CHAPTER 5: Later That Night

About an hour after I'd settled in, Dr. Dellenkamp came in, followed by another doctor who looked the same way Noah Wyle did during parts of the fifth and tenth seasons of ER. In case you're wondering, that's when he had a beard.

"Karen, this is Dr. Johns, and he's an ear, nose, and throat specialist. He'll actually be the one performing your surgery, and I'm going to assist him," Dr. Dellenkamp explained.

"Hi, Karen," Dr. Johns said, shaking my hand. The first thing I noticed was that like Jason's mom, Diann, he had a Scottish accent, only it wasn't nearly as thick.

"What's this surgery going to involve?" Mom asked as Dr. Johns started examining me.

"Well, after Karen is asleep, Dr. Dellenkamp will hold her mouth open, and I'll cut the tonsils out," Dr. Johns explained. "The surgery shouldn't take over an hour, tops."

"Okay."

Soon after that, I got another visitor. This woman looked slightly familiar, but I couldn't quite place her. "Hi," she said. "Remember me? I'm Dr. Johanssen, Charlotte's mom."

I nodded. "So, I hear you're having your tonsils out tomorrow," Dr. Johanssen said. "Guess what? I'll be assisting Dr. Johns with your surgery, too."

I couldn't help smiling. "I hope it doesn't take too long for you to recover," Dr. Johanssen said. "When Charlotte had hers out, she couldn't talk for two days, and it was at least a week before her voice came back.

I laid back against the pillow as Dr. Johanssen patted my shoulder. "Well, I'll let you get some rest now," she said. "Do you want me to tell Charlotte you said hi?"

I nodded again. "Okay," Dr. Johanssen agreed, and left the room.

As soon as Dr. Johanssen left, Mom said, "Can I get you something to eat, honey? Remember, you won't be able to have anything after midnight."

"Maybe a small banana milkshake," I said. "I need something cold for my throat."

"I'll ask one of the nurses to bring you one," Mom said, giving me a kiss and picking up the bag with my clothes in it as the nurse came in to check my vital signs. "See you in the morning."

"Will Jason come?" I asked hopefully before the nurse put the thermometer in my mouth.

"Well, he's recovering from his own surgery, but I'll talk to Diann," she promised. I nodded, due to the thermometer in my mouth and all, then waved as she left the room.

After the nurse left with her cart, another one came in with my shake. Talk about heaven! Not only is banana my all-time favorite flavor, but the coldness hitting the back of my throat was exactly what I needed.

As I settled back against the pillow, I wondered what the surgery would be like, and how long I'd be in the hospital. Hopefully, it wouldn't be as long as when I fell out of my treehouse at Mom's and had my spleen removed.

Oh, by the way, DO NOT tell Andrew or Emily that after you have your tonsils out, they'll give you all the ice cream you want, because I guarantee you, not only will they be begging to have that done, but they'll also be shoveling that stuff into their mouths like the world was coming to an end.

Great, now all this talk about ice cream made me hungry.