Bye Bye Appendix!

So I figured I'd write about having my appendix out.

I had a general malese feeling all last week. I was generally weak and tired, but not too bad from Sunday on. Low grade fever, chills, just had what I figured was a general run-on-the-mill infection. By Wednesday I felt fairly crappy, and didn't even fold most of my laundry by the time I did and just chucked it in the laundry basket. I muddled through thanksgiving and felt worse and worse as the day went on. I woke up on Friday feeling terrible. I spent most of Friday arguing with my friend about if I should call the doctor or not, and she finally convinced me to at least email the nurse advice line. I emailed, and they told me to call. I called, and they told me to go to urgent care. We couldn't go straight to UC as we still had to finish up some things in Hastings, so we did what we needed to do, then headed to the Highland Park clinic.

The clinic sent me straight to the ER, telling me not to eat or drink anything, that it was likely my appendix. I didn't believe them as I'd been told this before and figured it has to be kidney stones or the flu or something. It couldn't REALLY be my appendix this time, could it? I wasn't running a high fever or anything, but after I got triaged and into a room at St Joseph, they ran a CT scan.

Not long after, Anna and I hear the words "something something really appendix." We don't know if they are saying it's really my appendix, or if it's not really my appendix. I've been seen in hospitals before with suspected appendix issues, but clearly it's never been. Welp, this time it was. And that's when the downward spiral started. Pain meds, antibiotics  I quickly got sicker as the night went on because I got my diagnosis as 1:30 am, into a room a 2:30, and surgery was at 6 am. However, appendicitis is very fast acting so I was a sick young lady by the time the surgeon saw me (who commented on how sick I looked). I remember being strapped down on the OR and being given an oxygen mask, but not much after that! The next thing I remember is absolutely flipping out in recovery because I didn't have any friends there (Anna had gone home to sleep until after my surgery) and they hadn't allowed me to bring my bear or blanket with me. I had no comfort objects in my general vicinity  They did give me some pain meds, and I calmed down I guess. I was completely maxed out on pain meds (I remember being told I'd stop breathing if they gave me more, and I was really suffering post op!). and eventually, I'd stabilized to the point where I was returned to my room. When I of course got on my smartphone and made pain and drug induced smart-phone posts all oer the internet. I even emailed professors, concerned about making up course work. Ever the good student, I am.

My friend Susan contacted the church pastor, and he and my roommate actually arrived at the same time. We talked for awhile, and then he left and Anna and I just hung out for awhile. After Anna left, CJ came for a bit. We'e made up as friends and that is a good thing I think. :) We played Pokemon and talked and stuff. I didn't sleep much because I was up all night in a combo of in pain and coughing. It sucked. Steph kept me company when I was up in the middle of the night coughing my lungs out and watching Inuyasha, even though I was a crabby Pikachu. She is a good, good friend.

Sunday was similar with visitors (Susan and Aaron, Anna and her Mom, then later just Anna), doctors, smartphone posts, and watching anime on my laptop. And me freaking out to my professors about ALL THE WORK I HAVE TO DO, and them trying to tell me to just worry about recovering and once I'm healthy we will cross those bridges. Spent a lot of time talking to friends (Steph!) on Messenger too to keep me company. :)

Anna and her parents rearranged the room. Set up Anna's old bed for me. YAY! My stuff got rearranged so I'm in the process of trying to find all my stuff... that's kind of interesting... I'm still running fevers and I'm dizzy.

I did learn a valuable lesson. I'm lucky I was in the ER/hospital as I quickly got sicker. I know that appendix issues can be stress induced and I know I have been stressed lately. I know it's also not very smart to put off going to the doctor when you are sick and I saw how quickly after I got diagnosed the downward spiral happened - even the surgeon commented on how sick I looked. I still don't look all that great. I can't keep putting off going to the doctor because while things worked out this time... I could have wound up with a ruptured appendix and gotten very very sick. I'm still sick (feverish - but it's only 100.8 and the call the doctor point is 101) and dizzy, but this time if it doesn't go away, I will call the doctor even if they think I'm being weird and paranoid for bugging them.

My health is a far too valuable thing to lose. I need to keep myself healthy. I'm horrible stubborn and wanted to do my homework while in the hospital - neither Anna or Steph will let me (nor will they let me do it while recovering at home, how rude!). Perhaps getting so sick is my body's way of telling me that sometimes, it's okay to cut myself some slack and I don't need to set such impossibly high standards for myself. That it's okay to LET myself be sick. I mean, who emails disability services and their professors mere hours before their surgery to arrange make up work? And then follows up just a few hours after, freaking out about how they are going to do everything? Disability services kind of ripped my head off and told me that getting my appendix out was a perfectly acceptable reason to take a break and I really need to take care of myself before I worry about all this. :)

I think I've learned a lot from getting one small body part taken out.