"How could you not have known you had appendicitis? Wasn't the pain unbearable?"
Not to me.
"Guess you need to learn the difference between pain and injury, eh?"
Maybe.
"You must have a really high pain tolerance."
Guess so.
How does a reasonable person not know they are experiencing an appendicitis attack? Well, if you are a generally healthy person, have not been in the hospital since your daughter's birth twenty-one years ago, and the only other surgery you remember is having your tonsils removed when you were twelve or so, the last thing you suspect is appendicitis.
Maybe it should have been the first.
Did it cross my mind that Monday when I stayed home from work that it might be my appendix? Yes, but only briefly. I was pretty convinced I had the flu and would be back to work the next day. I had gone to bed early Sunday night feeling bloated, constipated, and just not right. After numerous trips to the restroom that night and finally throwing up in the morning, I was feeling a little better, convinced I had the flu. Lance put his hand on my forehead, pronounced I had a fever, and agreed with my assessment - probably the flu. He went to work, I stayed home.
Honestly, I don't remember most of that day. I did have some lower abdomen pain, but I attributed that to the ab workout I had started Sunday morning. (Thanks Facebook.) I recall thinking the workout was way too hard for day one and I should tell someone because my lower abs hurt - a lot. Then I thought, I must be really out of shape if fifteen sit-ups, five crunches, and a ten second plank hurt this much. I had no interest in food (looking back, I wasn't very hungry on Sunday either) or anything else for that matter. When Lance arrived home from work, he had me drink some Pedialite (still working on the flu theory) and I went back to sleep.
Sometime after midnight I woke up with more abdominal pains, the worse I had felt yet. I googled appendicitis on my phone and while I didn't have all the symptoms, I did have a number of them. So, I woke Lance up and asked to go to the satellite ER located a few blocks from our house. Fortunately, we got right in (no line at 1:00am). The doctor started pressing on my abdomen, asking if it hurt. Honestly, not that bad. Then she found a spot that didn't hurt when she pressed down, but man did it hurt when she released the pressure. "Eureka - a reaction!" She ordered a CT scan and when it was complete, came in with the news that yes, I did have appendicitis, but unfortunately, my appendix had already ruptured.
The ER doctor assured us that the surgeon on call at the hospital had been notified and was pulling her team together for emergency surgery. And that she was one of their best. After that, things are a bit of a blur. I remember an ambulance ride (bumpier than I expected) and that the driver and attendee were very nice to me. I remember Lance saying he would quickly run home to take care of our dog Ellie, and then he would meet me at the hospital. I remember being whisked to a room in the hospital and prepped for surgery. I remember Lance being with me as I was taken down to the operating room and then I remember waking up in recovery.
Later, I found out that the appendix is a finger like protrusion, normally located on the base of the right hand side of the colon, pointing toward the outside of the hips. Mine was on the right hand part of the colon, but located more to the left and pointed toward the center of my pelvis (not as common). Most of the time, when an appendix ruptures, it ruptures out the end. Mine ruptured at the base of the colon. This meant I had to be cut open so the surgeon could remove the appendix, the damaged part of the colon, all the gunk it had released into my body and finally put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Since I didn't catch this until after my appendix ruptured, I went from a fairly routine laparoscopic surgery to a major cutting me open surgery that lasted a couple of hours. I spent five days in the hospital and now have about five weeks of at home recovery in front of me. Believe me when I say this, there are better ways to spend time off from work. Moral of the story, listen to your body and don't make excuses for the pains you are feeling. If it "crosses your mind" that you might have a serious injury - go to the doctor. It could save your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment