I got the general twice in my life.

Subject: I got the general twice in my life.
Author: Matt Cipher
Posted on: 2016-02-12 21:57:00 UTC

Once when I was 13 and had a liver biopsy done. It was kinda weird, I remember being there, on the table, and I had to be conscious because during the procedure I was instructed to hold my breath... but I don't remember it. At the very beginning, I was given this drug that caused a retrograde amnesia -- I was conscious during the biopsy, but if you ask me to recall what I was doing at that time, I got nothing; I don't remember anything.

And my second general was quite recently, when my heart started to panic. This one was a proper anesthesia, so I was sleeping the whole time.

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New interlude! by Anonymous on 2016-02-11 12:15:00 UTC Reply

It’s seventeen years in the future and life in HQ is tough, especially if you’re a teenage Time Lord.

And I'm just gonna go ahead and preemptively say 'canonicity is questionable' and head off that question now. :P

I wanted to post this as a Valentine’s gift to the Board (because I love you guys :P) but I’m going in for surgery tomorrow, which means I’ll be recovering for the next few days and don’t know how much I’ll be on during that time. Don’t worry, it’s nothing major and everything’s fine. Just wanted to give a heads-up. (Though it can’t hurt to say ‘wish me luck’, can it?)

Hope you enjoy the story!

Update: Surgery went well. by Iximaz on 2016-02-12 18:29:00 UTC Reply

They wheeled me into the operating room, put me to sleep, and then I woke up screaming about sleeping through my alarm. All in a day's work. :)

And I'm under strict orders to not drive for the weekend, so bonus!

Given that the weekend has passed... by son_of_heaven176 on 2016-02-16 01:22:00 UTC Reply

I hope that you had a smooth recovery! How are things going for you now?

(And if you don't mind me asking: what did you have surgery for?)

Things are going well. by Iximaz on 2016-02-16 02:13:00 UTC Reply

Though the bandages are starting to itch like crazy, ha ha...

(possible squick ahead?)

I had to get some tumors removed from my breasts. One was the size of a golf ball, the other a ping-pong ball. We're still waiting on the biopsy results but the doctors think they're benign.

I hope that the tests come out benign. Good luck. (nm) by son_of_heaven176 on 2016-02-16 02:15:00 UTC Reply

Thank you. :) (nm) by Iximaz on 2016-02-16 02:17:00 UTC Reply

Results finally came back benign. :D (nm) by Iximaz on 2016-02-17 21:16:00 UTC Reply

Very glad for you. (nm) by Hardric on 2016-02-17 23:06:00 UTC Reply

Glad to hear that :) (nm) by eatpraylove on 2016-02-14 14:28:00 UTC Reply
That's good to hear. by Sergio Turbo on 2016-02-13 17:27:00 UTC Reply

And... While I didn't wake up screaming the only time I was under general one (though it wasn't an actual operation, they "just" had to use shock pads to stop a tachicardy attack. Yes, my heart somehow thought that 200 bpm were good), I kept speaking in English when I woke up.

The catch? I'm Italian. Living in Italy. The doctors were rather puzzled.

Especially since it took a while before I actually managed to finish a phrase in Italian without subconsciously switching to English halfway through.
I have also woken up from surgery screaming. by TheShyIon on 2016-02-13 05:22:00 UTC Reply

As well as woken up before they were quite ready for me. Thankfully, they were done with the surgery proper, but it... surprised them. The screaming is because... well, I forget who told me that you can't feel the IV once it's in, but they lied. Waking up, feeling the painful squick = screaming "GET IT OUT GET IT OUT GET IT OUT!"
Yes, these were the same surgery, and they managed to re-under me before I could actually get my voice working the first time. I guess I made up for it the second time. ><

It is good that your surger-ing went well! And... cheers or condolences about the cars, depending on whether that was sarcastic or not. ^^
I have also woken up from surgery screaming. by TheShyIon on 2016-02-13 05:22:00 UTC Reply

As well as woken up before they were quite ready for me. Thankfully, they were done with the surgery proper, but it... surprised them. The screaming is because... well, I forget who told me that you can't feel the IV once it's in, but they lied. Waking up, feeling the painful squick = screaming "GET IT OUT GET IT OUT GET IT OUT!"
Yes, these were the same surgery, and they managed to re-under me before I could actually get my voice working the first time. I guess I made up for it the second time. >
It is good that your surger-ing went well! And... cheers or condolences about the cars, depending on whether that was sarcastic or not. ^^

That sounds scary. by Iximaz on 2016-02-13 06:17:00 UTC Reply

At least when I woke up, it was in the recovery room. Scared the jeebus out of the nurse checking on me, though!

And huh, I've never felt the IV while it was in. Maybe yours wasn't in properly? *shrug* The car thing was genuine; I hate driving with a passion, so it was nice to have a reason to get out of doing it. :P

If you don't mind me asking... by son_of_heaven176 on 2016-02-16 01:20:00 UTC Reply

Why do you hate driving?

It's boring. by Iximaz on 2016-02-16 02:14:00 UTC Reply

I've got ADHD and the fact that you have to focus on driving and only driving while you're doing it drives me absolutely nuts.

I may be stepping on some toes, but I'm curious... by son_of_heaven176 on 2016-02-16 02:17:00 UTC Reply

Do you literally have ADHD, or do you just not like having to focus on only one thing at a time?

Literally. by Iximaz on 2016-02-16 02:19:00 UTC Reply

Got tested and everything. Fun times. /s

Used to be on medications, but the doctors weren't able to find one that didn't kill my appetite so they kinda gave up. At least college is interesting, so I haven't needed the meds very much anyway.

*curiosity intensifies* by son_of_heaven176 on 2016-02-16 02:24:00 UTC Reply

Another question, then: If you literally have ADHD, does that make it difficult for you to write missions? Or does ADHD not affect, e.g., one's ability to pay attention to detail?

It doesn't, weirdly enough. by Iximaz on 2016-02-16 02:36:00 UTC Reply

There's a thing some people with ADHD have called hyperfocus. So yeah, while I'm pretty easily distracted in class—I'm that jack*** who keeps rapidly clicking pens and endlessly bouncing my knee up and down or jittering my foot or tapping my fingers (or all of the above at once)—if you sit me down in front of something I love, I'll become so engrossed in doing it that I completely lose track of time.

That's actually why I've been able to write so many missions in two years; I just sit down and write and write and write until my parents remind me I'm supposed to eat.

Thanks for the answers. by son_of_heaven176 on 2016-02-16 02:47:00 UTC Reply

One of the benefits of being in the PPC: you learn quite a bit about the world around you.

Hehe, yeah. by Iximaz on 2016-02-16 02:53:00 UTC Reply

It's been nice because the PPC's actually helped me learn the time zones of different countries and cities, so it makes figuring out when to call dad while he's on a trip easier. No more Googling what time it is in Anchorage!

Talk about a non sequitur. by son_of_heaven176 on 2016-02-16 02:56:00 UTC Reply

but how has the PPC been helpful in that regard? Does it have something to do with the cowrite that you did with World-Jumper?

Yeah. by Iximaz on 2016-02-16 02:58:00 UTC Reply

And everyone else.

Sorry, train of thought was jumping tracks there. ^^;

? by son_of_heaven176 on 2016-02-16 03:02:00 UTC Reply

What do you mean "and everyone else"?

Everyone else I've done cowrites with. (nm) by Iximaz on 2016-02-16 03:07:00 UTC Reply

It was mouth stuff... by TheShyIon on 2016-02-13 06:36:00 UTC Reply

...so it was the room I was supposed to be in. I dunno about the IV, though, since I've often felt things I shouldn't. The whole reason I was being put under for tooth removal?

Yeah, so that thing where they put a bazillion shots in your mouth to keep you from feeling it? Apparently doesn't work on me. Last time that got done, I felt every single shot, and still (painfully) felt the removal itself. Anesthetic and I do not have the best working relationship, and it often works less, or not at all. Then there's the fact that melatonin takes me out of commission with depression for a week if I take any at all, and that painkillers are pretty slow on me... well. I am apparently unusually full of idiosyncratic drug reactions.

Hooray, then, that the cars are forbidden from bothering you!

You've chose the general, or was it suggested? by Matt Cipher on 2016-02-12 19:55:00 UTC Reply

I remember pulling out my wisdom teeth with local anesthesia. All I heard was the sound of the tooth getting ripped straight outta my gum... weird noise, but I felt nothing.

I decided for general personally by Hardric on 2016-02-12 20:46:00 UTC Reply

It was a toss up between being afraid from the anesthesy or the operation. I chose the former eventually. Being conscious during the operation felt really scary.

I got the general twice in my life. by Matt Cipher on 2016-02-12 21:57:00 UTC Reply

Once when I was 13 and had a liver biopsy done. It was kinda weird, I remember being there, on the table, and I had to be conscious because during the procedure I was instructed to hold my breath... but I don't remember it. At the very beginning, I was given this drug that caused a retrograde amnesia -- I was conscious during the biopsy, but if you ask me to recall what I was doing at that time, I got nothing; I don't remember anything.

And my second general was quite recently, when my heart started to panic. This one was a proper anesthesia, so I was sleeping the whole time.

General was pretty much the only way to go. by Iximaz on 2016-02-12 20:23:00 UTC Reply

Though I got the local for my wisdom teeth too and I still have nightmares about the giant needles they shoved into the roof of my mouth.

Anyway, I'm actually feeling pretty great and recovery's expected to take 2-3 days. Yay modern medicine. :D

That's always good to hear :) (nm) by Matt Cipher on 2016-02-12 21:51:00 UTC Reply

That was nice. by Sergio Turbo on 2016-02-11 22:23:00 UTC Reply

But... well... it's gender-confusing. So... Aviator's male in this interlude, but Elanor still calls... him? her? mum and vice-versa about Librarian. Right?

Good luck with the surgery!

Hehe. by Iximaz on 2016-02-11 22:29:00 UTC Reply

The confusion was deliberate. :P But yeah, you had it right.

And thank you!

You're welcome. by Sergio Turbo on 2016-02-11 22:35:00 UTC Reply

But, the bad thing is, you're making me write about my Agents' offspring too...

*want to write by Sergio Turbo on 2016-02-11 22:58:00 UTC Reply

... why my computer ate part of my post?

That's pretty neat. (nm) by Bramandin on 2016-02-11 19:51:00 UTC Reply
Good luck. (nm) by Hieronymus Graubart on 2016-02-11 17:14:00 UTC Reply
That was kinda fun. by Huinesoron on 2016-02-11 15:46:00 UTC Reply

I can't decide if the fact that it feels like the PPC setting was almost extraneous to the story is a good thing (because it shows that even people in fantastical settings do the same sorts of thing) or a neutral one (because... something about not using the setting, except you did, actually). I'unno. But more Ten(ish) Years Hence is always fun. ^_^

(We're only two years away from the original Ten Years Hence setting. The future is weird. :-/)

And good luck getting your toes expanded, or whatever it is you kids do in surgery these days. ;)

hS

:D by Iximaz on 2016-02-11 16:52:00 UTC Reply

Don't really have much to comment on about the setting since this was a character piece. ^^; Glad to hear you enjoyed it, though.

Toes? Bah. I'm totes getting plastic surgery to taper my ears so I look like a hawt elf. :P

Luck! o/ (nm) by S.M.F. on 2016-02-11 14:27:00 UTC Reply
Pretty cute indeed. by Hardric on 2016-02-11 13:00:00 UTC Reply

I like the stories set in the future for this reason. It lets you hope for something better than madness for the agents they feature. And now Elanor is really a teenager. You're not really one until you pulled a stunt like this.

Good luck with the surgery. Only time I was in a hospital for an operation was for removing my wisdom teeth, and even that scared me a little. Really hope you won't have any problem.

Thankee. by Iximaz on 2016-02-11 13:19:00 UTC Reply

I stayed awake for getting my wisdom teeth pulled because I've got a bit of a fear of general anesthesia, so this'll be my first time. ^^;

And heh, teenage!Elanor was fun to write for. ~~no I didn't pull similar stunts when I was younger what are you saying~~ I might just have to do another story featuring her again next year.

It was rather cute, oh mysterious one. (nm) by JulyFlame on 2016-02-11 12:16:00 UTC Reply
Oh yeah, that was me. >.> (nm) by Iximaz on 2016-02-11 12:15:00 UTC Reply