Ok, first I want to apologize for the death of my blog the past month. I really did have a goal to blog at least 3 times a week, but it just didn't happen. My new favorite saying is "life happens." And that is definitely the case here. So, let's go back a while...I'll try to lay it out for you with dates.
Monday April 8--Rex has a fever. He went to school, but then Jacob had to pick him up and take him to the dr. He had double ear infections. I left work around noon to go home and cuddle him. Around 3 I noticed his breathing seemed kind of labored so I called the dr and then took him back in. He listened to his lungs again and they still sounded clear. He was just so congested that he was having a hard time breathing.
Tuesday April 9--The rule at the school is that you have to be fever free for 24 hours before you come back. And even though he wasn't contagious, the dr recommended some tlc for Rex, so I stayed home with him again.
Wednesday April 10--I think this was a pretty normal day. I went to work and the kids went to school.
Thursday April 11--I woke up in the morning with what I thought was gas pain. I had been having this pain on and off for a few months. I always just took some zantac and gas-x and it seemed to help. So, before I left for work I took some gas-x and threw some extra ones in my purse. I got to work and the pain started getting worse. I took zantac and more gas-x and it didn't seem to help. Then I started throwing up. So, I left to go back home. The drive home was miserable. I was in so much pain...one time I literally screamed out. Got home and drank some mylanta...texted a few nurse friends, and just tried to find anything that would give me some relief. I threw up a couple more times...this time it was really black and just nasty looking (sorry for the description!) I thought maybe if I could fall asleep it would be better, so I took some benadryl and finally fell asleep with the heating pad on my belly. I woke up when Jacob and the kids got home, but I was still in a lot of pain. I couldn't stand and walk upright. Jacob wanted to take me to urgent care, but I told him no because I would be really embarrassed if they did an xray and it was just gas!
Friday April 12--The pain was a tad bit better, but I still stayed home from work. It was Jacob's birthday and I felt terrible that I couldn't really help him with the kids when he got home from work. And I couldn't cook him dinner or do anything special for him. For some reason Lexi asked to sleep with me that night. She hasn't slept with me since I was pregnant with Rex. Even though it was his birthday, Jacob agreed to sleep in the guest room and let her sleep with me. My sweet Lexi, with her kind, gentle spirit. I think she knew that I needed a nurse that night. She took good care of me!
Saturday April 13--Once again the pain was a little better, but not a whole lot. Jacob told me that I didn't have an option, we were going to urgent care. Because there's no way gas pain was lasting that long. By this time, from talking to people and googling lots of stuff, I had decided it was either my gall bladder or my appendix. At the urgent care the dr came in and talked to me about all my symptoms. He had me lay down on the table and he started pressing on my belly. I literally had to hold back a groan when he pushed on the middle right where it was hurting the worst. He agreed that he thought it was my gall bladder. They don't have an ultrasound machine to look though, so he would have to get me a referral to an imaging center....and that couldn't happen 'til Monday. He did some bloodwork and gave me some pain medicine through an IV. The bloodwork came back pretty normal, so he didn't think I needed to rush to the ER or anything, but he did say that if the pain got any worse before Monday to just go to the ER because they would be able to look at it.
Sunday April 14--Jacob and the kids went to church. I was still in too much pain to do anything. Jacob and his mom were supposed to go to his Great-Aunt's house to clean up some stuff (she had just passed away recently). I was texting and calling my mom and sisters and I/we/they decided that it really couldn't wait any longer. I texted Jacob and told him that someone was going to have to take me to the ER. Thankfully (again) I have an awesome husband and Mother-In-Law who rearranged their plans so he could take me in. When he got home from church I was laying in the fetal position in bed. I threw some clothes on and we hit the road. We chose to go to a closer hospital than the one I had delivered Rex at, because it's smaller and we figured the ER wait wouldn't be as long. We got checked in and taken back to a room. After explaining everything to the nurse and the dr, he ordered an ultrasound. He also ordered some IV pain meds, but they didn't make it to me before I went to the ultrasound, unfortunately. It was VERY uncomfortable. They brought in IV morphine and gave it to me. What I don't remember, is that morphine doesn't really last very long for me. Like 15 minutes max. My Mother-In-Law remembered this though and was telling Jacob over the phone that I needed something else. The dr came in and told me that my gall bladder needed to come out. I had gall stones, and the lining to the gall bladder was thickened. They got me checked in upstairs for the night and I would see the surgeon in the morning.
Monday April 15--The surgeon came in and explained everything to me and gave me some options. We opted to have the surgery that day at 2:00, so then the waiting game began. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since midnight...and I hadn't really eaten anything since the previous Wednesday. So after waiting forever in the pre-op room I finally went to surgery. This was my first surgery and it was definitely a different experience. The big room...people milling around...laying on the table. I remember waking up in a lot of pain. I was sitting up and they were giving me a breathing treatment. She kept telling me to take deep breaths, but it hurt so bad! She gave me some ice chips and they moved me back to my room. When I got back to my room, I guess they asked me what my pain level was and I said 5. I don't remember that, it's just what Kristin and Jacob told me. I was really really tired and just wanted to sleep, but they wanted me to get up and try to use the bathroom. When I stood up that's when the real pain hit. I had 2 or 3 people help me to the bathroom. Then getting back to bed the same thing. I asked when I would get to go home, because with laparascopic surgery you generally get to go home later the same day. All they told me was not today. I remember being really upset that I was going to have to stay.
Tuesday April 16--I was still in a fog a lot of this day. Anesthesia hits me really hard and takes me a few days to really get over it. I would just be sitting there and drift off to sleep. I was still on a liquid diet, so every day breakfast, lunch, and dinner was broth. I was drinking tea at lunch and literally fell asleep holding the cup and spilled it on myself. The pain was still really severe, especially when I had to get up. When I would make it back to the bed I would be shaking because I was in so much pain. They were alternating between IV morphine, and oral pain meds. My gall bladder was in really bad shape when they got in there. There was a lot of fluid/blood around the gallbladder and my liver. They had to put in a JP drain to keep draining some of the fluid off. That was really uncomfortable. They did more bloodwork, and my liver enzymes were still elevated, so they told me I still wouldn't be able to go home. :(
Wednesday April 17--I finally got to go home this day!! It was evening before I was able to be released. They came and pulled the drain out. It didn't hurt, just felt kind of odd. There were 2 student nurses, and then my nurse in the room. I guess when they pulled the drain there was a lot of fluid that was still seeping out. The student nurses kind of panicked, which alarmed me. My nurse went to find the surgeon. He said it was pretty common, just to cover it with gauze. So once they got me bandaged up and released, we headed to Target to get my prescription filled. I walked into Target which really was not the best idea, but I didn't want to sit in the car. I still couldn't walk upright and was in a lot of pain.
I took Thursday and Friday off from work. By Saturday I was getting around a little better. Went to church Sunday and everyone was surprised to see me. But standing and getting up and down at church was too much for me. I was in a lot of pain and exhausted by that night. I went back to work on Monday.
So now you're pretty caught up! Sorry it was such a long entry, but I wanted to put everything in there.
I would like to thank everyone who came to see me while I was in the hospital! Thank you to my amazing pastor who came to pray with me before they took me back.
What's next for the blog?
Favorite baby items
Lexi turns 4
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