It's fairly incredible to think of all the body parts we can live without. There are quite a few. My newest escapade involved a teeny little part called the gall bladder. Who knew something so tiny could cause such a commotion. I wasn't all that unfriendly with my gall bladder so it came as a surprise when it decided to make my life misery.
2 am Monday: I wake up covered in sweat with a horrible pain in my stomach, like someone punched or kicked me there. Sometimes Kurt is a little combative in his sleep, but I was pretty sure this was the flu as the feeling would not go away. I called into work, which I really did not want to do because I'm new and am trying to figure my job out. I was pretty much miserable all day, but I was determined to go to work.
6am Tuesday: I decide to go to work even though I'm not feeling great. The sweats had stopped and the pain in my stomach was coming and going so I figured I just needed to get through the day and I could rest that night. It wasn't the greatest day, but I survived.
2am Wednesday: Woke to that same horrible kick in the stomach and sweating like a crazy person. I got up, worked on my lesson plans to make sure they were super detailed and then stayed awake until 6am when I started calling the sub clerk again. Meanwhile, the pain would not go away.
10am Wednesday: I called the clinic to see if this strange flu was going around and they told me to come in right away. I called Kurt and off we went. Within 15 minutes of being there, my doctor pinpointed the gall bladder. Then I had blood, urine tests and xrays. He made an appointment at the GF specialty clinic for an ultrasound.
We went straight to my parent's home where Kurt & my Dad gave me a priesthood blessing. I was feeling pretty horrible. I tried to watch a show with grandma but couldn't concentrate so we went home.
2:30pm: We headed out for the specialty center, adding a throw up bowl to the mix. I pretty much started crying at this point and it didn't stop for most of the night. The ultrasound was painful and this is why: Gall bladder is distended and full of stones. Surgery is set for that night. Still...no relief from the pain.
4pm: We arrive at the surgery center where the OR is tied up so I have to wait. At about 7pm, I was wheeled down to the OR where the dry heaves decided to make an appearance. Finally I was wheeled in to the OR and the rest is gall bladder history.
After a night at the surgery center, I was able to leave yesterday afternoon. Now I am sore, and tired, and have a little bit of incision pain, but so much better than when I had the gall bladder flu. I'm so glad it isn't contagious.
I have had so many well wishes, prayers, food, flowers, socks,and visits that I'm feeling pretty spoiled. If you ever feel like you have been kicked in the stomach and it doesn't go away, keep the gall bladder in mind. It's expendable anyway.
