One day at a time
Tuesday began as any other day. I got up early and was at work by 6:30 a.m. We had just returned the day previous from a long weekend in South Dakota. We had the opportunity to spend several days with my dad and brothers at two family reunions in the Dakota Territory. I'm getting more and more sentimental in my old age and I have to admit that I love spending time with the men in my life--my Dad, brothers Alan and Bob, and of course my loving hubbie.
The never ending pain on my right side seemed a little worse than usual, but when you have chronic pain you learn to just make it through each day without paying too much attention to your body. It's the only way to survive. On Tuesday, however, I just felt "punky". Couldn't eat, couldn't get comfortable, and just plain felt bad. Around noon I decided it was time to make the dreaded trip to the emergency room. My thoughts were that I more than likely had a kidney stone.
I went home first to change clothes. I know from experience that it's best to dress comfortable for the long wait that an ER visit always involves. Luckily for me, Irv was home and offered to go with me. Now you need to know that I hate being a burden. This chronic pain has changed our lives, we don't do a lot of things because I don't feel great. Irv has been so understanding and I can always count on him to be there for me.
Anyway, we got in the car and discussed where to go. We decided upon the hospital system that our daughter works for. May as well support our family if we can. Another thing you need to know about me is that I am very aware of the $$$ our health insurance company pays out on my behalf. I know an ER trip is expensive, but I didn't feel there was any other option. I know there are a lot of anti-ObamaCare people our there, but until you need your health insurance, you don't realize some of the benefits of ObamaCare. For me, there is no longer a cap on the amount of lifetime benefits. All the treatments/procedures I've had for my chronic pain have already exceeded $100K. If there were a cap on my benefits, I'd be getting kind of nervous. I'm not going to be political here, but I will say there are some good things about ObamaCare.
We arrived at the ER only to find a fairly full waiting room. The triage nurse told me it would be a long wait. The waiting room was filled with boys--two boys who had obviously broken their wrists, both riding bikes, and one toddler boy who had fallen down the stairs and was bleeding from the head. I said a little prayer of thanksgiving for my three daughters, I'm just not cut out for the trauma boys experience (although Dana did provide a broken arm experience when she was almost five). The nurse offered me some pain relief while we waited, but I of course declined. Another thing you need to know about me is that I hate pain medications. I rarely take them.
After a couple hours we made it back to an exam room. Next ordeal--starting an IV and collecting some blood. I have super difficult veins. The nurse got in the IV in, but no blood would come out. Time for the big guns. A nurse in the Army Guard with the super skinny needle and syringe. He dug around in my veins while he and Irv talked about the benefits of the Guard versus active duty. Success!
Next, the doctor ordered a CT scan, but bad news--it was down and had to be rebooted. That's okay I said, I'm a big fan of rebooting to fix computers. So we wait some more. Finally, the tech came to get me and I shocked him when I offered to walk to the CT scanner instead of having to be maneuvered through the hallways on my gurney. I think I must have been the only patient to have ever offered this. He said I won the "patient of the week" award.
Then we wait some more. I got the feeling that the scan must be showing something a little more difficult to diagnose than a kidney stone. Then the nurse came in and said something about acute appendicitis, I think. When those words came out of her mouth my mind went into immediate denial. No, no, no, no, no. That can't be right, that's just not possible. For the first time in my life I experienced a panic/anxiety attack. My blood pressure when up to 202/98, my breathing became rapid, and I started sweating profusely while shivering uncontrollably. Then the doctor came in and confirmed it. Emergency appendectomy, calling the on-call surgeon, blah, blah, blah.
The nurse came in to start getting me ready. She said there were three options: A) I'd hang out in the ER while the surgeon decided on if I needed surgery that night or the next day; B) I'd be moved to a room until surgery; or C) the OR would come get me immediately for surgery.
Two minutes later a nurse from the OR was there to get me. Option C. Wait! Immediate surgery? No, that's not in my plan for the week. I'm a planner, an organizer. I wasn't ready. Stop! How about next Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.? I need to plan for these things. Why won't anyone listen? I'm sweating like crazy, I need to take a shower, or at least go wash my face.
The anesthesiologist and surgeon came to talk to me and much to my delight they both had personalities, a nice surprise. They talked to me like I was on their level. I told the surgeon, Dr. K, about my chronic pain and he said while he was in there he was going to take the time the time to go look at everything--exploratory surgery and an appendectomy all in one! What a Godsend!
Next, I was wheeled into an OR which was approximately minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit. I thanked the staff for staying late to take care of me and then they told me cheesy jokes while pushing those wonderful drugs into my IV so I could have an hour of great sleep.
Next thing I know they're waking me up...no, not yet, please let me sleep. I'm still in the OR. The anesthesiologist was telling me he wished all his patients could be like me--wide awake immediately following surgery and 100% oxygen concentration while I'm under anesthesia. I told him that was thanks to my lungs by Jesse (my trainer). I guess all that working out is worth it.
They took me up to ICU to recover because it was late in the evening. Dr. K actually followed me up there to talk with me. Wow, I am impressed. Irv was up there too. My room had a blanket warmer in it and since I was shivering like crazy Irv got me about 25 heated blankets. Heaven! Bad news though, because it was late I had to spend the night at the hospital. Darn! There is nothing more exhausting that spending the night at the hospital, I would much rather go home. Irv decided to spend the night in my room with me, but about 2:00 a.m. he said it was too exhausting and he was going home. I asked him to stay because they said I could go home after breakfast which was only a few hours away. Little did we know that their definition of "after breakfast" was around noon.
Did the appendectomy relieve my pain? No. However, the exploratory surgery showed that I need another surgery. No, nothing too serious, but something that is more than likely causing my pain. I don't want to talk about it yet. When I'm ready to talk about it, and I've gotten a referral to the specialized surgeon I need, I'll tell you all about it. Right now I'm just trying to heal from this surgery. One thing at a time.
I think it's amazing how God puts people in your life at just the right time. An appendectomy wasn't in my plan, but it was in His. He put Dr. K in my life so that we could maybe get the answer we've been searching for for two years. When Dr. K talked to me after the surgery I was really down, I felt shattered that my body had been put through another procedure that wasn't the answer. I just wanted to break down and cry, but I couldn't because I was wrapped up in 25 heated blankets and couldn't move my arms so I would have drowned in my own tears. Instead I just thanked God for waking me up from the surgery and for the heated blankets and for making the appendix a body part that could be lived without and for my wonderful husband who's always there for me.
One day at a time.
The never ending pain on my right side seemed a little worse than usual, but when you have chronic pain you learn to just make it through each day without paying too much attention to your body. It's the only way to survive. On Tuesday, however, I just felt "punky". Couldn't eat, couldn't get comfortable, and just plain felt bad. Around noon I decided it was time to make the dreaded trip to the emergency room. My thoughts were that I more than likely had a kidney stone.
I went home first to change clothes. I know from experience that it's best to dress comfortable for the long wait that an ER visit always involves. Luckily for me, Irv was home and offered to go with me. Now you need to know that I hate being a burden. This chronic pain has changed our lives, we don't do a lot of things because I don't feel great. Irv has been so understanding and I can always count on him to be there for me.
Anyway, we got in the car and discussed where to go. We decided upon the hospital system that our daughter works for. May as well support our family if we can. Another thing you need to know about me is that I am very aware of the $$$ our health insurance company pays out on my behalf. I know an ER trip is expensive, but I didn't feel there was any other option. I know there are a lot of anti-ObamaCare people our there, but until you need your health insurance, you don't realize some of the benefits of ObamaCare. For me, there is no longer a cap on the amount of lifetime benefits. All the treatments/procedures I've had for my chronic pain have already exceeded $100K. If there were a cap on my benefits, I'd be getting kind of nervous. I'm not going to be political here, but I will say there are some good things about ObamaCare.
We arrived at the ER only to find a fairly full waiting room. The triage nurse told me it would be a long wait. The waiting room was filled with boys--two boys who had obviously broken their wrists, both riding bikes, and one toddler boy who had fallen down the stairs and was bleeding from the head. I said a little prayer of thanksgiving for my three daughters, I'm just not cut out for the trauma boys experience (although Dana did provide a broken arm experience when she was almost five). The nurse offered me some pain relief while we waited, but I of course declined. Another thing you need to know about me is that I hate pain medications. I rarely take them.
After a couple hours we made it back to an exam room. Next ordeal--starting an IV and collecting some blood. I have super difficult veins. The nurse got in the IV in, but no blood would come out. Time for the big guns. A nurse in the Army Guard with the super skinny needle and syringe. He dug around in my veins while he and Irv talked about the benefits of the Guard versus active duty. Success!
Next, the doctor ordered a CT scan, but bad news--it was down and had to be rebooted. That's okay I said, I'm a big fan of rebooting to fix computers. So we wait some more. Finally, the tech came to get me and I shocked him when I offered to walk to the CT scanner instead of having to be maneuvered through the hallways on my gurney. I think I must have been the only patient to have ever offered this. He said I won the "patient of the week" award.
Then we wait some more. I got the feeling that the scan must be showing something a little more difficult to diagnose than a kidney stone. Then the nurse came in and said something about acute appendicitis, I think. When those words came out of her mouth my mind went into immediate denial. No, no, no, no, no. That can't be right, that's just not possible. For the first time in my life I experienced a panic/anxiety attack. My blood pressure when up to 202/98, my breathing became rapid, and I started sweating profusely while shivering uncontrollably. Then the doctor came in and confirmed it. Emergency appendectomy, calling the on-call surgeon, blah, blah, blah.
The nurse came in to start getting me ready. She said there were three options: A) I'd hang out in the ER while the surgeon decided on if I needed surgery that night or the next day; B) I'd be moved to a room until surgery; or C) the OR would come get me immediately for surgery.
Two minutes later a nurse from the OR was there to get me. Option C. Wait! Immediate surgery? No, that's not in my plan for the week. I'm a planner, an organizer. I wasn't ready. Stop! How about next Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.? I need to plan for these things. Why won't anyone listen? I'm sweating like crazy, I need to take a shower, or at least go wash my face.
The anesthesiologist and surgeon came to talk to me and much to my delight they both had personalities, a nice surprise. They talked to me like I was on their level. I told the surgeon, Dr. K, about my chronic pain and he said while he was in there he was going to take the time the time to go look at everything--exploratory surgery and an appendectomy all in one! What a Godsend!
Next, I was wheeled into an OR which was approximately minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit. I thanked the staff for staying late to take care of me and then they told me cheesy jokes while pushing those wonderful drugs into my IV so I could have an hour of great sleep.
Next thing I know they're waking me up...no, not yet, please let me sleep. I'm still in the OR. The anesthesiologist was telling me he wished all his patients could be like me--wide awake immediately following surgery and 100% oxygen concentration while I'm under anesthesia. I told him that was thanks to my lungs by Jesse (my trainer). I guess all that working out is worth it.
They took me up to ICU to recover because it was late in the evening. Dr. K actually followed me up there to talk with me. Wow, I am impressed. Irv was up there too. My room had a blanket warmer in it and since I was shivering like crazy Irv got me about 25 heated blankets. Heaven! Bad news though, because it was late I had to spend the night at the hospital. Darn! There is nothing more exhausting that spending the night at the hospital, I would much rather go home. Irv decided to spend the night in my room with me, but about 2:00 a.m. he said it was too exhausting and he was going home. I asked him to stay because they said I could go home after breakfast which was only a few hours away. Little did we know that their definition of "after breakfast" was around noon.
Did the appendectomy relieve my pain? No. However, the exploratory surgery showed that I need another surgery. No, nothing too serious, but something that is more than likely causing my pain. I don't want to talk about it yet. When I'm ready to talk about it, and I've gotten a referral to the specialized surgeon I need, I'll tell you all about it. Right now I'm just trying to heal from this surgery. One thing at a time.
I think it's amazing how God puts people in your life at just the right time. An appendectomy wasn't in my plan, but it was in His. He put Dr. K in my life so that we could maybe get the answer we've been searching for for two years. When Dr. K talked to me after the surgery I was really down, I felt shattered that my body had been put through another procedure that wasn't the answer. I just wanted to break down and cry, but I couldn't because I was wrapped up in 25 heated blankets and couldn't move my arms so I would have drowned in my own tears. Instead I just thanked God for waking me up from the surgery and for the heated blankets and for making the appendix a body part that could be lived without and for my wonderful husband who's always there for me.
One day at a time.
Comments
You really, really have been through a lot. I hope that you get some relief.
I appreciate your comments on Obamacare. It is not perfect but it is a start.