Saturday, October 11, 2008

Three days at the hospital!

From Blog Photos
It all started Thursday morning at 2:50 am when I awoke with the worst pain I have ever felt in my abdomen. I tried to sit on the toilet but that hurt too much and I ended up lying on the floor. Susan (and Karen) woke up about then. We talked about pulling the car around to the front and driving to the hospital. But I could not bend to sit in the car. Pretty quickly we decided to call 911, and within minutes, the Oak Lawn Fire Department was there to transport me to the hospital. Susan stayed behind to wait for her parents to arrive to watch Karen.

The initial thought given the type and location of the pain was a kidney stone. But initially I did not have back pain, which apparently is normal with a kidney stone. Still I drank the "contrast" solution and waited two hours for the CT scan. Blood, urine, and CT results were all normal except I still was in a lot of pain. The ER doc at 8am said that he did not know the problem since all the tests came back okay, but decided to keep me for a 23 hour watch to see how I handled the pain. Then I was moved into the hallway to wait for a room.

At about 4 I was taken to a room, and at about 7 I saw Dr. Poleszak. He said the only other cause he could think of was diverticulitis, and prescribed antibiotics and pain medicine. That evening and night I took lots of pain medicine which helped a lot.

I was not allowed to eat until Friday at lunch when they gave me a liquid lunch. I am not sure if grape juice and Italian ice counts as really eating anything, but it was better than the ice chips I had been limited to before!!!

Friday night I finally got to eat some solid food. That went well and when I woke on Saturday, I felt good and ready to go home. I miss Karen!

Now, it is 2pm, and my cantankerous old neighbor is snoring while the football game he was watching still plays on the tv. The nurse says my doctor said he would be here between 3-4. So I expect him here by 8pm to discharge me!

UPDATE: The doc was there at 3:10, and by 3:45, I was out the door!

Thank Yous
In times of crisis and unexpected pain, there is always room for much gratitude.
To Ron and Bettie -- Thank you for answering the call at 3am on Thursday and taking care of Karen while Susan took care of me. And thank you for visiting last night.
To Lori -- Thank you for watching Karen all day on Thursday and Friday so Susan could spend the days with me. And thanks for being there for Susan so she could be there for me. It really helped.
To Ken and Jenny (neighbors) -- Thanks so much for the blueberry and banana (nut-free) muffins that were baked fresh when you saw me arrive at home!
To everyone who prayed -- Thank you! I am grateful for your prayers!
To Susan -- Thank you for handling everything so well. I know I was the one in physical pain, but I know this took it's toll on you too. More than you know, I appreciate all the time you spent in the hospital with me.

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