It's a good thing that I teach medical school and can recognize basic signs and symptoms!
I had a routine physical on Monday and everything checked out fine. My doc and I discussed various options for how to fine tune my diet and exercise plan so that I can stop gaining weight by going to the gym, and I left with orders to have some bloodwork done.
Tuesday night, I woke up a few times with gas pains. I took some Gas-X and it seemed to help so I went to work on Wednesday. Things felt a bit strange when I realized that I didn't want to eat the free lunch provided after the noon seminar speaker, nor did I want anything in the cafeteria. I drove out to the Chinese food restaurant (which I almost never do) to buy some wonton soup, but ended up not eating that either. Then I began feeling clammy and feverish. So I stayed through the first part of an important meeting and then left early to rest up at home. I spent the evening laying around popping Tums and Advil and found that every time I dozed off, I would be woken up by the pain of a small movement. By Thursday morning the discomfort had localized to my lower right side and I realized that I had many of the primary symptoms of appendicitis (diffuse gas pain that localizes to lower right, loss of appetite, low grade fever, nausea). So I called my doctor and scheduled an emergency visit.
I actually drove myself to my doctor's office, which is forty minutes away. I got forced into the EZ Pass lane and so missed getting a turnpike ticket. Fortunately, I had $18.50 plus a bit of change with me so I could pay the full rate and exit. The toll collector gave me a reimbursement claim form, so it should all work out eventually, the point being that I arrived at my doctor's on time and with pennies to spare. He examined me and told me what I already suspected - that it was off to the ER for some additional tests. I had a choice of letting an ambulance take me to Abington hospital (nearest his office), or driving to my hospital of choice. It was still midday, so everyone I knew was at work and I felt well enough to drive, so I drove to Chestnut Hill hospital (which is about 15 min from my house). Knowing that I didn't have enough money to exit the parking lot, I checked into the ER.
They were very nice to me there. Three different doctors examined me and each confirmed that I was having pain in the exact spot associated with appendicitis. They did a blood test, a urine test, an EKG, and an X-ray. The blood test came back with a highly elevated white blood cell count, and at this point the head doctor explained that while they could do a CT scan for further confirmation, I had a textbook case of appendicitis. In fact, she called her residents over when she told me this, and we had a laugh about my being a med school teacher even in this situation. At this point,![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
puzzld1 had arrived and she called my folks and work and made arrangements with jenn_girl to rescue my car, while they prepped me for emergency surgery.
Surgery went well with no complications, except that the doctor discovered "the most necrotic appendix that she had ever seen in 15 years of practice." Therefore, they could not do the entire procedure laproscopically, and I have a large incision that will make a boss scar. It turned out that they had got to it about an hour or two before it would have ruptured, so things could have been far, far worse. They installed me with IV antibiotics in my hospital room in time for me to see the end of the episode of Survivor, which was oddly comforting.puzzld1 arranged for my friend J. to care for my cat and to bring me my glasses, which helped a lot (I had had to remove my contacts for surgery). In addition to having my first experience with surgery, I had my first experience with morphine and drifted off for a bit.
At 4:30 in the morning, I had had enough of being in the hospital bed and called the nurse to help me get up and walk around a bit. The nurse told me that this was a good sign and we agreed that if I could walk, then I didn't need to keep the leg circulator cuffs on and that felt good. The doctor doing morning rounds recognized me as one of his former professors and he and I had a nice chat about Drexel (I teach 250 students a year, it was bound to happen sooner or later). I told him that he wasn't on my list of "former students who I would not let anywhere near me if they actually became doctors." All the staff who were in and out wished me a Happy Birthday as I turned 41 in the hospital on Friday. I was happy to be there to see it.
Friday was actually a pretty good day, all things considered. I was recovering well.puzzld1 sent me beautiful floral arrangement in the shape of a birthday cake. Work sent me flowers with a balloon that said "Get Well Soon" (really Get Back to Work Soon). My parents brought me a Happy Birthday balloon and a cute cat in a pumpkin chachka. And my brother drove a set of gift boxes of chocolates down from NJ, since he couldn't get then delivered in time and so got a great discount by telling my sob story to the supplier. Lots of my friends stopped by or called, and as sucky as having a birthday in the hospital was, it worked out okay.
I had a routine physical on Monday and everything checked out fine. My doc and I discussed various options for how to fine tune my diet and exercise plan so that I can stop gaining weight by going to the gym, and I left with orders to have some bloodwork done.
Tuesday night, I woke up a few times with gas pains. I took some Gas-X and it seemed to help so I went to work on Wednesday. Things felt a bit strange when I realized that I didn't want to eat the free lunch provided after the noon seminar speaker, nor did I want anything in the cafeteria. I drove out to the Chinese food restaurant (which I almost never do) to buy some wonton soup, but ended up not eating that either. Then I began feeling clammy and feverish. So I stayed through the first part of an important meeting and then left early to rest up at home. I spent the evening laying around popping Tums and Advil and found that every time I dozed off, I would be woken up by the pain of a small movement. By Thursday morning the discomfort had localized to my lower right side and I realized that I had many of the primary symptoms of appendicitis (diffuse gas pain that localizes to lower right, loss of appetite, low grade fever, nausea). So I called my doctor and scheduled an emergency visit.
I actually drove myself to my doctor's office, which is forty minutes away. I got forced into the EZ Pass lane and so missed getting a turnpike ticket. Fortunately, I had $18.50 plus a bit of change with me so I could pay the full rate and exit. The toll collector gave me a reimbursement claim form, so it should all work out eventually, the point being that I arrived at my doctor's on time and with pennies to spare. He examined me and told me what I already suspected - that it was off to the ER for some additional tests. I had a choice of letting an ambulance take me to Abington hospital (nearest his office), or driving to my hospital of choice. It was still midday, so everyone I knew was at work and I felt well enough to drive, so I drove to Chestnut Hill hospital (which is about 15 min from my house). Knowing that I didn't have enough money to exit the parking lot, I checked into the ER.
They were very nice to me there. Three different doctors examined me and each confirmed that I was having pain in the exact spot associated with appendicitis. They did a blood test, a urine test, an EKG, and an X-ray. The blood test came back with a highly elevated white blood cell count, and at this point the head doctor explained that while they could do a CT scan for further confirmation, I had a textbook case of appendicitis. In fact, she called her residents over when she told me this, and we had a laugh about my being a med school teacher even in this situation. At this point,
puzzld1 had arrived and she called my folks and work and made arrangements with jenn_girl to rescue my car, while they prepped me for emergency surgery.Surgery went well with no complications, except that the doctor discovered "the most necrotic appendix that she had ever seen in 15 years of practice." Therefore, they could not do the entire procedure laproscopically, and I have a large incision that will make a boss scar. It turned out that they had got to it about an hour or two before it would have ruptured, so things could have been far, far worse. They installed me with IV antibiotics in my hospital room in time for me to see the end of the episode of Survivor, which was oddly comforting.
puzzld1 arranged for my friend J. to care for my cat and to bring me my glasses, which helped a lot (I had had to remove my contacts for surgery). In addition to having my first experience with surgery, I had my first experience with morphine and drifted off for a bit.At 4:30 in the morning, I had had enough of being in the hospital bed and called the nurse to help me get up and walk around a bit. The nurse told me that this was a good sign and we agreed that if I could walk, then I didn't need to keep the leg circulator cuffs on and that felt good. The doctor doing morning rounds recognized me as one of his former professors and he and I had a nice chat about Drexel (I teach 250 students a year, it was bound to happen sooner or later). I told him that he wasn't on my list of "former students who I would not let anywhere near me if they actually became doctors." All the staff who were in and out wished me a Happy Birthday as I turned 41 in the hospital on Friday. I was happy to be there to see it.
Friday was actually a pretty good day, all things considered. I was recovering well.
puzzld1 sent me beautiful floral arrangement in the shape of a birthday cake. Work sent me flowers with a balloon that said "Get Well Soon" (really Get Back to Work Soon). My parents brought me a Happy Birthday balloon and a cute cat in a pumpkin chachka. And my brother drove a set of gift boxes of chocolates down from NJ, since he couldn't get then delivered in time and so got a great discount by telling my sob story to the supplier. Lots of my friends stopped by or called, and as sucky as having a birthday in the hospital was, it worked out okay.
