So, the last week has been quite interesting! Here is my tale of appendicitis from beginning to end.....
Last Wednesday night around 8pm I began feeling an uncomfortable pain in my right side. I can remember the precise time because we were dismissing the kids from kids choir and I just wanted to get home because I did not feel well! The pain was constant and uncomfortable and I thought it was just bloating. I came home, took some pills to try and get some relief and then went to bed hoping that I would just sleep it off. Unfortunately I was up through the night because every move I made the pain was there and it was gradually becoming more intense. The next morning I woke up and called the Dr's office and they were able to get me in right away.
Once the Dr felt my side she became concerned immediately and ordered a CT Scan to be done asap. Around 1pm I showed up at Imaging and was told to drink 2 bottles of this lemony tea stuff so that it would coat my organs and make everything show up well when they did the test. I was starving and had not eaten all day so surprisingly the brown lemony tea juice stuff tasted pretty good! I had to wait an hour and a half to drink the stuff before my test so Rich had the lovely idea of walking around TJ Maxx. Sure...my appendix may rupture but let's go shopping! Hahaha! Actually I didn't mind because I thought it might distract me from the pain. So we walked around waiting for time to go by and it was finally time for the test and I was ready. The pain was gettting more intense.
I've never had a CT Scan before so it was very interesting to go through the process. Drink the juice, lay on the table and listen for the little voice to tell when to breath and when to exhale, simple enough! Just before the test my robust nurse instructed me that he would be injecting another form of dye into my veins that may give me the sensation of a)having a hot flash, b)feeling like I'm sucking on a penny, or c)feeling like I'm peeing my pants. Soooo, great, can't wait to see what that's going to be like! He put the dye into me and what do you know???? I felt all 3 sensations!!! Wierdest thing ever! Totally felt hot all over, wierdest taste in my mouth and oh yes, the lovely sensation that my water had just broke. Thankfully all these went away within a minute.
The test was over and now to wait for the results, all the while, I'M STILL IN PAIN! Finally got the call around 3:45 to go the ER and that the Triage nurse would be waiting for us. Mom and Dad were with the kids so we were able to grab our stuff pretty quickly and head up to the hospital.
We checked in around 4:30 and were put into a room right away. I've never understood how ER's work. Are they on a rotation or some sort of system as far as checking in on patients??? We waited and waited. While waiting we were visited by our wonderful friends/small group leaders and that helped time pass by. They prayed over us and left around 9:00 or so. Rich left shortly thereafter to get his Dad and when he asked to come back to the ER the nurses told him that I was already in surgery! This was a big mistake because I was not in surgery. There was no way I would let them take me off to surgery without seeing Rich first or letting him know! Crazy. I was unaware of all this but had noticed that Rich had been gone for a long time. I finally called him because the orderly came to wheel me up to surgery and Rich wasn't back yet. I called and asked where he was and he asked where I was because he thought I was in surgery. Finally he was able to get to where I was and be with me while getting ready for the surgery.
We met the anesthiologist (sp??) and he was great. I told him that I didn't want to feel like I was going to sleep and he did just that. Of course he did have to inform me of the tube he was going to stick down my throat while I was 'under' and that was information was a bit unnecessary. Liabilities, I know!
So, Rich prayed with me one more time, kissed me goodby and it was time to hit that cold, bright operating room. I was in there for about 3 min and before I knew it they were waking me up and saying that it was all over. 27 hours of pain and it was finally all over!
The whole experience while very common was very surreal to us. Who knew that when I woke up Thursday morning that I would be having surgery that night and spending a night in the hospital. Life is uncertain at times but it definetly keeps things interesting!
We were so blessed by all of our friends and family. From those who prayed and visited us in the hospital to those who kept our kids all night and all day caring for them and making them feel like everything was okay. To our awesome small group! This is what small group is about. Coming to the aid of those in need around us. Thank you for providing meals for us for the past few nights. It has been a welcomed blessing and I can't say enough how appreciative we are.
God is faithful and with us through every situation, no matter how great or small. I tend to be an anxioux person and have dealt with panic attacks in the past. And being in this situation would have for sure put me into pure panic. But I knew who my God was and I knew that He was with me and His perfect peace was me all the way to that operating table when I closed my eyes. No fear, only trust.
I am recovering well and just spending the next few days resting and recovering. I should be back to normal within 2 weeks. God Bless!
