it all started at about 9 o'clock on the night of monday, february 16th. kendrick and I had just gotten back from a dinner with his parents, and were retreating to our room to get ready for bed and put on a movie. the second I laid down, I knew something was not right. I could not get comfortable, the nausea hit, chills started up, and the ache on the lower right side of my stomach only got worse with time. around midnight, I found myself running back and forth from the bedroom to bathroom, throwing up each time. I have had a fair share of flu's in my lifetime, and while most of the symptoms matched up, I could not shake the lingering thought in my mind that it was my appendix.
now, to be perfectly honest, I'm sick a lot. some times more than others, but about sixty percent of the time, I am just not feeling great. kendrick, as sweet of a husband that he is, probably thinks I can be a bit of a drama queen when it comes to being sick (which I'm not denying). so, when I asked him if it could be my appendix, he was quick to dismiss that option. of course, I can't blame him for feeling that way, as the only evidence I had that it could be appendicitis was the long list of symptoms that popped up on my internet browser when I googled "symptoms of appendicitis". note- never do this, you'll end up thinking that the symptoms for the common cold are the beginning stages of a life-threatening tumor.
however, it was odd to both of us that the appendix is on the lower right side of the stomach, and that was the only part of my body that was hurting. but each and every time that kendrick pressed down in that area, it didn't hurt at all. so, I retrieved my trusty rice pack that my mom made me, heated it up nice and warm, and laid it on my lower right stomach. the sharp pain escalated as the hours went on, and by two in the morning I was miserable. kendrick gave me a blessing, and I took some pain medicine, which allowed me to drift off for a couple of hours of blissful sleep.
the next morning was not better, at all. I called in sick to work, and laid in front of the tv, keeping the heat pack on my stomach. I still couldn't rid the thought of it being appendicitis, so researched it online one more time. I scrolled to the section about how to manage the pain, and there it was in big bold letters- do not apply any heat on the area, as it may lead to the bursting of the appendix. of course, I still didn't know if it was appendicitis or not, but I ironically had been keeping a hot rice pack on the area all night and morning. whether or not it was appendicitis, I didn't want to take my chances, so off went the heat pad.
it was around this time that kendrick called me from work. he explained to me that his friend at work had a relative that recently had appendicitis, and the way they found out was they jumped off a chair. basically, if the landing hurt a significant amount in that area, it was appendicitis. I was willing to try anything at this moment, so up I went, and off the couch and onto the floor...and oh did it hurt! "I'm on my way home," kendrick quickly said and hung up.
I changed and made myself as presentable as possible (so basically- leggings, sweatshirt, ponytail). at this point, I couldn't even bend over without crying out in pain. kendrick showed up at the house about 20 minutes later, and we were off to the hospital.
I won't bore you with the details of the next twelve excruciating hours- but it went a little something like this: check into the Emergency Room at ten am, get admitted to a personal room, change into hospital gown, wait for nurse. thirty minutes later- nurse shows up, vitals are taken and iv is inserted (ouch!). nurse leaves, wait another hour. nurse arrives, pumps the most magical, miraculous God-sent medicine into iv (hello, dilaudid!), which leaves me giggling for the next thirty minutes. nurse leaves, there's another 1 hour wait. different nurse arrives with an ultra sound machine. we do a vaginal ultrasound, so that some pictures of my ovaries could be taken (to look for cysts). ultra sound comes up clear, there's another two hour wait. different nurse arrives and wheels me into a room for a ct scan (this was actually one of the coolest parts- they pumped some metallic-y stuff into my veins, so that my veins and blood vessels would glow on the x-ray, but it left my blood feeling extremely warm and my mouth tasting like metal- weirdest. feeling. ever). wheeled back into room, there's another two hour wait. parents arrive, and doctor arrives soon after. we are told that the ct scan showed some signs of appendicitis, and they suggest I get my appendix out. um, do it, do it now.
something must have caught on, because there were about eight other appendectomy's done that night, which bumped my surgery clear to ten o'clock at night.yep that's right, a full twelve hours after I was admitted into the hospital. the nurse wheeled me up to my hospital room, which was about the twelfth floor off the ground, maybe (honestly, at this point, all details are fuzzy. thank you, pain killers!) my parents followed us up to make sure I got settled in, and then said goodbye so that kendrick and I could be alone. I have got to say, going through things like this with a husband by my side makes trials so much more manageable.
around nine o'clock, our sweet friend kamiya stopped by to check on me and bring dinner to kendrick (he drove clear from provo!) he also surprised me with some gorgeous purple orchids. we all chatted for about twenty minutes (not entirely sure about how coherent I was, considering the amount of pain meds pumping through my veins). the nurse surprised me around nine thirty, letting me know that my surgery was bumped up and it was my turn. I know it is such a small operation- but I was so nervous! I've never had an operation done before! I was wheeled downstairs, and then stopped in a long white empty hall, where I was left alone to stir in my own, unreasonable thoughts. I was about to be cut open, what if they mess up? what if they find something else? what if I wake up while they are doing the procedure? just little optimistic olivia in these kinds of situations.
I was greeted by the sweetest older man, who told me that he would be the surgeon conducting my operation. I then met my anesthesiologist, and got prepped for surgery. the last thing I remember was the surgeon telling me something about my fingernails (maybe?), and then a mask coming up to my face, and then I was out. next thing I know, it's pitch black, and I hear voices all around me. I feel tired and weak, and as much as I want to, I can't get my eyelids to raise. I was then wheeled back to my hospital room, where I could hear kendrick and feel his hand as he grabbed mine.
that night was probably one of my most uncomfortable nights (beside the night before that). I woke up around 2 in the morning with achy incisions and my shoulders hurt so bad. I called for a nurse, and she explained to me that during surgery you are pumped up full of gas, so for the next couple of days, that gas will rise in your body, causing your shoulders to hurt. the pain was almost intolerable, so she suggested I take a walk to relieve the pressure. So there I was, at two thirty in the morning, walking around the hospital sporting my hospital gown and an iv tank.
the rest of the night didn't go much better. every time I was able to drift off to sleep, the pesky machine next to my bed (that monitored my heart rate) would have a startling beeping-fit. we probably called the nurse in four or five times to turn it off. and don't even get me started on trying to use the bathroom, that was a process all in itself- especially when you are hooked up to all kinds of machines and there are cords everywhere! but like I said before, having a husband to help with things like that just made everything so much easier (lucky him, right?)
I was awaken the next morning by my dad who stopped in on his way to work to check up on me. we chatted a bit, while the nurse brought in breakfast. after my dad had left, the surgeon that had done the operation stopped by to see how I was doing. he told me that my appendix was extremely sick, and that it was covered in puss. he also said that if we hadn't come in when we did, it would have burst that previous night. it was a little funny to me that the doctor who had viewed my ct scan made it sound like getting my appendix removed was an "option". ha!
from this whole experience, there are two things I remember vividly. the first was how ridiculously thirsty I was. from nine in the morning until midnight, I was not allowed anything to drink at all- and it honestly sucked! whenever kendrick had gotten himself a coke from the hospital cafeteria, I begged and begged him to sneak me a sip, and while he wouldn't do that, he would fill the straw up with a little and drip it into my mouth (so basically, I was a hamster). the nurses did give me a drip to keep me hydrated, which made my veins feel cold and tingly, but nothing that could compare to a nice cold drink of water. never, ever am I taking water for granted again.
secondly- how grateful I am for my husband. my favorite part about the whole experience was each and every time I looked over at him, he was already looking at me, with a look of both love and concern. throughout the whole ordeal, he didn't leave my side once. we are an eternal team, and my trials become his trials, and vice versa. from our good days, to our bad and challenging days (like these!) I wouldn't trade a single day that is spent with him.
and I can't end this post without mentioning the support and love I received from my family and sweet in-laws! from bringing me dinner to text messages of well wishes, I am almost tempted to get something else taken out of my body... it'd almost be worth it. almost.
