I had been feeling low on energy and I thought I ate some bad food, but it never crossed my mind that I had appendicitis. My brother had appendicitis when we were children and none of my symptoms were 1/2 as violent as his were.
On Wednesday morning I went and hiked up a mountain with Chris.
and then Wednesday afternoon I was told by the doctor that I had appendicitis.
He told me that I needed a blood test and an x-ray to confirm but since I didn't have the cash on hand to pay for that, I had to come back on Thursday.
I went back to the hospital on Thursday and it was confirmed that my appendix was fat and cranky and was to be removed on Friday.
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| Acute appendicitis! Ah! |
And I got an ultrasound, an HIV test, and an x-ray to see how my heart was doing before we went in for surgery.
The last smile I had for days:
And then an IV was set. It took 5 attempts and overall, it was horrible.
Then I was taken to surgery and I looked like this on the operating table:
Only I was completely naked and you know, wasn't crucified.
Thankfully I was given some great drugs and my appendix was removed quickly. The doctor brought the appendix to Chris, who took pictures because he knew I would want to see. (WARNING: PICTURES ARE BELOW)
The yellow part toward the bottom of the picture is the infected area.
And after I woke up from surgery, I was alone and naked and had really chapped lips. I got some "chapstick" (gauze dipped in water) and then dropped back off to sleep.
The recovery was slow and I was in the hospital from Friday to Monday.
Before I could leave on Monday, the doctor had to remove my stitches.
And now I am back in my little apartment. I am eating more than just broth and hot water and I am sleeping in my own bed and waking up to the sun in my face. Recovery is slow, but I am so happy to be on the way to healthy.
