So last Monday, Memorial Day, we
had a full day that started and ended a little strange. I worked the night
before and got a text at 4:45am say that Chance was awake. This is not like
Chance at all. I have no idea what the deal was but he was still awake when I
got home at 6:30. Trav had planned to go golfing with his dad and brothers but
that would mean I get ZERO sleep since Chance was already up. He kindly stayed
home and I got some rest.
That
afternoon we went to Grandma Heal’s for a little get together. Chance was so
grumpy by the time we got there, due to his weird scheduled day. He wanted
another nap but we didn’t have time for that. Luckily he cheered up and had a
great time playing with his cousins and just exploring Grandma Heal’s yard.
Next we
went to my parents for tin foil dinner and apple cobbler cooked in the dutch
oven. Easily one of my favorite meals. We had a great time until about 8:00
when my stomach started hurting. Being prego, it seems there are always weird
aches and pains so I tried to brush it off at first but it just got worse.
We packed up and went home where I
tried to take a warm, lay in bed in a million positions, and finally had my Dad
come over and help Trav give me a blessing. In October I was diagnosed with IBS
so I thought it may be a flare up of that since the day had been somewhat
stressful for me. The pain persisted and at about 10:30 we called my mom over
to stay with Chance while we went to the hospital. My biggest concern at this
point was that everything was ok with the baby.
When we arrived, we went up to
labor and delivery, not because I was in labor but that’s just standard for an
ER visit when you are prego. They hooked me up to the monitors and took my
vitals. Me and baby looked good. Relief and confusion at the same time. They
decided to do some lab work. CBC and CMP. I said to Trav, “That’s code for we
have no idea what the hell is wrong with you!” That seemed accurate but at
least we were getting somewhere. My WBC was over 24,000. Normal is anywhere
from about 4-10 (depending on who you ask). But obviously, no matter who you
ask, 24,000 is a problem. They suspected gall bladder or appendix.
They called in ultrasound to check
my gallbladder. Came back normal. So they sent me down to get a CT scan for my appendix.
While waiting in our room for the results, Trav and I were exhausted and
confused. Something had to be wrong…. If they come back and say everything is
fine, what do we do. I can’t be in this much pain for nothing. Luckily, they
came back and said I would be having surgery that day. They gave me Zofran and
Fentanyl. Mind you, this was about 2:00am, so this whole time I had been
throwing up and in agonizing pain. I felt like a drug addict. I begged for some
relief. Ultimately they gave me Dilaudid and I was able to rest some.
At about 7:15 the surgeon came in
to talk to me. David Watts is his name. Not that I have any experience or
anything to compare with but I loved him. He was so kind. Explained everything
and helped ease my fears about having surgery while pregnant. I felt comforted
and eager to have things resolved.
He anticipated the surgery to be at
10. It ended up being more like 11:45 but that’s ok. It was amazing, every
single doctor, nurse, orderly that I came in contact with would start out, “you
are 21 weeks.” It made me feel good to know that it was a main concern in my
care. Because I’m pregnant, they had to wait til the operating room to put me
to sleep. That was an interesting experience. When they wheeled me in, I saw a
big white board with my name on it, appendectomy, and “BUMP” written in 1/3 of
the space. It made me smile. As if it wouldn’t be obvious anyway hehe.
Surgery went well. As soon as I
woke up, I asked about the baby. They confirmed that he was ok. They took me
back to my room where I finally got to see my mom and Chance for the first time
that day. And Trav and my Dad had waited through surgery for me. I felt so
blessed and loved. Luckily, I only had to stay a few hours before they let me
go home.
I am now one week post-op. Anxious
to be better and go back to work. Chance has had a hard time but we are getting
by. Things are getting better as my condition improves. My follow-up
appointment is Friday and I am hoping to be cleared to go back to work on
Sunday.
Through this whole ordeal, I have
felt that i have a choice of how to react. I can think “poor me” and wonder why
Heavenly Father let this happen while prego. I can complain about the financial
burden of hospital bills and missed work. Or I can be thankful for the
continuing health of our baby and how smoothly things have gone. People have
been so generous and loving. My mom has been a rockstar, as always, and helped
me take care of my house and especially helped with Chance. I am so grateful
for good friends and family who are always there to help us in our time of
need.
