Surprise Surgery
08 Jan 2010 Leave a Comment
A week before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring except me.
Just as I went to head off to sleep, I began having pain in the right side of my chest, it felt like heartburn, I couldn’t stop burping, and I felt nauseous. After 4 hours in blinding pain, in and out of agony, my husband and parents decided I should be taken to the E.R.
I don’t recall my dad driving that fast or anxiously before. I do recall the drive was tourtous, I was passing out from pain on and off, and every bump in the road (and there are plenty in Michigan, let me tell ya) created a new jolt of pain.
Finally we arrived, my hubby registered me, and I was off to triage, where before they finished writing down all my symptoms the nurse was printing up a hospital bracelet..not a good sign. I was immediately taken to a room and then customarily poked and prodded, and questioned. Things got a little better after my stomach cleared itself out. They gave me some nice med that made the nausea stop and a weak round of morphine to dull the pain, but not kill it, since they still wanted to poke me a few more times. Doctor dude said it might be an ulcer, he left the room and five minutes later returned and said it was probably my gall bladder (I don’t know what diagnosis fairy he met in the hall but thankfully they knew what they were doing). First was an ultrasound, had plenty of them when I was preganant, no biggie there. They decided that yes there was a big stone it was blocking things and being bad. Now I get to go for the nuclear test…yeah that sounds fun, but hey they gave me another round of morphine so I don’t really care that I will be on a slab with a machine scanning me while I stare at the ceiling for 45 minutes. They shoot me up with nueclear stuff, oh joy, I am being scanned then they stop, this machine is naughty, I must go to the other machine. They wiggle me in. I have to move from the semi cozy gureny to the unfriendly flat slab. I hate moving, my abdomen muscles shoot fire at me for this. Ok run test. Finally they come and wake me up and tell me to sit up. This I manage, hoping I get to move back to semi cozy bed, no such luck. The first scan is not nice, old doctor dude can’t tell if it is my gall bladder or bowel that is inflamed, so I get to take a few sips of cold water ( I don’t object, I am thirsty as Hades, I came in dehydrated, and now I lips and mouth are so dry I feel like they made of sandpaper), and then the doc comes in and tells me to lie back down and shoots me up with a syringe and a half of morphine, and finally my nurse from the ER appears with more of the anti nausea meds I requested. Then it was back into the machine, oh look pretty tiles on the celing that one looks like a waterfall and I am gone.
I am woken up again, move back to bed, yea. First doc returns, yep gall stones and inflamed organ, it has to come out. That means surgery. Goodie goody gummy drops. More poke more prod, financial aid lady asking questions, I am in and out. Moving now to pro op, wow that was earlier than anticipated. Off I go, ooo visitors. Here go take a pee test, we want to be super sure you aren’t pregnant. Ok not pregnant, but I has fever. Lay still, more drugs, another nap, vistors again. Can’t see a damn thing left my glasses and ring with hubby. The medical team introduces themselves, I will recognize them by voice only, god some of them look younger than me. Now it is off to operation land, here breath this, it’s crooked, ok now try. Deal ONE, TWO, THRee….
4 hours later I wake up with an oxygen mask on, and a nurse chatting away. Goody, I feel lots better. Don’t try to sit up. Take off stupid mask, nurse comes by switches to nose tube, then pops a few ice cubes at me. Joy, the feel of sand paper is gone and now my throat feels better. Oxygen levels finally go up, you can go to your room now, they were able to manage the lyproscopic type so you only have to stay a day. Joy. Here is your room, clean gown, bathroom, bed.
According to my family in the waiting room, which consisted of my husband, sister and father, the surgeon came out to say it went well, surprised he got it lyproscopically, but man did it need to come out, it was worse than they thought.
So my Christmas present was…that I got to remove the tape covering my stitches and holding them together.
Seriously though I am feeling much better, still a bit tired and run down but healthier than I have in a few months.
