Monday morning I had a meeting with our investor at the flip house. We were meeting a realtor who was going to do an evaluation for us. The meeting did not go well, as far as I was concerned, and I left overwhelmed. When I got home I laid the kids down for a nap and I laid on the couch feeling mentally and physically drained. Monday evening after we put the kids to bed, I went to bed. I
could not fall asleep. Around 3 a.m. I started having excruciating pain in my abdomen. Pain that had me doubled over and curling up in a fetal position trying to find relief. I was so nauseous I kept running to the bathroom. I would compare the pain to labor pain but sharper, more stabbing pain. I felt like crying but couldn't- the pain was so bad it literally took my breath away. Around 7:30 a.m. the pain eased a little but didn't really stop.
My friend Krissie called and I told her about my night. She told me I needed to call my doctor and get an appointment asap as it sounded like my
appendix. I told her I thought it was just stress. She persisted and was so
adamant about me calling my doctor that I got off the phone with her and called the doctor's office and made an appointment. When I gave the receptionist my symptoms she
insisted I come in within the hour. I called Marc home from work to watch the kids and went to my appointment. I saw an internal medicine specialist who asked a lot of questions and did an exam that made me come up off the exam table. He told me that he was almost 100% sure it was my appendix and instructed me to go home and pack a bag and head to the emergency room. I called Marc on my way home and told him what was going on. He had the kids ready when I arrived and we headed for the emergency room.
I didn't have to wait long to be seen. They took me back pretty quickly and started testing almost immediately.
Blood work, urine samples, etc. Marc's Aunt came to the hospital and picked up the kids and took them to her house. I was given a contrast to drink to prepare me for a CT and they inserted an IV in my arm. The contrast drink was
horrible. It tasted like lemon Pledge and took me awhile to get it all down. Not something you want to drink- especially since I was already
nauseous. I had to wait two hours after drinking the contrast before I could have my CT done- to make sure that the contrast was clear through my system. After the two hours they wheeled me in to have the CT done. More contrast dye through my IV.........oh my! If you have ever had that done it is awful! The contrast ,that they put through that
IV, makes you
feel like your insides are literally on fire and I could taste
alcohol in my mouth. It was miserable.
The CT results were back pretty quickly. The nurse was reading them and shaking her head as she was walking into my "room" in triage.
"Your appendix looks pretty bad and needs to come out- tonight. The OR is being prepped and they will call when they are ready for you."I cried. I am terrified of surgery, of needles, of knives, of
anesthesia. All of it. The nurse said
"It's going to be fine honey. We are all walking around with miscellaneous parts. You won't even know it's gone." I wasn't crying because I was going to miss my appendix. I was crying because I was afraid. Really afraid. And, of course, really tired. She explained that the appendix had not burst
yet so they were planning on going in
laproscopically- but if the condition changed, they would have to "open me up". I told her not to tell me anything else. I didn't want to know. I looked at Marc for comfort but he looked concerned too.
Fifteen minutes later they were taking me into the Operating Room. I was really worked up by this point and they had to give me a "relaxer" in my IV to calm me down. The last thing I remember is this sweet woman's face introducing herself "Hi. My name is Vivian. I am going to be your anesthesiologist and we are going to have some fun tonight! Okay?" I don't remember if I responded..... but I do remember thinking that she had a very messed up idea of fun.
I woke up in the recovery room but don't remember anything until I got to my own room. Marc was there and I loved that he was the first thing I saw. He was there for me- just like always. He immediately started telling me that the kids were having fun at their aunt's house playing with their cousins. He knows what I want to hear! My mom was on her way and was going to stay for a couple of days to help with the kids until I felt a little better. I stayed in the hospital until Thursday evening. The doctor acted as though they would keep me another night so I was excited when the nurse told me it was my call and I could go home if I wanted. I missed my kids. I wanted to be in my own bed. And Kyle's birthday was Friday- I couldn't be in the hospital on Kyle's birthday.
Marc stopped at the pharmacy on the way home and filled my prescription for
Percocet. I had hoped to not need it but unfortunately I have had to take it every four hours just to stay ahead of the pain. I don't even like to take Tylenol when I get a bad headache so this whole narcotics thing is really making me nuts. I am on a weight restriction- no lifting anything over 15 pounds. Have I mentioned that Cali is almost 25 pounds???
LOL!!! No driving until I go back to see the surgeon in two weeks. I have to check my temperature a few times a day to make sure I am not getting an infection. Most of all- drink lots of clear liquids and take it easy.
Hmmmm. That is going to be a hard one but lucky for me I hurt way too bad , am way too tired and have
nooooooo energy to disobey those doctor's orders! So I will be a good patient because I do not want to end up back in the hospital any time in the near future. Or the far future as far as that goes!
I am so very grateful to have such wonderful family and friends, and to be surrounded by such a fantastic medical community. As scared as I was ,I also knew that I was in the best of hands when it came to my medical care. That is such a good feeling to have.
I guess the moral of this story is that you shouldn't blow something off! If you feel you need to go to the doctor or if a friend or family member encourages you to go- go. It may be nothing but it could be something. I never realized how serious this was until it was explained to me by my surgeon- after the surgery took place. Funny how a "miscellaneous part" can cause so many problems. LOL!!!
~Heather:)
I apologize for whatever grammatical errors, misspellings, or goof-ups I may have made in this post. I will blame it on the percocet. :)
At our last appointment with our pediatrician we had discussed how Bella's fevers were getting worse and coming closer together. We had expressed our concern over Bella taking more prednisone than we were comfortable with, being that she is having the fever attacks more frequently. The pediatrician shared our concern. When I brought up the idea of the tonsillectomy he said "So let's do it!" I informed him that we were told no doctor would do the surgery until Bella was at least four. He told us he would call Bella's Otolaryngologist and discuss the matter and see what they could work out. Late one evening the pediatrician called me and told me to call Bella's Otolaryngologist (ENT) and set up an appointment. Oh! I was excited but I didn't want to get my hopes up.
Well, today we had our appointment with Bella's ENT and it went very well! He was very knowledgeable about PFAPA and knew what the success rate was for patients with PFAPA that have undergone tonsillectomy. Although it was a little discouraging to hear that the success rate is actually only 60-64%, Marc and I are still very hopeful! We had discussed with him the issue that Bella has with her left ear oozing gross stuff right before her fever peaks. He knew exactly what we meant so he will be removing her adenoids as well. The left ear is the ear that Bella only has 40% hearing in, so he is going to take a very good look when she is under anesthesia and if there is something he is able to correct, he will take care of that at the same time. The goal is to "fix" everything he can at once so as to not have to put her through any more surgeries than we have to. We want to make this as least traumatic for her as possible. She has been through so much in her short three years as it is.
The scheduler will be calling me to set up a day and time for Bella's surgery. I do not know yet exactly when it will be but I know it will be soon. They will be keeping her at the hospital after the surgery, at least one night, for observation- which makes me feel better. Just like with any surgery there are risks involved. And we do not have a 100% guarantee that this is going to "cure" Bella. Marc and I have weighed the "risks verses benefits". We are at the end of our rope. We want resolve for Bella so that she does not have to suffer through these attacks any longer. We do not want to keep her on this prednisone- not knowing how it could effect her. We want her to have a normal, happy, carefree childhood.
Marc and I are faithful that this is going to work for our little girl. We are praying that God lays His healing hands on her and guides the doctor's hands the day of her surgery. We pray that this surgery is a success and that Bella will fall into that 60%!!!! Surgery of any kind scares the daylights out of me but I am trusting in the Lord with all that I have and placing Bella in His care. 
