It all started with terrible pains right above my belly button. They started in the morning, [Thursday, January 4, 2007], and later moved to my lower right side. After waiting all day for the “gas pains” to go away, we decided to go to the ER since they obviously weren’t going anywhere. We first went to the pretty hospital. Ok let me explain there are two hospitals in my little town that just opened up, the cute hospital [the one I prefer to go to] and the hospital in the boonies away from all forms of civilization. Well my OBGYN is located at the hospital in the boonies. After going to the pretty hospital and they checked me out over there and gave me a good dose of pain pills they made me go to the other hospital so my OBGYN could check me out. I get there and check in and was sent to a room. On the way to my room I see this nurse man and a nurse lady at the counter talking about some new needles and how to use them. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but shortly after being admitted the guy that didn’t know how to use the needles came to my room to give me an IV. Now I’ve never had a problem with IV’s ever in my entire life. I have what they call “good veins” besides the fact that I’m so pale that you can see through my skin. This guy on the other hand had no clue what he was doing. And I hated to be his guinea pig. The guy starts off by saying “Have you had an IV before?”, I hold up my arm to reveal the IV I had gotten at the cute hospital. I then here “GOOD GOLLY!”, uh ok you shouldn’t be saying that when you are poking me with something. Come to find out “Good golly” means that I just screwed up royally and half of your blood is on the floor, the bed, and you awful hospital gown. Great, I think to myself. These people don’t know what they are doing. I can understand it being a new hospital and all but these people should have come from other hospitals and should have known what they were doing, not straight out of medical school.
Anyway, after receiving an IV and nearly bleeding to death they sent me for an ultrasound of my gallbladder. Now if you don’t know where your gallbladder is located it is right under your ribs. Now this isn’t where I have the pain. My pain is by my hip bone on the right side. I told the ultrasound tech and she took a 2 second picture of the pain site and the rest of the hour took pictures of my gallbladder. Well there is nothing wrong with my gallbladder. Since they figured out it wasn’t my gallbladder they sent me for ANOTHER ULTRASOUND. This time was to look at the site of the pain. Hmmmm could it be my appendix?
After reviewing the second ultrasound they concluded that my APPENDIX LOOKED FINE! I’m still in loads of pain and they are sitting their telling me that my appendix is fine and that I don’t need surgery. Come two hours later and a gaggle of doctors later they gratiously inform me that I should go under the knife just as a precaution to have a little “looksy” at what is wrong.
The surgeon asked me during our pre-surgery consult what I did for a living. I proudly proclaimed that “I’m a Stay at home Mom”. He said “Oh, I thought you might be a nurse because judging by your story it is a textbook example of what an appendicitis is.” Little does doctor know that I prediagnosed myself on webmd.com. Oh how I love that website. I’ve gotten really good at diagnosing myself on that thing. Every illness I’ve had or my kids have had, I’ve been dead on when it came to the final diagnosis.
After talking with the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, nurses, and anyone else that wanted to come in my room, they started to prep me for surgery. Now you need to understand that I was deathly afraid of going into surgery at this hospital especially after the experience with the “good golly” guy that didn’t know how to give an IV. As they were wheeling me to the surgery room, I just couldn’t help but cry. I was terrified. Had I been at home, in GA, in a hospital I was familiar with or the “good hospital” down the road I believe I would have been more relaxed but judging the circumstances of having one too many people not knowing what they were doing the tears just couldn’t help but flow.
I get to the surgery room and they pull me from my bed onto the operating table. The room is filled with hustle and bustle of all the nurses. In walks the anesthesiologist. Finally a face I recognize. He was nice in the consult but was cold and just focused on his job in the ER. Scared me even more. More tears. Then I hear 2 nurses in a conversation ask the anesthesiologist. “What does this button do?” Are you serious, you are in an operating room and you don’t even know what or how to work the equipment!! The tears really started to flow this time. I began praying even harder. Once the anesthesiologist saw I was so upset he “put me under”. I guess he was sick of my crying and I was sick of hearing stuff that these people didn’t know how to do.

Above are photos from the whole ordeal. Fun Fun.

Upon awaking from surgery, hubby went and got me a caramel frappacino and some ice cream since I wasn’t allowed to eat alot of solids yet. When hubby got back from the stores he came back and looked visibly upset. I asked him what was wrong and he didn’t want to tell me. I finally got it out of him that his father had had two heartattacks. He passed away a few hours later.

Upon telling the doctor the news of my FIL death, he advised that I stay in the hospital one more day for observation before making the 15 hour trip back to Georgia for the funeral. We did just as the doctor ordered.

The ride back to georgia was quite painful. Thanks to some good pain meds I was able to sleep most of the way except for the stops every couple of hours so that I could walk in the fridgid cold to prevent blood clots. It was a sad week and definately the wrong time to recover from surgery but that is life.