Appendicitis
July 1st, 2009There you go! The post title says it all for me.
Yesterday morning my wife went to Des Moines at 530am. I had been up off and on all night long. So after she left, I made some breakfast (just to have something to eat). But got only half way into the toast with peanut butter, honey and banana…then I had to stop. Could not eat another bite. So cleaned up the kitchen, got my coffee mug refilled (I could actually after a few days drink coffee without it irritating my throat) and then took the dog out. Well, go her as far as the tree when bam! I hit the ground and just laid there for a bit. Drove dog crazy, wondering what in the world has come into this guy just laying there will I bark at him and then lick him. No response. Finally I felt strong enough to stand up and we went into the house. But I was in pain, the worse pain I had in all the days leading up to this. Bottom right of my stomach. I though maybe it was the peanut butter and the coffee I was ready to drink and enjoy went down the drain. Tried water, but a couple of mouthfuls was all I could handle. So I crawled into bed and off and on, I was there all day in pain. Same spot, no mattter how I laid, did not lay, might have laid, it hurt like hell. Somewhere in all that, I have no recollection, I spoke to my wife and told her to come back home. So she said she will call her daughter to pick her up. Anyways, when she got home, she said I was laying on the bed in a weird position and babbling on through gritted teeth. She said I was burning, sweating and just not in the right frame of health. Her daughter said it may be my appendix as that is where the pain is localized. Shit said I! Why did I not think of that this morning and get the ambulance to take me to the hospital?
Anyways, being careful and with wife right there to make sure nothing happened (I was dizzy as a freaking loon), I took a shower, shaved, etc. Then wife drove the van to Winterset to the hospital. This was around 6pm or so. Forgot that the road from here to Winterset has to be the worst country road in Iowa. Every damn bump, pothole, and movement of the van made me yell in great pain. Got to emergency room at hopital and soon had like 5 or 6 nurses and assisitants checking me out from top to bottom. Gave me some pain medication via a shot (told her, just give me 100 units of demarol and leave me be). And poof! In a few minutes, no freaking pain. I could actually lay down, sit up or walk without screaming.
They of course took blood, lots of my bloood. Then iv’s of different stuff. Then off to getting some x-rays. After looking at x-rays, head nurse said you are off to the cat scan. The cat scan tech came in with a gallon of ice cold tang mixture (900 milliliters, so you figure out how close that is to a gallon) and told me to start chugging it all down. I told her, I can not even talk a mouthful of water, much less a gallon of orange looking stuff. But had to chug it all down quick as possible as it takes about an hour for the stuff to coat the colons, etc. So about 730pm, off to the cat scan. 20 minutes there and I am back in the room. Head nurse comes in and says they are checking on two doctors to see who is available. I said available for what? She said what she suspected is true, the appendix is sitting there waiting for time to blow up. I said, if possible get a doctor that can do the operation now and do it here, as I do not want to go to Mercy in Des Moines. And hurrah! First doctor said he would be there at 10pm and would operate on me pronto. To have me prepped and ready to go.
So the anesthesiologist came in and more of the same questions, are you allergic to anything, when was your last meal, what did you eat, what have you drank, etc. Lucked out as only the half toast in the morning. So they put me on a stretcher and take me to my room. There I shuck the clothes and wear one of those great hospital gowns with my butt hanging out. And daughter and her husband dropped in, bringing a subway sandwich, chips and a drink for my wife, who had not eaten much herself all day. That was torture and I told all of them at some point, I will get even!
Then the doctor comes by and chats with me to let me know where and how he will cut out and remove the appendix. The possible things that can go wrong (told him, put me under enough gas, I really not going to know if something went wrong). Anways the two operating room nurses put me on another stretcher and off we go to the OR. But first, as we come to the last turn, one nurse asks me when the last time I went was. Told her some time, but hey, I am good to go. She said in that case she was going to have to get a catheter. So I said, hey, drop me off at first bathroom then. First bathroom was a little alcove, nurse gave me a plastic bottle, said the two of them would move around the corner so I could go. So I did and into the OR we went.
Did mention to anestesilogist as he was setting me up (both arms at right angles to body on separate board of the table) that looking into mirror it seemed to me that prisoners wo were to be given lethal injection were treated better than I was being treating. He laughed and told me, just give me 5 long deep breaths of the air. I don’t know if I got to number 5 or not, next thing I remember was coming to in my room with the doctor and about 4 nurses checking me out to make sure I was okay.
The nurse assigned to me was very nice. Well, they all were. She told me she would check on me during the night and if I needed anything to press the buzzer. And that breakfast was at 7am and she would make sure I got fed. And I was, I was so famished, that I ate everything, even the grits (and wife knows I never touch grits). Now doctor had told me that as fast as they could they would send me home today. New nurse assigned to me for the day, said after lunch.
Oh, wife had gone home after the operation and came back about 8am. She went back home and would come back to pick me up.
Short story? Lunch came, I ate everything. Then my nurse had a lot of paperwork for me to read over, sign, etc. Then with the pain medication prescription, we stopped at the pharmacy first, then at Kum & Go as I was thirsty (stayed in the van, told wife I wanted ice tea, unsweetened). Guess what? Not what I got! Took one slurp and told wife, this is the same shit I drank a gallon of last night! So had to wait until we got home to get me ice tea.
But damn people, I am not in pain like I was yesterday! I feel tired and still have a cough, but I am mending up fast. For the first time in almost 6 days I actually have a normal temperature!
May take the first pain pill shortly, as one cut is getting a bit uncomfortable.
