It has. And I am still here to tell the cautionary tale. You see, five years ago this month, I ignored my body's signals and ended up hospitalized for four days followed by several weeks of recovery at home. I left the hospital with a tube in my abdomen, an oxygen tank, and a feeling of shame and embarrassment. You see, my appendix was infected and instead of listening to my body and that inner voice warning me something was wrong...very wrong...I second guessed myself for more than twenty-four hours and ended up in the emergency room sometime after midnight with a ruptured appendix.
Not an experience I would recommend.
Five years ago I wrote several blog posts about my ordeal. I thought about just re-posting the main one on this anniversary, but wondered if time wouldn't allow me some insight I was not able to verbalize five years ago. If you want to read my original story - or any of the related posts - please search under Appendicitis in the Label section of this blog.
"Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you." - Mary Tyler Moore
It really didn't occur to me at the time, but I could have died. One of my good friends, after hearing what happened, shouted that very thing over the phone at me. She was really upset - and all I could do was say, but I am still here, in bewilderment. And then later - I AM STILL HERE! How lucky am I to get a second chance at life?
I was familiar with appendicitis, but thought it only happened to little kids and young adults. I thought the pain would be distinctly in your lower right abdomen...or was it your left? I heard horror stories of how the pain is so unbearable you would not be able to handle it. That you would know immediately if something was wrong. Surprise, none of that is true.
First, anyone can get appendicitis at any age. And for me, the pain was not on one side or the other, it was in the center of my abdomen - like I had over exercised by doing too many crunches. If you, like me, have a high pain tolerance, the cramps can be written off as the flu. If you, like me, have been pretty healthy most of your life, appendicitis will probably not be your first thought. It wasn't mine.
After a day of pain that was not getting any better, my mind did start to think outside the box. Yours should, too. Google your symptoms and believe it when the most obvious answer is not the one you expected, but is the one you secretly feared. Don't be embarrassed to believe your suspicions may be correct. Go to the doctor. Don't self diagnose for too long or you will end up like me...hospitalized, weak, sore, and with a scar that travels from your belly button to your pelvic bone and looks kind of like a baby butt. If you are treated before your appendix ruptures, at the first signs of pain, you will have a simple laparoscopic surgery and be back to normal in about a week instead of facing two months of recovery.
Once your appendix ruptures the surgery is very invasive.
The good news is I did recover. I am as physically strong as I ever was. I take better care of myself and watch out for my loved ones. My faith in God was strengthened. I started to write. I found my voice. I appreciate life and see God's hand in places I never bothered to notice before. I try to be more patient, more loving, more aware. I try not to be so fearful, to attempt new things, to go beyond what I think I can accomplish. I've traveled near and far. I cultivated new friendships, re-energized old ones, and learned to appreciate every moment I have with my extended family.
I wonder at God's canvas as he paints the clouds in a beautiful sunrise of pinks, oranges, and reds. When He brightens the end day sky in Broncos blue and orange. When He prompts me to notice the sparkling white mountaintops in the distance. I laugh at the bunnies hiding in the front yard, marvel at the abundance of flowers cascading through the bushes, and smile at the sweet music of birds in the morning.
I was granted a second chance to discover what my life should look like...and it is good.
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