Inflamed

What do you call it when you have your appendix removed? An appendectomy.

What do you call it when you have your tonsils removed? A tonsillectomy.

What do you call it when you have a gender reassignment to become a man? An addadictomy.

:)

So, I started having some tummy pains on Thursday afternoon while watching "The Back Up Plan" with Steph and Amy. At first I considered that it was due to eating too much spinach at lunch. Then I was bummed, thinking it was menstrual cramps (which made me sad because I was hoping not to have a period for another year or so due to pregnancy). I took some acetaminophen and then also some ibuprofen. No relief. I went to the bathroom like twelve times. No relief. If it's not cramps, and it's not gas, what is it? When Brad got home from work I tried to lay down for an hour or so. I couldn't even get comfortable enough to close my eyes. I finally let him convince me to go to the ER.

We checked in at 7:00 pm. At 1:30 am, after a pelvic exam, drinking 64 oz of contrast (ick), a CT scan, and lots of waiting, the doc finally came and told me that they were going to have to take my appendix out. They explained that I had a stone in my appendix, made out of poop, and that this what was causing it to be inflamed and swollen. How does poop get into one's appendix? Who knows? But, of course it would happen to me.

An appendectomy is a pretty run of the mill procedure. They are performed several times per day at any decent sized hospital. I am not scared of surgery. However, I really wanted to keep my appendix. I am kind of attached to it. In fact, at Thanksgiving dinner for the last few years, I have officially expressed my thankfulness for still having one. You see, my loveliest friend Melynda had her appendix removed in November of 2006.



Brad and I have teased her about it ever since, by bringing it up at Thanksgiving dinners and whenever else we could slip it in. "Melynda, you would have known the answer to that question if you still had an appendix." "Melynda, I can do this better than you because I still have an appendix." It just so happens that Melynda was the one who came over to watch my kids so Brad could take me to the hospital. When Brad returned home to inform her that I was no longer going to have an appendix, I'm sure she delighted in the sweet irony of the moment. In fact, I returned home last night to balloons from Melnda, one of which read, "congratulations". THIS is what made me sad about having to get my appendix out. :)




Then it got worse. I asked, "What is the recovery time for this surgery?" I was told that I could not participate in any strenuous activity for 6 weeks! WHAT?!!? If you read my last blog, you know that I have FINALLY found the motivation to eat right and work out so I can lose some weight, and just get healthy. I actually paid money for boot camp classes! Those classes are starting on Tuesday. Guess who can't go! I am not even supposed to lift over ten pounds for the first 2 weeks! That means, I cannot lift Sam out of the crib and carry him down stairs, put him in the car or the stroller or the high chair. If I lift anything over ten pounds, I might get a hernia! Great. I definitely don't want that to happen.

Brad and I were going to run the Honolulu Marathon in December. I don't think that is going to happen for me now. Missing out on 6 weeks of training is a lot! However, I really don't think I will have to wait the full six weeks. They told me to wait six weeks after giving birth and I was running before Sam was four weeks old. I know my body, and I know that I will feel fine sooner than they expect, but still. I am bummed about having to quit just as soon as I get in the zone! This always happens and it makes me feel like such a quitter!. I hope and pray, I will be able to get back on track just as soon as I start feeling better.

They did the surgery lapriscopically, in which they make three tiny incisions. They cut one hole in my belly button, one right above my pelvic bone, and one on the left side of my belly, inflated my belly with CO2 so they could see what they were doing, moved all my other organs out of the way, then pulled my appendix from the right side of my body, across my tummy and out the hole on the left side. My throat hurts more than my tummy does, and I'm not even going to have any cool scars. :(


On the bright side. I haven't had to take any of the roxicet (oxycodone) that they sent me home with. I am walking around just fine. I have a normal appetite with no nausea (which is why they let me out of the hospital early last night). I kind of just feel like I did 300 sit ups last night and my abs are a little sore and swollen. I can drive, and do other things that I need to do, while Brad deals with the kids. :) Also, the OR guys gave me a beautiful orange hued mystic tan on my very white belly (unfortunately it washed off in the shower).




I might milk it for what it's worth. BUT, I am going to keep eating healthy! I had a cookie with lunch at the hospital yesterday, but I'm counting that as my cheat day. We are going to go on a nice long walk before dinner. We are grilling swordfish steaks and asparagus. Yum!

On a side note, I got a little teary eyed when the pregnancy test in the ER came back negative. But, it turned out to be a great thing because I might have been stuck with my appendix and a whole lot of weak antibiotics because they couldn't give me anesthetics for the surgery if I were pregnant. Now, we are taking a couple months off from trying to conceive, so we can travel next summer. We will start trying again in early 2011. I'm sad that we won't be having a third child as soon as we had planned, but I guess this was how it was supposed to be. The doctors said we couldn't even practice making a baby for a few weeks after the surgery, anyway. :(