Surgery

I'd had the problem for a long while. I can remember the first episode as early as the age of 16. I was doubled over in pain all night, on the verge of begging my parents to take me to the emergency room. It didn't happen very often. But when it did, it was debilitating. Throughout the years, the "episodes" had slowly gotten worse and progressively more frequent. I would vomit and feel weak for days after. Yet, vomiting was the only thing that would take the severe pain away. I called them "Severe Heartburn" episodes.

A few years ago, I finally decided to go see a Doctor about it. 

I paid big money that I pulled out of my rear end so I could have an upper GI test done.

Only to have no solid results or conclusions. It seemed the Doc didn't want to discuss any further options and rather couldn't wait to shew me out of his office with an armful of Prilosec samples. As if that was supposed to remove me from being the thorn in his side.

It was frustrating.
And I all but swore never to see another doctor again in my life.
But unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who the Doctor is) they are a necessary evil. And I decided last fall that it was time to try a new GI Doctor. I got a good referral from my good friend, Stephanie Gisseman. It was through talking to her and comparing our various experiences and symptoms that I came to discover the real culprit...

...the gallbladder.

She had just had hers removed. After seeing many, many doctors, there was finally one that discovered her problem and was willing to do something about it...Dr. Brad Bedgood.

I thought, "Well geez. This just might be my problem." I researched the gallbladder on the internet, since I honestly had no clue where the gallbladder is in the body or what its function is. Then I learned that it's just up under the rib cage on the right side...

**LIGHT BULBS & EXCLAMATION POINTS!!**

"Well, that's where the pain has been all this time!!! 

 And YES I have vomiting and nausea! 

 It's a GALLBLADDER ATTACK!!" 

 It was so crazy to connect all of the dots from merely reading on the internet, when Doctors who had supposedly had all of the training and education on the subject couldn't even take a moment to really listen to what I was telling them and draw the appropriate conclusions.

Even Dr. Bedgood was skeptical when I went to see him. He took one look at me and said, "Well, you certainly don't fit the profile of the 40+ overweight male that we usually see having a gallbladder problem." What ended up giving it away was the odd pain I had in my upper right shoulder blade all the time. 

He mentioned it as a possible symptom, and I said, "Yep. Yep. I have that." 

And he was like, "You do? Show me where." 

I pointed. 

With a shocked look on his face he said, "No way!" 

Yes way.

All it took was some bloodwork and a HIDA scan to confirm what we both suspected...

...A faulty gallbladder. 

We are blaming it on genetics since my daddy also had to have his gallbladder removed several years ago.
I am indeed my father's daughter.

So an endoscopy was performed at the end of February just to make sure I didn't have any ulcers. I met my surgeon and we scheduled a date to take that bad boy OUT! I couldn't wait. I was ready to git 'er done after all of these years of pain.

Surgery Date | Monday, March 5, 2012

My night table with all of the essentials for kickin' it back in the bed.

My Spencer was gone on a business trip for two weeks while I was going through surgery and recovery. It was hard having him away. 

But my dear sweet mother came to my house and took care of me and my pups.

I suppose that's why this post came to my mind...

...with Mother's Day coming up, I was thinking about her, and remembering how good it was of her to come do all that she did for me during that week.

Thanks Mom.  I love you.

That Tuesday after the surgery was Voting Day here in Georgia... Super Tuesday.

Thankfully I had the opportunity to vote early the Friday before.

But that didn't keep me from wearing my Romney Pride and shouting anti-Gingrich frustrations from my bed.

Go Mitt!

This is the soup that saved my life.  Pure mashed up vegetables.

The only thing that I could really stomach for about a week.

One of my favorite moments during that recovery week was getting a 

special little doorbell-ditch visitor:

4 year old Analea Harper.

She had the idea to draw me a get-well picture and have her mom drive her by my house to doorbell ditch it.  She just knew it would make me happy. : )  So Jenny (my friend, and Analea's mother) texted me first to make sure it was okay and to give me the heads up.  I loved getting to spy on her out the window as she rang the doorbell and RAN as fast as she could back to the van so they could take off!  haha!!

 And how beautiful is that artwork?!?!  What a sweet little doll!

It meant the world to me. ♥

Get-well flowers and cards from my amazing friends and family.  Super thoughtful and sweet!  I even had a "service bell" given to me by friend, Jen.  It was a joke, and we laughed about it... but it was even funnier when I actually was in a situation where it came in handy and I decided to use it.  ha! 

So far my surgery has proved profitable in getting rid of the pain and attack problems I was having.  I admit it has been a long recovery road.  Much longer than I anticipated.  It's been in just the last couple of weeks that I've truly felt back to normal.  It's hard for me to be down and physically (and mentally) unable or unavailable.  I didn't help matters by pushing myself harder than I ought to have.  

I may be a homebody, but I am also a DObody.  

Thank goodness I cleaned the house deeply and thoroughly just before going in to the hospital and I could rest and relax in a clean environment.  Because heaven knows that nothing unsettles me quite like DIRT does.  
Things out of place.  *shudder*

I suppose it was a blessing in disguise that my "mess maker" was out of town.

But I still missed him and his messes.

Of course he soon came home to remind me what I had been missing...

Gotta love him. ♥