Sebatical

Hello,

My appologies for stepping away from this site for a bit of time.

Three weeks prior to June 28, 2010 I have been having some pain in my lower right quadrant of my abdomen. I went on with my daily life just accepting the pain, thinking it was something spicey I ate. I left the country, went diving, basically leading my normal life. Then Sunday June 27 something wasn’t right. I was sleeping ALOT, sweating and the discomfort was more consistent and became concerning.

Monday June 28 I phoned my primary Dr. made a visit and it was determined with high probability I had something wrong with my appendix. I was directed to the hospital. During the Hospital visit, a CT scan shows my appendix had ruptured. It now about 8pm and I am being admitted for surgery. I am provided pain meds and a room with a view.

Tuesday June 29, 10AM I am wheeled to Pre-Op, given a shot and that is the last thing I remember. The surgery was scheduled for 11AM. Upon waking from surgery I am in agony and shaking profusely. I am giving pain killer and warm blankets and man do I have to pee. Let me tell you, modisty is not an option in a hosptal. The nurse pulls the blankets down, find my XXXX and placing a urinal in position and ahhhhh, I needed that. It was about 2:30pm when I am returned to my room. From there I am provided pain meds on request, which was about every two hours for the next two days. From there the request for pain meds began to deminish as some of the healing process begins to take hold and my tolerance for pain builds. Maybe it was the pain meds that were building up in my system.

It wasn’t until Friday, July 2 I was able to get out of bed, because during the surgery, my colon became swollen due to the trauma and the Dr. was waiting for me to pass gas. See, the last meal I had was Sunday night, June 27th. I was not allow to eat or drink anything, the medical term is NPO, in Latin, Nil Per Os. You can tell by this time I was starving.  Friday morning the values were opening and the reason I got up is to hit the head.  Ahhhhhhh, yes… The thought that came to mind was, I will be able to eat and drink again.

It was Saturday afternoon when I was given soup. Better than nothing and it sure did taste good.

I was released from the hostipal, Sunday July 4, 2010, late morning. It felt good to get out and back into the sun. Though I still look like I’m about to give birth, it was hard to buckle my belt. I was still full of gas and swollen, internally to allow the pants to feel comfortable, but still, I’m released and happy to go.

I reflect back and think how lucky, how fortunate I was to get in on time. My suggestion to anyone who even has the inkling of any problem to visit their Dr. immediately, hind sight advise.

I was blessed by those around me. ALL of the nurses were great. Very attentative, friendly and empathetic. I will ALWAYs and have always had a soft spot in my heart for nurses. Coming from a medical background, I always admired the skill level and drive nurses have to help. Wonderful people.

I am home for the next week (July 5th week), no driving, on antibiotics and pain meds as needed, PRN, Pro Re Nata. I do not know when I will be clear to dive again and I suspect withing the next 3-4 weeks.. Until then, I will put effort into documenting the BP Oil spill and how it is affecting the people of Florida and our neighboring states. If you do not find any posts at this site, check tritonshall.com .

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