4/7/25 Home Notes: Of Hernias And Humdrums

Some of you may already know (lucky you), but for those who don’t, let me catch you up on last Monday’s little adventure: your favorite whimsical girl has sprouted a hernia!

Oh, joy.

I woke up Monday morning, 3/31, feeling like I’d been danced upon by a herd of angry elephants. Off to the Emergency Room at the local hospital I went, to figure out what was going on. Turns out, my intestines decided they wanted to make a run for it and were trying to escape through my abdominal wall next to my belly button. (Poor belly button.)

(Specifically, this is called an "umbilical hernia". I have absolutely no idea how it happened, but it did—so here we are.)

The emergency doctor took one look at the situation, got all scientific with a CAT scan (don’t worry, no actual cats were harmed), and then manually shoved my intestines back where they belong. Thank God he gave me a small dose of morphine—the pain level was eight out of ten. But the fun doesn’t end there: I’ll need surgery in a couple of months (because, you know, doctor backlogs and all that).

Long story short, I had to cancel my appearances at the Tucson Folk Festival this past weekend. I’ve been given strict orders not to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds or do any unnecessary bending and stooping. Which, by the way, means no lifting luggage into overhead bins on planes or hauling heavy guitar cases around. (RIP, my dreams of helping others at the airport.)

It’s hard not to have the humdrums at a time like this. Normally, if I’m home, I’m running around the house taking care of things—and now that’s limited. However, I suppose this does open up a window of time and space to actually work on new songs... what do you think?

I can still sing, though, so I’ll be back on the air for my “Brunch w/ Deb!” show on April 13th.

That’s the scoop from Deb’s Den for now.

Your Gal With the Hernia Belt, -Deb :-) P.S. And to think I was so excited to turn 60 just six months ago... bah, humbug!