underdog
Member
Been out of the loop for a couple of days. Seems the old gall bladder had been giving trouble for quite some time, and the appendix decided to get in the act too.
So I took a little trip to the ER at the local hospital Thursday night.
After a miserable afternoon deciding to see a doctor, and throwing up the medicine he prescribed, I spent all Thursday night in the ER at one of the local hospitals. It took about 4 hours just to get into a room. Evidently the other local hospital's ER traffic was diverted to my hospital that night. What a zoo! By morning most of the rooms in the hospital were full. I spent a total of 14 hours in ER getting tested; a couple X-rays, two sessions of CT scans, and a session with the Ultrasound lab. With the exception of a short snooze in the wheelchair waiting on a room, I got no sleep whatsoever. That was miserable! I don't ever want to do that again! Luckily for my poor wife, who has been going non-stop since last Friday helping her 87 year old mother (another long story), I had a wonderful friend take me up to the hospital and stay with me the whole night. We caught up on all the news! But man those ER gurney's are hard when you're in them that long!
It took until 6 or 7 Friday night to get to the OR though. The surgeon and his crew did a great job! I was mostly out of it till about midnight Friday (thank God for good anesthesiologists!). Of course when I came to, I was in a very toasty snuggy bed, headache from lack of sleep was gone, and I felt no pain (whew!). I tried to keep hydrated and active so I got up every two hours since they take your blood pressure, pulse, and temperature anyway. They say you heal better if you get up and get around. I slept well though and did feel very rested by Saturday morning. I was finally released around noon yesterday.
Procedures must certainly be much less intrusive than they used to. The only real incision they make now is in your belly button so as to cover the scar. The others are really just punctures, but they are still just as sore as the real thing... But the Lortab is taking care of most of that.
But I am up and around today. I've made breakfast, taken my walk, and taken a shower (first since Wed.), taken a nap, and now I'm wondering what to do with myself.... I think I even feel better and more rested (and consequently more focused) than I have in quite some time. (I've even contemplated going to the shop and turning a couple of pens, but being squeaky clean and comfy is winning out!)
So I took a little trip to the ER at the local hospital Thursday night.
After a miserable afternoon deciding to see a doctor, and throwing up the medicine he prescribed, I spent all Thursday night in the ER at one of the local hospitals. It took about 4 hours just to get into a room. Evidently the other local hospital's ER traffic was diverted to my hospital that night. What a zoo! By morning most of the rooms in the hospital were full. I spent a total of 14 hours in ER getting tested; a couple X-rays, two sessions of CT scans, and a session with the Ultrasound lab. With the exception of a short snooze in the wheelchair waiting on a room, I got no sleep whatsoever. That was miserable! I don't ever want to do that again! Luckily for my poor wife, who has been going non-stop since last Friday helping her 87 year old mother (another long story), I had a wonderful friend take me up to the hospital and stay with me the whole night. We caught up on all the news! But man those ER gurney's are hard when you're in them that long!
It took until 6 or 7 Friday night to get to the OR though. The surgeon and his crew did a great job! I was mostly out of it till about midnight Friday (thank God for good anesthesiologists!). Of course when I came to, I was in a very toasty snuggy bed, headache from lack of sleep was gone, and I felt no pain (whew!). I tried to keep hydrated and active so I got up every two hours since they take your blood pressure, pulse, and temperature anyway. They say you heal better if you get up and get around. I slept well though and did feel very rested by Saturday morning. I was finally released around noon yesterday.
Procedures must certainly be much less intrusive than they used to. The only real incision they make now is in your belly button so as to cover the scar. The others are really just punctures, but they are still just as sore as the real thing... But the Lortab is taking care of most of that.
But I am up and around today. I've made breakfast, taken my walk, and taken a shower (first since Wed.), taken a nap, and now I'm wondering what to do with myself.... I think I even feel better and more rested (and consequently more focused) than I have in quite some time. (I've even contemplated going to the shop and turning a couple of pens, but being squeaky clean and comfy is winning out!)