Wednesday night things were going as usual. We were packing and getting ready to fly to California the next day for a series of performances at the Mozaic Festival in San Luis Obispo. We had been looking forward to this for months. We were in Montana having played for a private gathering a few days earlier at Ruth and Clay Hall's place near Bozeman and decided to take a few days off for rest and practice before heading to California. We had met Ruth a year earlier after a concert at Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia and were delighted to perform at their event and enjoy Montana for a few days. Wednesday after packing and doing some laundry at our friends Jeni and Jake's place, Jenn started complaining that she didn't feel right in her stomach area and had some sharp pains as well. We decided to go to the grocery store and get some vegetable juice and pasta or something light that might soothe her stomach. Neither of us thought it was too serious at that point as it's easy to have some discomfort on the road, especially when you get out of your normal routine or eat something new that might give you a little indigestion. It has happened to both of us before. That night Jenn went to bed earlier as I finished packing my instruments and getting things ready for our flight the next morning. About an hour later I went to bed. Just a few minutes after climbing into bed Jenn went to the bathroom and a few minutes later I thought I heard her crying so I went in to see what was the matter. Jenn said she felt like there were toxins in her body and was sweating and clammy. As she stood up she fainted on me and I grabbed her to hold her up. She was limp. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. After regaining composure, we grabbed her clothes and Jake guided us to the Hospital Emergency room.

A night full of tests ensued. By this time Jenn could hardly sit up and was experiencing severe sharp pains in the right side and a sense of fullness in her whole stomach area. The Doctor started with the standard poking and prodding and took a sample of blood to check the white cell count. The cell count showed that there might be infection present. The Doctor mentioned a couple of possibilities: Appendecitis, Twisted Ovaries or a pancreatic problem. The next step was to do a CAT scan to narrow it down. In order to do a CAT scan the patient first has to drink what amounts to a 'big gulp' sized drink of particulate solution. The solution filters through the blood stream and allow for your organs to show up on the scan. Jenn started drinking at 2:30am and was instructed to drink the entire cup by 3:30am. By this time Jenn was laying on her side in the bed and not able to move to another position because of excruciating pain that started in her side and went up through the right shoulder. Getting up to even use the bathroom was not an option. Once the particulate drink was finished at 3:30am the Doc said that we'd have to wait another hour for the solution to circulate through her bloodstream. The Dr. had also ordered an Ultrsound and the Dr. on call to do that had just shown up. We were transferred down the hall to the ultrasound room and the Dr. started to work. By now, Jenn was confined to essentially one position lying on her side and any attempt to move any other way resulted in excruciating pain. The Ultrasound Dr. noticed some unusual formations in Jenn's abdomen. The CAT scan would give us a few more clues. The CAT scan revealed that Jenn had a cyst on her ovary that had ruptured and started bleeding causing a large amount of blood to develop in her abdomen. The emergency room Dr. called in the OBGYN on call (Dr. Fanee Freeman) and she came in to the hospital for the surgery. Jenn went into surgery at 6:30am mountain time. The surgery lasted for about an hour and a half and soon Dr. Freeman came out into the waiting room with a smile on her face. Jenn had come through the surgery fine and they were able to remove the cyst and take care of the internal bleeding without affecting any other organs. We will be spending the next few days in the hospital for Jenn to recoup and get ready to fly again.

The entire staff at Bozeman's Deaconess Hospital could not have been more professional and comforting. In short, they were fantastic. There were many times that Jenn and I remarked that if this had to happen, we are in some small way glad it happened here. The entire staff from the Doctors to the nurses were absolutely great. After several days in the hospital Jenn should be released tomorrow (Sunday) and get a few more days of bed rest in Bozeman before attempting to fly. The Doctors recommended at least a week after surgery before doing a flight.

Thanks to all for for your well wishes and prayers!! We are looking forward to rescheduling the concerts we have had to cancel and look forward to the opportunity to get out and play again.