SAGA OF THE STONES
Where do I begin? September has literally been a blur that I hope to never repeat! Not having been one to ever be really sick (last hospitalization was in 1976 for “girl” stuff!), I have been blessed with wonderful health, for which I am very grateful. So, I was totally unprepared for the onset of problems which I thought was perhaps food poisoning, which left me wasted and washed out and not snapping back. A visit to the doctor and subsequent tests confirmed that indeed I was carrying around a gall bladder laden with precious stones! Some of them no doubt came from Louisiana!
So, after a couple days of trying to rid my body of a very bad infection, surgery was set for Friday September 12. My doctor was alarmed because of my white count being so very high, and consequently, I was alarmed too. I had a marvelous surgeon who took very good care of me, and although he was unable to remove the stones laparoscopically due to the amount of stones and infection, I am grateful that the bad stuff was contained within the protective linings. God is amazing, and more and more I realize that we are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. One of the most reassuring aspects of my whole ordeal was the fact that Art was close by at all times. It was so good to know that he was there for Bill and me, conferring with the surgeon throughout the 6 hours, and just knowing that he was in on all the decisions meant so much. He has been there every step of the way; in fact, it was his insistence that I go to the doctor initially, stating that I was sick for too long for it to have been food poisoning. I am forever grateful for his and Merritt’s love and attention to us. Andy was keeping touch regularly, too, from Arkansas. I am very blessed to have such a loving, supportive family.
So, here it is the end of September and I am recovering at home. Bill’s sister, Gail, was a Godsend. Although her trip was planned months ago and was to be a fun week, full of sight-seeing, etc., it turned out that she took good care of me, Bill and running the house. She extended her visit by another week, still hoping that I would have a quick recovery and then feel like doing some fun stuff. But, that didn’t happen. She has such a sweet spirit and was invaluable to me and Bill during her visit. We must do her visit again!
If you haven’t been in the hospital recently (and I hope you haven’t!), some funny things can go on while you’re lying there in an immobile state. First, you are taped everywhere (sporting a 6-1/2 inch scar), tubes and other interesting lines are extending from both hands and you are totally unable to turn to either side. Oh, not to forget the oxygen tube breathing precious air into my lungs! Isn’t medical science wonderful? Not being a back sleeper, I just had to deal with all of the trappings! Never take the ability to turn over one’s self for granted! A big blessing, that I will never take for granted again! Or, a lowly cup of ice! What a blessing to receive some ice following surgery. Parched and thirsty. Made me think of the scripture where if we just give a cup of water in His name, we are doing it for Him! It’s life’s little blessings that we often overlook, and sometimes God places us in positions where we are bombarded with our human frailties and sins and are forced to see ourselves as we really are: broken and helpless.
Nights can be lonely and long in a hospital room. The hands of the clock literally crawled it seemed and I could not turn off my mind! Very little sleep, because I do not tolerate pain medicine very well, either. Occasionally, the intercom would come on, requesting that so-and-so state their location (I think I will suggest beepers for the staff, so that each patient does not have to be disturbed.) Or, when the bags holding the IV fluids would empty, a large gong sounded over and over and over until an attendant came in and turned it off. I’m sure my BP was raised during the sounding of these alarms! For the patient, it is very alarming! You are not sure if your oxygen is off, or your heart rate has stopped, or just what! Only that some alarm is going off and it sounds serious! It was good to learn that the gonging was only to signal the IV bag was empty. Another challenging exercise was breathing into this device which looked like a cross between a scuba diving thing and a paint ball gun! Not that I’m well versed in the use of either of these! My challenge was to raise a little cylinder. At first I could barely move the thing, but little by little, I was able to breathe enough to raise it to an acceptable level. Not fun! To top it all, they even let me bring the thing home with me to keep forever! I’m quite sure Medicare doesn’t know about this! My breathing has improved and now I use it only occasionally.
The first few trips to the potty were interesting, but I was told that excelling in this area was a definite requirement for going home! Mission accomplished! A long dangly thing (a bulb-type drain device inserted into my abdomen) was my constant companion and it was O Happy Day when that was removed. Little by little, all the trappings were removed and I was discharged Monday afternoon, September 15, after promising my surgeon that his releasing me was worth at least 2 pound cakes. I will definitely deliver on this promise!
Trying not to be a whiner, I have avoided putting anything on my blog, but I think Bill promised that I would, so I finally mustered some energy today and decided to put something on paper. A trip to the doctor on Thursday will hopefully show that my white count is improving, as well as my red blood count. I’m on the second round of antibiotics which have terrible side effects, but I’m trying to endure them with grace if that’s what it takes. I did get a good report from my surgeon, Dr. Sizemore, on last Friday. He assured me that everything I was experiencing was very normal and that it would just take some time. He told me earlier that I had - if not the worst case he’d ever seen - it was next to the worst. He said, “You are one tough lady!” I apologized for being such a challenging statistic! Believe me, it wasn’t intentional. He did show Bill and Art a sampling of the stones, some of which could have slain Goliath, but hospital protocol prohibited his giving them to us as souvenirs! Who would want those things? Ancient history!
My advice to any of you who even think you may have a gall bladder problem, is to run to the doctor to be checked. Do not wait for it to rupture! Bill has been just wonderful. Also, the church friends, family, neighbors and friends far and near, have supplied us with wonderful meals, visits, cards, flowers, calls, and most of all, their love and prayers. One amusing and thoughtful gift was a potted chrysanthemum, so Bill could get it right! If you know Bill, every flower or plant to him is a chrysanthemum! So some dear friends brought a cute potted mum, so for once Bill could get it right!
I trust that through this time of healing and recuperation, I will learn to be a better Christian and be more tolerant of others who are going through a time of testing. God is good and His grace is amazing. I know that there are countless others who are, and have been, enduring much graver circumstances, and that in light of those, mine are minor and insignificant. Thank you for your love and concern, and I promise you, when I get back to normal – whatever that is – I will write something much more interesting! I love you all.
So, after a couple days of trying to rid my body of a very bad infection, surgery was set for Friday September 12. My doctor was alarmed because of my white count being so very high, and consequently, I was alarmed too. I had a marvelous surgeon who took very good care of me, and although he was unable to remove the stones laparoscopically due to the amount of stones and infection, I am grateful that the bad stuff was contained within the protective linings. God is amazing, and more and more I realize that we are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. One of the most reassuring aspects of my whole ordeal was the fact that Art was close by at all times. It was so good to know that he was there for Bill and me, conferring with the surgeon throughout the 6 hours, and just knowing that he was in on all the decisions meant so much. He has been there every step of the way; in fact, it was his insistence that I go to the doctor initially, stating that I was sick for too long for it to have been food poisoning. I am forever grateful for his and Merritt’s love and attention to us. Andy was keeping touch regularly, too, from Arkansas. I am very blessed to have such a loving, supportive family.
So, here it is the end of September and I am recovering at home. Bill’s sister, Gail, was a Godsend. Although her trip was planned months ago and was to be a fun week, full of sight-seeing, etc., it turned out that she took good care of me, Bill and running the house. She extended her visit by another week, still hoping that I would have a quick recovery and then feel like doing some fun stuff. But, that didn’t happen. She has such a sweet spirit and was invaluable to me and Bill during her visit. We must do her visit again!
If you haven’t been in the hospital recently (and I hope you haven’t!), some funny things can go on while you’re lying there in an immobile state. First, you are taped everywhere (sporting a 6-1/2 inch scar), tubes and other interesting lines are extending from both hands and you are totally unable to turn to either side. Oh, not to forget the oxygen tube breathing precious air into my lungs! Isn’t medical science wonderful? Not being a back sleeper, I just had to deal with all of the trappings! Never take the ability to turn over one’s self for granted! A big blessing, that I will never take for granted again! Or, a lowly cup of ice! What a blessing to receive some ice following surgery. Parched and thirsty. Made me think of the scripture where if we just give a cup of water in His name, we are doing it for Him! It’s life’s little blessings that we often overlook, and sometimes God places us in positions where we are bombarded with our human frailties and sins and are forced to see ourselves as we really are: broken and helpless.
Nights can be lonely and long in a hospital room. The hands of the clock literally crawled it seemed and I could not turn off my mind! Very little sleep, because I do not tolerate pain medicine very well, either. Occasionally, the intercom would come on, requesting that so-and-so state their location (I think I will suggest beepers for the staff, so that each patient does not have to be disturbed.) Or, when the bags holding the IV fluids would empty, a large gong sounded over and over and over until an attendant came in and turned it off. I’m sure my BP was raised during the sounding of these alarms! For the patient, it is very alarming! You are not sure if your oxygen is off, or your heart rate has stopped, or just what! Only that some alarm is going off and it sounds serious! It was good to learn that the gonging was only to signal the IV bag was empty. Another challenging exercise was breathing into this device which looked like a cross between a scuba diving thing and a paint ball gun! Not that I’m well versed in the use of either of these! My challenge was to raise a little cylinder. At first I could barely move the thing, but little by little, I was able to breathe enough to raise it to an acceptable level. Not fun! To top it all, they even let me bring the thing home with me to keep forever! I’m quite sure Medicare doesn’t know about this! My breathing has improved and now I use it only occasionally.
The first few trips to the potty were interesting, but I was told that excelling in this area was a definite requirement for going home! Mission accomplished! A long dangly thing (a bulb-type drain device inserted into my abdomen) was my constant companion and it was O Happy Day when that was removed. Little by little, all the trappings were removed and I was discharged Monday afternoon, September 15, after promising my surgeon that his releasing me was worth at least 2 pound cakes. I will definitely deliver on this promise!
Trying not to be a whiner, I have avoided putting anything on my blog, but I think Bill promised that I would, so I finally mustered some energy today and decided to put something on paper. A trip to the doctor on Thursday will hopefully show that my white count is improving, as well as my red blood count. I’m on the second round of antibiotics which have terrible side effects, but I’m trying to endure them with grace if that’s what it takes. I did get a good report from my surgeon, Dr. Sizemore, on last Friday. He assured me that everything I was experiencing was very normal and that it would just take some time. He told me earlier that I had - if not the worst case he’d ever seen - it was next to the worst. He said, “You are one tough lady!” I apologized for being such a challenging statistic! Believe me, it wasn’t intentional. He did show Bill and Art a sampling of the stones, some of which could have slain Goliath, but hospital protocol prohibited his giving them to us as souvenirs! Who would want those things? Ancient history!
My advice to any of you who even think you may have a gall bladder problem, is to run to the doctor to be checked. Do not wait for it to rupture! Bill has been just wonderful. Also, the church friends, family, neighbors and friends far and near, have supplied us with wonderful meals, visits, cards, flowers, calls, and most of all, their love and prayers. One amusing and thoughtful gift was a potted chrysanthemum, so Bill could get it right! If you know Bill, every flower or plant to him is a chrysanthemum! So some dear friends brought a cute potted mum, so for once Bill could get it right!
I trust that through this time of healing and recuperation, I will learn to be a better Christian and be more tolerant of others who are going through a time of testing. God is good and His grace is amazing. I know that there are countless others who are, and have been, enduring much graver circumstances, and that in light of those, mine are minor and insignificant. Thank you for your love and concern, and I promise you, when I get back to normal – whatever that is – I will write something much more interesting! I love you all.
Love you! So glad you were feeling well enough today to blog--we've missed you on here! I'm glad I got to spend time with you this weekend and I'll be counting down the days til I get to see you again. Love you bunches!
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I knew you would get back to the blog when you felt better. I'm so thankful your are "one tough lady" when it comes to gall bladder problems. Most of the time though, I consider you anything but that. You are loved - a bunch!
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