So, I went to visitation with my surgeon, Dr. Kennedy, today. I gave him a rundown of all my symptoms and the attacks I've had the past three months, plus my family history of gallbladder disease. My mom had it, my aunt Mary Lou had it, my uncle Tom (yes I had an uncle named Tom at one point) had it, and his gallbladder had become gangrenous. Several of my friends have had it. Even the clerk at my GP's office has had it. 8th most common surgery in the US.

After evaluation, he gave me the rundown of the surgery. All this is straight from the doc's mouth. It'll be laparoscopic, with the camera probe. It's pretty quick and non-invasive, and it's considered an outpatient surgery so I'll be free to go home the same day. They avoid open surgery unless it becomes necessary due to things like fluid buildup, etc.

I will need to be given anesthesia, which can potentially cause stress to my cardiac and respiratory systems, and it can potentially react with medications. I'll be receiving calls from the Pretesting Office over the next few days to give them this and any other required information. So, I may need to step away during D&D, etc.

The procedure itself is scheduled to take place on **Wednesday, October 11th, 2023** at 8:00 am though I'll need to get there at about 6:30 for pre-surgery preparation. The procedure typically takes 1-2 hours barring any complications, so I'll likely be home again by noon, though I may fall asleep at home due to the anesthesia.

Blood clots are a potential complication, which can dislodge and cause embolisms that can potentially be fatal. As a result I'll be required to get up and walk around every hour for a few weeks after the surgery. This shouldn't affect D&D as I'll be on my tablet but I may be unable to play multiplayer video games for a few weeks.

There are other possible complications, but they only have a 1% chance of occurring. But, that's the long and short of it.