A Tale of The Life and Death of my…gallbladder?

A Tale of The Life and Death of my…gallbladder?

Last week, on Saturday, I had a sudden onset of pretty severe stomach pain which radiated through my back, up over my shoulders and into my head. It knocked me flat…literally! Bob found me laying on the floor and helped me move to the bed. After about an hour or so, the pain stopped. Very weird! All I could think of was that the olives I had with dinner had been in the fridge longer than I thought!

Fast-forward to this Thursday night. I had been working on stuff for work for hours at the kitchen table. That pain started again. I got myself to the bathroom where I collapsed onto the floor in pain.. Bob and the kids were already in bed. I almost woke bob up to take me to the ER. I was worried it could be a heart attack, or something bad (had massive shortness of breath). Something was definitely wrong. I finally got myself into bed around 12 and tossed and turned literally all night because my stomach hurt so bad. By morning I was feeling better overall, but my stomach hurt. I still did my workout, went to work, etc. That night I still had massive stomach pain and by morning the pain was radiating up my back. I also had very dark urine (I KNOW…TMI!)

So, early Saturday morning I went to the walk-in clinic thinking they would tell me I had the flu and to go home (you KNOW I was hurting if I was up early on a Saturday morning!!) The doctor said it sounded like my gallbladder and that I needed to get an ultrasound and blood work. I asked when she wanted me to go and she said “You are going immediately! So, I drove down to the hospital and they did some tests. They found out that my gallbladder was definitely the culprit and I was so glad they found out what was casing the pain. It had many several stones in it, had thickened its walls and was starting to get a blockage. My liver levels from the blood test were 3 times what they were supposed to be. So, the doctor had me drive back up to her clinic so she could give me a prescription to manage the pain. As I drove home, she called the surgeon on call to explain what was going on and see when he wanted to see me.

I was only home for about 30 minutes when she called and said the surgeon wanted me in the ER immediately. So I drove down to the hospital AGAIN where they checked me in and put me in a room. I was in there about 45 minutes and partially fell asleep, but was hurting. Then a nurse came in and told me they were taking me to the OR. I must have looked COMPLETELY stunned because she said “Oh! Is this news to you?” Um...yes!!! She told me the doctor said it was bad enough that they needed to book an OR right away. So, they took me up and did all the pre-op while my head was spinning. Am I SERIOUSLY going in for a surgery right now?? Mind you, I have only had one major surgery when I got my tonsils at 18 years old and that was very long ago. The dr came in, explained the procedure and took time to answer all my frantic questions. I am sure I appeared a stressed out mess!! He said if they didn’t get it out that the stones would block it and I would end up with major problems.

When he left, they put in my IV and said they would give me some medicine to relax. I woke up, in what seemed only seconds later, in recovery. The surgery went well and I didn’t die (which, believe me, was a MAJOR fear!!! I know…I have issues…) He did it lapiroscopially (sp?) so the recovery will be quicker. I was thrilled that when I woke up, Bob was there!

They kept me over night. I was walking with some help within a few hours of surgery. I was doing so well that by 11:00 I had scrambled eggs and French toast which was HEAVENLY since I hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours. I did ok pain wise til they took me off the morphine through the IV and gave me oral pain meds. So, here it is, 4:30 AM, and I cant sleep cause I hurt. They will discharge me in the morning and I can recoup at home. The doctor said to give myself about 10-14 days to recoup, but to “feel like myself” again could take up to 6 weeks!! I’m sure that’s also one reason I am not sleeping right now. I need to find a sub, do sub plans, and I have a list about a mile long of stuff to do. Good thing all the new shows are on. It will make me hunker down and recoup.

A HUGE thanks to Bob, who I really think is Superman is disguise! I don’t know what I would ever do without him! He was up early and “held down the fort”. He and the kids cleaned the house and mopped the kitchen floor, he made homemade ketchup, did the grocery shopping, planned meals for the next 2 weeks, and made it to the hospital in time to be with me during recovery. A HUGE thanks to Angela who took Alayna to the Playstation with her kids for the afternoon and then to her house for the evening. Thank you!!! Thanks to Marisa and Kayla who sacrificed a day planned with friends to keep an eye on the younger guys and “hold down the fort” while Bob was with me at the hospital. And another giant thank you to Hal and Corey for dropping everything and driving out right away to help our family make it through this unexpected trial. Thank you!