The Interruption to Life I Didn't Plan On
It all started with stomach cramps, fever and nausea. The cramps decreased eventually, but the nausea wouldn't let up. I had not felt nausea like that since my last pregnancy, 14 years ago! There was some minor pain on the right side of my abdomen. So, that meant it wasn't my appendix. Then Monday morning, the most intense, sharp, excruciating pain I have ever felt hit. On my LEFT side! Hurry! Call 911!
David had left late Sunday night to go to Iowa. One of the girls was to be with me at all times due to the fact I tend to pass out when I'm ill. So Hannah and Moriah had taken turns sleeping in my room. At 6:00am Monday morning I woke Hannah and told her to go get Rebekah. I had this very intense pain that I knew I could not deal with. It was going to require professional help and fast! Rebekah called 911 and within 10 minutes my room was filled with 6 large men! I only needed 1 or 2 at most! They took my vital signs, felt my abdomen and said I had earned a ride to the hospital in their red chariot!
At the hospital, after taking the vitals again, every question answered again, they sent me off for a CT scan to determine what was going on in my stomach. "You have appendicitis! It is going to require surgery! At this point, because of so much inflamation, we can't tell if it has ruptured. The surgeon will know more when he gets in there." Surgery! I don't want surgery! But it will alleviate your pain!! Well, in that case, go ahead!
So, as we wait for a surgeon, they hook me up to an IV and Morphine. I am in control of the Morphine flow; all I have to do is push a little button and it flows into my system! Nice!!
Deborah, who had called in to take the day off of work, had gone by the house and picked up Hannah and Moriah. Rebekah got dressed and came to the hospital until she had to leave for work. Once Dr. Ryan found out where she was and why, he told her to take the day off. Kit Brown from church came to the hospital to wait with us. (She stayed with the girls all afternoon.) Deborah called David to tell him I was in the hospital and having surgery. He would get the next available flight home and hopefully be here by the time I came out of surgery.
They weren't going to be able to get me into surgery until at least 3:00pm, so I was moved to a room instead of staying in the ER. It was a semi-private room, very small, and not very comfortable for visitors. One of the girls would stay in the room with me, while the others waited out in the waiting room. This was going to be a long day.
Finally, at 4:00pm they came to get me for surgery. Along with my entourage, we went down to the OR. David was not here, yet, and I really wanted him to be. But there are only 2 flights a day out of Des Moines!
The OR is a very sterile environment. Cold, and very unpleasant. But when you are in pain, who cares! Once they give you something to help you calm down and relax, then put that oxygen mask over your face, you know nothing until someone is waking you up to tell you it's all over. It's absolutely astounding. You are there one minute, and then next thing you know it's been an hour and a half, and you're done! Back to your room and loved ones!
Back in my semi-private (very small) room, my loving family is waiting for me. Leah and Blake have gotten there now and David is on the way! I know I was not very coherent; I can't tell you anything I said. But the pain was gone! Of course, I am still on Morphine!
I spent the next 4 and a half days in the hospital on antibiotics because the appendix had ruptured and they wanted to make sure all the bad toxins got out of my system. David stayed with me almost 24 hours a day. He would leave for a few hours during the day to go home and shower, then come back for the night. He was incredible! What would I have done without him?!
I was not able to have solid food or drink for 3 days. By then I would have been without any food or water for 5 days! Once I could have liquids, my stomach revolted. Thursday afternoon I could have solid food again and the result was not much better. I was so hungry, yet the sight of food and the taste sent my stomach into panic and immediate rejection. Oh, this was going to be fun.
I went home on Saturday morning. The only pain was from the surgery sites. I was told my recovery time would be 6-8 weeks. I was so weak, I could barely walk up the stairs. So, the next week was spent not doing very much but getting up to go to the bathroom and downstairs for a glass of water now and then. The girls took excellant care of me. People from church were providing meals for us. This was a HUGE blessing. David would be in town all week. Hannah and Moriah were on spring break. All was looking good.
By Friday, one week after leaving the hospital, the site of my drainage tube while in the hospital, was extremely painful and felt like a rock. It began to leak green stuff; leak as in a small river flowing! Time to go back to the hospital. The surgeon opened the wound, drained it some, and placed some packing gauze in it. Yes, you will have to stay in the hospital for several days until we get this under control. Another CT scan showed I had developed an couple of abcesses with infection. At least 4 days in the hospital!
This time I was in a private room, very nice and a great view of downtown Atlanta. I could get up and go to my own bathroom and even sit in the recliner if I wanted. David again stayed with me at night. He would hang out during the day unless someone else could come. Deborah spent Easter Sunday morning with me. I had several visitors on Monday, and Tuesday was a long, boring day by myself. I at least could have solid food this time, but my stomach still didn't like food. So, at meal time it was a huge struggle to try to get anything down. I was on 4-6 antibiotics the whole time, but no pain medicine. Finally, Wednesday morning the doctor said I could go home. The latest scan showed the abcesses had greatly diminished and the infection was nearly gone. I would need a home healthcare nurse for a while to help with the changing of the bandage. But I could go home and get back to life.
Home. Ah, there really is no place like it! Now to get back to normal. David had stayed home 3 weeks instead of traveling. Hannah and Moriah had not done school for those 3 weeks. Life needed to return! I was still very weak, but no pain! After my doctor's visit the week after I returned home, he said there was no more need for the home healthcare nurse; I could change the bandage myself. The hole was healing nicely and there was no more sign of infection.
This has been a long and frustrating struggle for me. It has been a huge interruption in not only my life, but my family's life as well. We have had to rely on the generosity of others for many things. The love and support of friends and family has been overwhelming. It is going to be a while yet before my strength is completely renewed, but I am trying to exercise patience. I would love to say I have learned a lot through all this, but the truth is, I have been very frustrated with the interruption. I am not very patient with the recovery time. I have experienced some anxiety attacks when I think there are situations that cannot be solved easily. I don't like being weak and not able to do.
However, I have seen God be ever faithful through everything. He has met every need at just the right time. Each time I say to myself, "Why do you not trust more? He always meets your need. What is your problem?" I am just so very thankful that He is more faithful to me than I have been to Him. This is the lesson I want to learn through all this. Trust. Trust. Trust.
David had left late Sunday night to go to Iowa. One of the girls was to be with me at all times due to the fact I tend to pass out when I'm ill. So Hannah and Moriah had taken turns sleeping in my room. At 6:00am Monday morning I woke Hannah and told her to go get Rebekah. I had this very intense pain that I knew I could not deal with. It was going to require professional help and fast! Rebekah called 911 and within 10 minutes my room was filled with 6 large men! I only needed 1 or 2 at most! They took my vital signs, felt my abdomen and said I had earned a ride to the hospital in their red chariot!
At the hospital, after taking the vitals again, every question answered again, they sent me off for a CT scan to determine what was going on in my stomach. "You have appendicitis! It is going to require surgery! At this point, because of so much inflamation, we can't tell if it has ruptured. The surgeon will know more when he gets in there." Surgery! I don't want surgery! But it will alleviate your pain!! Well, in that case, go ahead!
So, as we wait for a surgeon, they hook me up to an IV and Morphine. I am in control of the Morphine flow; all I have to do is push a little button and it flows into my system! Nice!!
Deborah, who had called in to take the day off of work, had gone by the house and picked up Hannah and Moriah. Rebekah got dressed and came to the hospital until she had to leave for work. Once Dr. Ryan found out where she was and why, he told her to take the day off. Kit Brown from church came to the hospital to wait with us. (She stayed with the girls all afternoon.) Deborah called David to tell him I was in the hospital and having surgery. He would get the next available flight home and hopefully be here by the time I came out of surgery.
They weren't going to be able to get me into surgery until at least 3:00pm, so I was moved to a room instead of staying in the ER. It was a semi-private room, very small, and not very comfortable for visitors. One of the girls would stay in the room with me, while the others waited out in the waiting room. This was going to be a long day.
Finally, at 4:00pm they came to get me for surgery. Along with my entourage, we went down to the OR. David was not here, yet, and I really wanted him to be. But there are only 2 flights a day out of Des Moines!
The OR is a very sterile environment. Cold, and very unpleasant. But when you are in pain, who cares! Once they give you something to help you calm down and relax, then put that oxygen mask over your face, you know nothing until someone is waking you up to tell you it's all over. It's absolutely astounding. You are there one minute, and then next thing you know it's been an hour and a half, and you're done! Back to your room and loved ones!
Back in my semi-private (very small) room, my loving family is waiting for me. Leah and Blake have gotten there now and David is on the way! I know I was not very coherent; I can't tell you anything I said. But the pain was gone! Of course, I am still on Morphine!
I spent the next 4 and a half days in the hospital on antibiotics because the appendix had ruptured and they wanted to make sure all the bad toxins got out of my system. David stayed with me almost 24 hours a day. He would leave for a few hours during the day to go home and shower, then come back for the night. He was incredible! What would I have done without him?!
I was not able to have solid food or drink for 3 days. By then I would have been without any food or water for 5 days! Once I could have liquids, my stomach revolted. Thursday afternoon I could have solid food again and the result was not much better. I was so hungry, yet the sight of food and the taste sent my stomach into panic and immediate rejection. Oh, this was going to be fun.
I went home on Saturday morning. The only pain was from the surgery sites. I was told my recovery time would be 6-8 weeks. I was so weak, I could barely walk up the stairs. So, the next week was spent not doing very much but getting up to go to the bathroom and downstairs for a glass of water now and then. The girls took excellant care of me. People from church were providing meals for us. This was a HUGE blessing. David would be in town all week. Hannah and Moriah were on spring break. All was looking good.
By Friday, one week after leaving the hospital, the site of my drainage tube while in the hospital, was extremely painful and felt like a rock. It began to leak green stuff; leak as in a small river flowing! Time to go back to the hospital. The surgeon opened the wound, drained it some, and placed some packing gauze in it. Yes, you will have to stay in the hospital for several days until we get this under control. Another CT scan showed I had developed an couple of abcesses with infection. At least 4 days in the hospital!
This time I was in a private room, very nice and a great view of downtown Atlanta. I could get up and go to my own bathroom and even sit in the recliner if I wanted. David again stayed with me at night. He would hang out during the day unless someone else could come. Deborah spent Easter Sunday morning with me. I had several visitors on Monday, and Tuesday was a long, boring day by myself. I at least could have solid food this time, but my stomach still didn't like food. So, at meal time it was a huge struggle to try to get anything down. I was on 4-6 antibiotics the whole time, but no pain medicine. Finally, Wednesday morning the doctor said I could go home. The latest scan showed the abcesses had greatly diminished and the infection was nearly gone. I would need a home healthcare nurse for a while to help with the changing of the bandage. But I could go home and get back to life.
Home. Ah, there really is no place like it! Now to get back to normal. David had stayed home 3 weeks instead of traveling. Hannah and Moriah had not done school for those 3 weeks. Life needed to return! I was still very weak, but no pain! After my doctor's visit the week after I returned home, he said there was no more need for the home healthcare nurse; I could change the bandage myself. The hole was healing nicely and there was no more sign of infection.
This has been a long and frustrating struggle for me. It has been a huge interruption in not only my life, but my family's life as well. We have had to rely on the generosity of others for many things. The love and support of friends and family has been overwhelming. It is going to be a while yet before my strength is completely renewed, but I am trying to exercise patience. I would love to say I have learned a lot through all this, but the truth is, I have been very frustrated with the interruption. I am not very patient with the recovery time. I have experienced some anxiety attacks when I think there are situations that cannot be solved easily. I don't like being weak and not able to do.
However, I have seen God be ever faithful through everything. He has met every need at just the right time. Each time I say to myself, "Why do you not trust more? He always meets your need. What is your problem?" I am just so very thankful that He is more faithful to me than I have been to Him. This is the lesson I want to learn through all this. Trust. Trust. Trust.
We have been praying for your recovery! I'm glad that you are doing better now! I can only imagine what a long and frustrating road recovery is!
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