Goodbye Appendix

We got home from Napa on October 19th, a Friday.  By that Saturday afternoon, the 20th, I had eaten some chili for lunch and started to feel bad.  My stomach felt very crampy and bloated.  I thought maybe it was just something I ate but it would not go away.  That night, I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't lay on my stomach, which is usually how I sleep.  I got up to get ready for church and by the time I got out of the shower, I climbed back in bed and told Blake I just didn't feel well.  Around noon, Blake convinced me to go to the Urgent Care.  The pain had not gotten any worse but it hadn't gotten any better either.  At the Urgent Care office, the doctor pushed on my stomach and when she got to my appendix, it hurt really bad.  She said I needed to go to the hospital for a CT scan and that she would be surprised if I did not need my appendix out.  I called Laura to watch the kids and had Blake meet me at the ER.  Since I had never been in the hospital before other than for childbirth, I was pretty anxious.  After the CT scan was done, the doctor confirmed I had an appendicitis and would be getting my appendix out within 24 hours.  The pain was uncomfortable but not horrible and was all over my abdomen, not just the right side sharp pain you always hear about.  The doctor said in early stages, it feels exactly like what I was feeling.  I was given IV antibiotics to calm down the appendix before surgery and lots of fluids.  The next morning, I went in for surgery and all went well.  I was able to go home that night.  For 3-4 days I was in bed and very limited on what I could do.  From there, I would say about 5-7 days longer I was in pain but getting better and better.  About a week and a half after surgery, I felt like myself again.  I am so thankful for laparoscopic surgery.  The worst part of this whole experience was not being able to hold Marlo for 2 weeks, especially since I had already been gone for over a week.  I was so happy to get back into a routine and just play with my kids!

Blake took one picture of me before surgery.  I guess I kept telling him to take the picture.  I don't remember this because I was already given some drugs and on my way to being out for good.

Don't I look beautiful:)

Liam helping me recover...love this little guy!