What We Leave Behind

We all leave a part of us behind when we move from one place to another.  Some of us leave quite interesting things... like a gall bladder!  I've regaled the story at least a dozen times now and people are still asking for the story, so I thought I'd write it here as another part of this crazy journey.  I know others are afraid to call or stop by thinking I need rest and quiet, so for those with so many burning questions, here goes.  This is going to be one long post!

Thursday was just like any other day.  I put my oldest on the bus for school.  I took my youngest to storytime at the library.  I spent the afternoon getting ready for E's birthday party scheduled for that weekend.  I made the cake, carved it and got a preliminary coat of frosting on it.  I had a couple of small gifts purchased but still had the bulk of birthday gifts to buy.  C came home from school, we ate dinner, I did put them to bed early because I couldn't take the whining and brotherly fighting any longer.  They lost movie night due to their bad behavior and it was a tearful bedtime, but I held firm and promised them movie night later in the weekend.  I went downstairs to watch The Office and Steve Carrell's final episode, then I watched The Mentalist.  Came into the kitchen at 10pm to back up my computer because it had been acting strange all evening and I feared a crash, so I backed up what I could before going to bed at 11:30pm. 

The minute I laid down in bed brought on severe stomach pain.  Just horrible, high in my abdomen.  Immediately I thought it to be simple indigestion and I laid there for it to subside for 10-15 minutes before getting up again.  I chewed on 2 Tums in the bathroom only to lose them 5 minutes after swallowing them.  Then the fun in the bathroom began.  I couldn't keep anything down and began getting sick -- 3 times over the course of and hour or so.  Then I start thinking of the birthday cake.  My boys and I licked the beaters, the cake batter with raw eggs; oh no, we'll all have salmonella!  But the boys were sleeping quietly in their bunks.  I laid back down on the bed and the pain intensified and spread around to my back and that's when things got ugly. 

I called Jay who was out of town for work and just asked him to talk to me while this passed.  He gets on WebMD and looks up all my symptoms, asks me lots of questions, gives me possible solutions.  At one point he tells me to try some Advil or Aleve, which I had, but it was all the way down in the kitchen, of course.  I walked downstairs, doubled over, looking out the back window to see if my neighbor (an ER doc) was home and if I saw lights on.  I took the Aleve only to lose that 15 minutes later.  I gave myself until 2:30am and then I said I'm going to the ER.

2:30 came and I put on yoga pants and a fleece, woke up the boys, told them to get socks, shoes and jackets on and get into the car.  They were surprisingly awake and followed directions without question.  C talked to Jay on speakerphone the entire way to the hospital, giving him landmarks as we passed them so Jay knew where we were.  We walked into the ER around 3am and we were the only ones there.  C had mistakenly left the cell phone with Jay still talking in the locked car, so I sent C out with the keys and told him to run and get the phone so dad knew where we were and what was happening.  I was admitted, got sick again, was given an IV with 2mg morphine and some anti nausea meds and I was feeling fine, finally.  I met the ER doc (who I had once met earlier at my neighbor's Thai dinner at their house) and she pushed around my belly and guessed it was my gall bladder and scheduled an ultrasound.

Jay had arranged for friends Scott & Hannah to come get my boys in the ER, trade cars and take my boys home and get them back to bed.  MY HEROES!!!!  My kids were taken care of, I had my ultrasound and started watching the Royal Wedding live on CBS from the ER.  Then I got the diagnosis of gall stones (at least 1 large one) and maybe one that had left the gall bladder and may have been stuck in the bile duct on the way to the small bowel.  So, I was potentially looking at 2 surgical procedures but didn't know which would happen first.  I was sent upstairs to the 6th floor and settled in for the long wait for the surgeon. 

At 5:30am I called my mom in Chicago to tell her the news.  She said I was so calm about it.  Personally, I don't think she would have enjoyed me calling hysterically, scared, frightened, in pain, crying, uncontrollable.  I just told her what happened and that I would be needing same-day surgery.  She packed up her car and started the 8 hour drive to Nebraska.

Jay dealt with all the insurance and childcare issues.  Friend Brad took the day off of work and relieved Scott of his childcare duties and Brad took my boys to breakfast, his house and then lunch and entertained my boys for 8+ hours.  I updated my Facebook status via text message (I don't do the web on my phone), handled text messages and phone calls when nurses weren't coming into my room needing information and checking vitals and listening to my belly.  At 11am they came in and said the surgeons were done with their scheduled morning surgeries and I'd be next at noon.  I only had 30 minutes to call my husband and my mom to tell them before the team came to take me into pre-op.  It was a whirlwind of activity!  I was shaking like a leaf due to cold but I'm also sure I was scared to death.  I've never gone under anesthesia before.

I was under for an hour and a half and in the recovery room for 30 minutes.  I only needed 1 procedure (thank God!), the removal of the gall bladder.  Nothing was blocking the bile duct after all.  Talk about the weirdness of waking up after surgery.  I had a song in my head that I hope I wasn't singing out loud.  I couldn't open my eyes, the lids were just like 2 lead weights and I felt like my body weighed a ton as I sank into the bed.  Very strange.  I barely remember being wheeled back into my room upstairs but I do remember waking up more in my room and that horrible pain had returned.  I waited forever for pain meds and focussed on the cross on the wall and kept talking to Jesus the whole time.  The nurse patted my arm and rubbed my leg, trying to comfort me as I moaned and whimpered and waited for the meds.  The first round of meds took the edge off, but shortly after, they gave me something stronger that worked much better.  Ahhhhh...

Within 6 hours I was up walking, eating dinner and preparing for discharge.  My mom had arrived into town at 4pm and I was released at 9pm, less than 24 hours from start to finish.  Crazy!  We got my prescription filled at Walgreens and then went home and I slept well in my own bed. 

Recovery is going well.  I know a handful of friends who have gone through this within the last year and I've been comparing notes with them.  Some say day 3 is the worst for recovery.  That was yesterday and it wasn't too bad.  I was just dog tired in the morning and was completely zoned out on the couch.  Others have said day 5 is the worst.  That will be tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.  But I haven't needed any pain meds since breakfast yesterday and I woke up feeling great this morning, just sore from my 5 incisions.

I look like I'm about 6-7 months pregnant, so swollen from surgery.  I have 5 incisions from the laproscopic procedure.  The most painful one is right under my breastbone, so I'm thinking that's the one where the gall bladder was pulled from.  Another large one is in my navel.  The remaining 3 are much smaller.  But it looks like I've been in a knife fight.  I'm amazed at modern medicine! 

My mom plans to leave tomorrow morning unless I need her longer.  If all goes well today, I'll say good bye in the morning and will probably shed a few tears.  My mom is amazing!  MY HERO!  She's my best friend and whenever I'm down, lonely, sad or sick, I still want my mom even though I'm 36 years old.  I can't imagine going through this without her.

Jay has been great through all this and I'm sure it agonized him not to be here.  I'm sure the midnight phone call with his wife moaning in pain, a dark drive to the ER, and the unknowns scared him.  But he was calm and there for me every minute.  No, he did not come home to NE to be with me and to some, you might question why.  I don't question it one bit!  It's a quick, outpatient procedure.  He never would have made it to the hospital.  I would have been home and in bed by the time he rolled into town.  Recovery should be quick and easy and hopefully I've been through the worst of it by now.  We'll see.  He had 2 people offer to buy him flights home and as much as he wanted to accept the generous offers, he knew my mom would have it all under control and would be able to serve me in a way he wouldn't be able to.  Sometimes a girl just needs her mom!  I'll see him in a couple weeks, show him my scars and I'm sure we'll hug and cry and thank God it wasn't anything worse.

Calls and visits are welcome.  Yes, after my mom leaves tomorrow I'm sure I'll need a little help.  I hate saying that!  Recovery is still 2-3 weeks and I can't lift anything over 10 pounds during this time.  I can drive once I'm off pain meds and I'm feeling no pain, but I don't plan on going anywhere for days.  But help with the lawn and maybe a few meals would be good because I don't think I can bend to get to my pots and pans or put stuff into the oven quite yet.  :)    I'll keep you posted after my mom leaves.

Thanks for all of my heroes who served me over the last few days.  My next post will be highlighting all those who came to my rescue because I just appreciate you so much!  I have the best friends EVER!