the summer of 1965, when Chas was eight years old and had completed second grade, Marvin tried to make him drink raw eggs in a glass, believing that raw eggs had more protein than cooked eggs.

"Yuck!" cried Chas. "I'm supposed to drink this?!"

Before Marvin could speak, Shirley said, "Of course not, Charles. They're raw. I'll scramble them for you."

And so, she did, while Marvin could only groan as he placed his hand over his eyes in frustration.

Three years later, in the summer of 1968, Chas was eleven years old and about to enter sixth grade. It was during this summer when Chas learned that even his big, manly father could get scared.

In August, Marvin had taken Chas out on a father-son camping trip. Here, Marvin was teaching Chas how to be brave and tough.

"Now remember, son," said Marvin. "Being a man is more than just strength; it's endurance, valor, and, above all, bravery!"

"Yes, Dad!" cried Chas.

"You're gonna lift weights, climb mountains, swim across the lake, and hunt for elk!"

"Yes, Dad…"

Chas felt uneasy. He knew that these exercises were for his own good, but he felt like they were tiring him out.

For the next few days, Marvin would have Chas gather wood, lift large branches, swim in the lake, and hunt or fish for food. This meant that they had moose on Monday, trout on Tuesday, wild boar on Wednesday, and pheasant on Thursday.

But before long, on Friday, as Chas was doing pull-up exercises on a tree with a sturdy horizontal branch, Marvin shouted, "There you go, Chas! Keep it movin'! Build up those muscles! I think I see some mustache hair growin' in! Ah, yes! Nothing can go wrong now!"

Suddenly, however, Chas was seized with a severe stomachache. He let go of the branch and fell to the ground in agony. Upon seeing this, Marvin said, not angrily, but in a worried tone, "Chas, you can't give up now! You still have ten pull-ups left! Come on!"

"Dad…" groaned Chas as he struggled to get up to his feet. "I don't feel so good…"

But as Marvin took Chas by the arm and led him to the campsite, he was dismayed to see his own son throw up on his shoes.

Thus, the camping trip was cut short. Marvin had no choice but to take Chas home, for the boy was seriously ill.

That night, when Marvin and Shirley saw Chas lying in his bed with an anguished grimace on his face, they were unsettled. Marvin turned to Shirley and told her, with guilt in his voice, "I may have pushed him a little too far."

"If that's the case," said Shirley, "I think he needs some rest. That's all he needs." And she pulled the sheets over Chas' quivering form as she kissed him goodnight and whispered, "Sleep tight, Chas. Hope you feel better soon."

And after she and Marvin had left the room, Shirley closed the door, hoping that young Chas would pull through.

But the next day, Chas didn't get any better. In fact, he had gotten worse. As soon as his parents came in, Shirley asked, "How are you this morning, Charles?"

Chas groaned, "I feel like my stomachache has spread to my right side!"

Marvin and Shirley were concerned. "He's getting worse," said Shirley.

Marvin then said, "Well, slugger, there's nothing a hearty breakfast can't treat. All you need is to eat eggs, bacon, and cinnamon pancakes, such as your mother will cook!"

"Not hungry…" moaned Chas.

Now, Marvin and Shirley were worried. Just how sick was their son?

"You think he's faking it?" asked Marvin.

"No kid can fake an illness that bad," Shirley replied.

"Well, we gotta do something about it!"

"Yes, but what?"

"And how?"

"Wait a minute! I read somewhere that if a child is as ill as our Charles is, we must send him to the hospital as soon as possible. We must phone the hospital at once."

"The hospital?!" cried Chas in horror.

While Marvin was phoning the hospital, Chas was seated on a chair, murmuring, "How I hate hospitals! In fact, I'm scared of them!"

Just then, he heard someone snickering.

It was Drew. He said to Chas, "Oh, Finster! You make me laugh so much! First, you were scared of graduating from kindergarten…"

"You were scared too!" Chas retorted.

"And then, you were scared of being exposed to germs!"

"I've gotten over that, Drew!"

"And now, you're scared of goin' to the hospital! What are ya gonna be scared of next?"

"Uh…"

"Face it, Finster! You're a scaredy-serf! A big fat scaredy-serf!"

Just as Chas was about to crack under Drew's put-downs, though, he heard a voice say, "Drew, you leave him alone!"

It was Melinda.

Drew said to her, "Well, it's true! Finster is afraid to go to the hospital!"

Melinda was confused, and she asked Chas, "What is he talking about, Charles?"

Chas replied, "Well, it all started when my dad took me out camping. He had planned for me to stay there for a week, but when I got so sick I started throwing up, our trip was cut short. I'm in such agony I can't even eat. And now, my mom wants me to go to the hospital! Doesn't she realize I'm scared of hospitals?! I've been scared of them ever since I got my polio shot in a hospital! What can I do?!"

Melinda replied, "Look, Charles. The first thing you need to do is stop feeling sorry for yourself whenever you're scared. I mean, we all get scared sometimes. Even I got scared when my mom was taken to the hospital, but by now, I'm used to the fact that she's still recovering."

Upon hearing this, Chas remembered what his parents had told him—how Melinda's mother had died—and that he had promised not to tell her, and he groaned within himself.

"What's the matter?" asked Melinda.

Chas sighed, "I just feel like a loser."

"Then the next thing you need to do is stop thinking you're a loser. You're big, and you're brave, like a knight in shining armor. Remember when you stood up for me after Drew pushed me? You're a big, brave knight. Say it."

"I'm a big, brave knight."

"Keep saying it over and over."

"I'm a big, brave knight… I'm a big, brave knight… I'm a big, brave knight… I'm a…"

But as Chas said it, he began to wince in pain.

Melinda then reassured him with these words: "It's like what my dad always says: when you get thrown off a horse, you gotta get back on. Never give up."

"Never give up, my foot!" sneered Drew. "Doesn't anyone listen to me anymore? Finster is a scaredy-serf!"

"He is not!" retorted Melinda. "He's a big, brave knight!"

"Yeah, right! He's a scaredy-serf, and everybody knows it!"

"He's a big, brave knight!"

"Scaredy-serf!"

"Knight!"

"Serf!"

"Knight!"

"Serf!"

"STOP!" screamed Chas just as his abdomen sent him into another throe of agony. "This is not the Middle Ages anymore! This is the 20th century! My mommy and daddy are gonna take me to the hospital, and I'm not gonna be scared! I am going to that hospital!"

And as Marvin came to lead Chas to the hospital, the boy said to himself, "I hope…"

Once Marvin and Shirley had driven off with Chas, Drew and Melinda turned to each other.

"I'll bet ya a Winger-Dinger he doesn't make it!" gloated Drew.

"You're on!" Melinda replied.

"Scratch that. Make that two Winger-Dingers!"

At the hospital, in the waiting room, poor Chas was writhing in agony. Shirley was almost in tears upon seeing this terrible sight, while Marvin was completely frightened. Between gasps of pain, Chas could see his brave father with beads of sweat rolling down his face. Chas was startled, for he had never seen his father show any sign of fear before.

Marvin's voice was audibly shaking when he told the doctor, "My son Charles Finster is extremely ill with a severe stomachache, and my wife and I can't figure out for the life of him what's wrong with him!"

The doctor asked, "Has he been throwing up?"

"Yes. One time he did it right on his shoes!"

"Has he been eating?"

"Hardly! He barely touched his breakfast this morning!"

"How severe is the pain?"

"It hurts him whenever we touch him!"

The doctor replied, "Don't worry, sir. We'll fill him in on…"

This made Marvin so panicked he grabbed the doctor and screamed at him, "I don't have any time for this! This could be a life-or-death situation for my kid! You shouldn't just wait while his life is hanging by a thread! He must be treated immediately! You hear?!"

The doctor, now frazzled, said to Marvin, "Okay, sir, we'll let him in."

As the doctors placed Chas on a gurney bed and rolled him down the hallways of the hospital, it was clear to Marvin that his only child was seriously ill; he feared he and Shirley might lose him.

Ironically, the easily-scared Chas showed no sign of fear in the face of his possible death. Instead, he muttered to himself, "I'm a big, brave knight. I'm a big, brave knight. I'm a big, brave knight…"

Inside the emergency room, the doctors were circling around Chas, who didn't know what to expect.

"What exactly do you feel?" asked one of the doctors.

Chas replied, "Sharp pain in my belly."

"Does it hurt when I press my finger into it?" asked the doctor as he pressed his finger on Chas' lower-right abdomen.

This caused poor Chas to scream in pain. "Yes…" he groaned.

The doctor then turned to the other doctors and said to them, "Listen. Kids may get stomach flu all the time, but this little boy has appendicitis. His appendix must be removed immediately, or it could rupture any moment."

All the doctors were unnerved to hear this, and for good reason. If an inflamed appendix is left inside for too long, it can indeed rupture and cause peritonitis, making the poor patient deathly ill. In the case of a child, the appendix must be removed before it ruptures.

And so, the doctors wheeled Chas into the surgeons' room. There, he saw all kinds of sharp objects, preserved organs, and bags of blood that normally would have freaked him out. But Chas knew that this could be a matter of life and death for him, and he said to himself, "I'm a big, brave knight. I'm a big, brave knight. I'm a big, brave knight…"

As the kid spoke, the surgeons surrounded him, one of them saying, "Don't worry, young man. Everything will be all right."

With that, the surgeon placed a breather on Chas' mouth, so he could breathe in some anesthesia and fall asleep at once…

During the procedure, Chas had a dream. He found himself in his own bedroom. While he was wondering what all this meant, he heard the door open. Could this be his father?

No, instead, it was a strange-looking man. He had messy red hair and purple square-lens glasses similar to Chas' own, but in place of freckles, he had a mustache. He wore a light brown polo shirt, a red belt with a gold buckle, green high-waisted pants, and dark red shoes with brass buckles.

Chas asked the man, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "I am you."

Chas was amazed. "How can you be me?" he asked.

"I am your mirror, some thirty years from now."

Young Chas gazed at Old Chas from the feet up. He couldn't believe his eyes, but this man truly was Chas as an adult.

Amazed, Young Chas said to Old Chas, "So you're me as an adult! Tell me, what'll happen to me when I grow up?"

This question made Old Chas pause. He had to think about what to tell this eleven-year-old kid version of himself, because he had been through a lot.

Finally, Old Chas replied, "You're going to see lots of things when you grow up. You will know many happy experiences. You'll get to go to high school, drive a car, go out on your first date, graduate from college, get married, even have a kid in tow."

Young Chas was astonished, and he cried out, "Wow! Growing up must be an exciting adventure!"

"Yes, it is an exciting adventure, but also a scary one. Sometimes, tragedy will strike when you least expect it. But when push comes to shove, you will overcome these tragedies and become a happier man in the future."

"Gee, thanks, future me!"

"You're welcome, past me. Now go to sleep. Good night."

And Old Chas left the room as Young Chas went back to sleep.

When young Chas woke up, he found himself in the recovery room. He saw that he was wearing a white gown over a practically naked body. And next to his bed was a nightstand, where there was a vase full of flowers. He also felt a lot better, though, at first, he thought that was odd.

Presently, a doctor came in and said to Chas, "Charles Finster, your appendix has been taken out."

Chas then pulled up his gown, wearing only underwear beneath it, and found a scar right near his right hip.

"You had appendicitis," the doctor explained. "But consider yourself lucky. Had it been kept in a few minutes longer, the appendix would have ruptured, and that would have been serious."

Chas was shocked at the thought. "You know," he said, "now that you mention it, I'm glad you took my appendix out. My dad looked pretty worried when he and my mom drove me to the hospital, and he's never scared!"

The doctor nodded, and he left the recovery room for Chas to rest and wait for visitors.

Later, who should enter the hospital but Stu, Drew, and Melinda, who were accompanied by their parents?

"Are you sure he'll make it, Melinda?" asked Stu.

"I know Charles can make it," Melinda replied. "Remember, it's just appendicitis."

But Drew said, "He can't make it, Stu! Remember, it's appendicitis."

"Drew!" exclaimed Lou. "Charles' life could be in imminent danger, so you shouldn't taunt Stu about that!"

And as the group walked down the hallway (Lou with Stu, Trixie with Drew, and Christopher with Melinda), the parents overheard Chas' doctor talking to Marvin and Shirley.

"Will he be all right, doctor?" asked Shirley.

"He had appendicitis," the doctor replied. "But consider him lucky that we removed the appendix in time. A ruptured appendix has been known to kill a child."

Both Marvin and Shirley quivered with fear upon hearing this. And somehow, when Stu saw them, he didn't understand why.

Finally, the group got to Chas' recovery room, and the first to approach him was Stu, who asked, "Chas? Chas, are you okay?"

Chas smiled and said, "Am I okay? Am I okay? Are you kidding? I never felt better in my life!"

Melinda smiled, but Drew did not.

"Now pay up," she said to Drew, and Drew begrudgingly paid her the two Winger-Dingers.

"Not all kids are bullies," said Melinda to herself, "but all bullies are chumps."

Then, she told Chas, "You were a big, brave knight, Charles."

Presently, Marvin and Shirley entered the room as well.

Marvin asked, "Are you all right, slugger?"

Chas replied, "I'm fine. All they did was remove my appendix, and now I'm all better."

Overjoyed, Shirley cried out, "Oh, Charles, I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Mom, it's not like I was in some rapids or an avalanche. I just had appendicitis."

"But you could have died of it!"

"What do you mean? Melinda was right. I was brave."

His face betraying more than a hint of concern, Marvin said, "But being brave doesn't mean you have to put your life at risk."

Chas was amazed. "But you're never scared."

"Hardly ever. I was scared when the doctors sent you down the hallway and into the emergency room. Your mother and I feared we might lose you."

And with that, Marvin and Shirley both embraced their brave little boy, who returned the favor and hugged them back.

Marvin smiled as he said, "You were very brave, my boy."

Chas returned the smile, and he replied, "Yeah, I really am a big, brave knight!"

And Lou, Trixie, Stu, Christopher, and Melinda were all happy upon seeing this touching scene.

Suffering from appendicitis was a sorrow for young Charles Finster, but he would soon recover from his surgery. After a few days, he would be free to return home, on the conditions that he would not undergo strenuous activity for the next four weeks. And in September of 1968, Chas, who had known childhood joys all his life, would enter sixth grade and learn all about growing pains.