I assume that most of the people who read my blog know already through twitter or other means that late on Tuesday night I had an appendectomy. I thought I would return to writing on my blog after a month and a half by sharing the story of how I ended up on the operating room table.
On Monday afternoon, I was taking a student out to lunch at Five Guys. The student needed a ride so I was going to his home to pick him up. For some strange reason, I got lost trying to find his house. This was strange because I had been to his home at least two times beforehand. While I was trying to find his home, I started to feel really sick to my stomach almost to the point where I second-guessed our decision to eat greasy cheeseburgers and shoestring fries. I finally found his home and decided that it would be worth it to eat at Five Guys even though my chances of getting sick were high. After we ate, I drove him home and my stomach continued to feel awful. I asked him something I've never asked anyone. I asked if he could check to see if he had any Tums to relieve some of the pain I was feeling. He laughed at me and I told him that I was serious. He got some and I thought that I was on the road to recovery.
I returned to the office and continued to feel sick to my stomach. I felt so sick that I went home a little early and had very little to eat for the rest of the day. I figured that whatever was inside of me would work its way out in its own creative awful way. That night I felt really weak and I really wasn't able to do much. I couldn't offer my regular evening wrestling match with my kids and I ended up going to bed early with this consistent ache in my lower abdomen.
The next morning (Tuesday) I woke up with the same pain in my stomach. It felt like it was on both the left and right side of me so I wondered if there was something wrong with my bladder or kidneys but I went to work regardless because I had a bunch of things on the calendar that couldn't wait. I went home again feeling the same abdominal pain that I had the afternoon before. I had a normal appetite with normal B.M.'s so I started to think that this had something different from a stomach virus. I decided that it might be a good idea to go to the Urgent Clinic to get an antibiotic for the bladder or kidney infection that I had. I wanted to get back on my feet as quickly as possible so that I can be back to myself both at home and at work. At the Urgent Clinic they took blood and urine tests and also an X-ray. With these tests they were able to rule out that it was not a bladder infection or something with my kidneys. My white blood cell count was pretty high which gave the doctor an indicator that my body is fighting something and she said it looked like it might be my appendix. I was shocked that it could be my appendix in that I felt like the pain was on both sides of my body and I didn't feel like the pain was as severe as what I thought appendicitis would be.
I drove to the hospital and drank a nasty drink so that they could do a CT scan and see if it was in fact appendicitis. After a couple of hours, the doctor confirmed that it was acute appendicitis. I thought that since it wasn't extreme that I would be getting an antibiotic and going back home. She quickly explained to me that with any type of appendicitis they remove the appendix. I called my wife Greta to let her know what was happening and I barely was able to tell her the news before they were rushing me to surgery.
The surgery was laproscopic, which means it was minimally invasive. Three small incisions instead of one long "zipper". I am extremely grateful for that. It was successful and the surgeon told me that if I would've waited longer there was no doubt that the appendix would've ruptured and the pain would've been far worst. He also shared that I will be back to my normal self in a week or so.
I am laying in bed now grateful for many things. I am grateful for God's sovereignty. He is in control of everything. While this was a surprise for me, it didn't surprise Him. I am grateful that my body is healthy and able to heal from this surgery. I am grateful that the surgery wasn't as invasive as it used to be. I am grateful for the friends that have helped Greta and I during this unplanned procedure. I'm grateful that I didn't try to tough it out and wait for this pain to go away on its own. I'm grateful for the family and friends who have prayed for me during this time.
