Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is both a test and a way to treat some conditions. In english it's a rather thick tube going down your mouth through your stomach and into the small intestine through which the doctors pass a tongue, a camera and other miscellaneous fluids into the area of interest. I was sedated three times, said the doctor, because i kept moving and resisting the tube after the first two injections. the only thing i remember is people shouting "nah, don't!", in native perrsian accent of course, this is orange county after all. my ducts are now stone-free, and the pain is much more manageable - which is not necessarily good, since i don't get to have my periodic trips to the other side anymore. the following is a very personal note to a piece of me, about to be dismissed :

my deareast gallbladder; thanks for being there for my extra bile through all these years, trough the new york steaks, the bbq ribs and even the dizis we recently enjoyed back in motherland. relationships, my friend, often come to an end, and such is the one between you and the rest of me. we shall depart today and never meet again; so gall, if you wanna leave, take good care, hope you have a lot of nice clothes to wear, a lot of nice things turn bad out there... Oooh baby baby it's a wild world, i'll always remember you, like a child girl ;)