WHEN YOU HAVE A BIRTHDAY ON APRIL FOOL'S DAY AND WHEN YOU HAVE A JOB AT THE SAME TIME (PART 2)

I wondered, walking into work today, if a prank would be awaiting me of the same magnitude as the horrific prank my co-workers played on me last year in Part 1 of this apparent series.

Before I stepped into the department, a busy labor force had already decorated the place for my benefit.  It was funny, but it was not a prank.

They also gave me a birthday gift, a gag gift, and a chocolate birthday cake.  But no prank.  At least not a prank that I recognized as a prank until I totally fell for it.

The prank was well planned, well orchestrated, viewed by the entire staff, and it effectively caught me off guard.

It was a good prank.

The door from the patient waiting room to the treatment area was decorated with a variety of pictures of me: One of me clipping my toenails, one of me petting a bear cub in 1988, one of me and my grandson, Neo, and one showing me what I'll probably look like if I live to be 100. 

A wheelchair awaited me along with a nurse to push it.

A chux pad was placed on my work stool to protect the stool in the event that I should leak.

Age-appropriate signs lined the wall.

A gift-wrapped birthday present was given to me:  A Do-It-Yourself Prostate Exam kit.

The Do-It-Yourself Prostate Exam kit included a rubber exam finger for probing, a mirror for seeing what you can't see without a mirror, and a tube of Dr. Schtickinhiney's Prostate Petroleum Jelly.  

The staff gathered together before lunch to share my birthday cake, a cube-shaped cake made by Cindy Lee and frosted by her daughters last night.

The staff waited as I cut the cake.  Rather, as I attempted to cut the cake. I was completely fooled by the prank.

There was a specific point when I realized that I had been pranked.  This photo was taken at that exact moment.

It was not a cake.  It was a styrofoam block covered with chocolate frosting.

Once everybody got a good laugh, a real chocolate cake was served and the day ended well.