The past couple of weeks have been some rough ones. My poor hubby has not been feeling so good. It all started with him not being able to pretty much fart. I know we have all had those really intense gas pains, and have felt so grateful to be able to relieve ourselves. I felt so bad for him, each day got worse. laxatives weren't working. He couldn't get comfortable. He went to work in pain, then come home and crash. He would wake up feeling good, but then about a half hr. after he woke up he would start feeling crappy again. This went on for a little over a week. I would ask him if he wanted someone to give him a priesthood blessing, but he felt really embarrassed about it, and declined. I told him he needed to go to the Doctor, but he wouldn't do that either. Then he started not being able to poop either at least for a couple of days. The poor guy couldn't even stand up straight he hurt so bad.
Thursday night May 26th I was at a meeting. After the meeting I decided to bring it up with a couple of my friends that I was with. One of them said that one of her Uncles went through something very similar, and ended up having to have surgery. I started to panic inside as she was talking and I can't remember if she said Gallbladder or not. So when I got home I made Matt promise me that he would go to the Doctor the next day. I told him I would make the appointment for him.
Friday when he woke up he felt even worse, and the pain was escalating. He went to the Doctor appointment and of course he had to wait forever to be seen. The Doctor's assistant came and asked his symptoms. Then the doctor came in and told him that he needed to go to the ER and have x-rays done on his appendix and colon. So Matt called me on his way home to let me know what was going on. As soon as he got home we left to go to Pioneer Valley Hospital about 10 min. away. I was so dreading this. I thought that we would have to wait forever in the waiting room to be brought in to a room, or curtained area. Thank goodness we only had to wait for about 5 min. Doctor McBride had called in advance to let them know we were coming. We got a room with a T.V. in it. The T.V. was a lifesaver for the girls. They were in the ER with us from about 3 till 7. By the end they had about had it. I just didn't want to leave until I knew what was going to happen with Matt. The x-rays of course came back normal on the appendix and colon. The next step was to do an ultra sound to see if it was gallstones.
I didn't know how long that was going to take to even do it, so I decided to call my Mom to have her come and get the kiddos. I couldn't get a hold of her though, so I decided to just go and stop by her house. She only lives 5 min. away from the hospital. Maybe she didn't hear her phone. That was the case, she was outside when I had called. I tried her home phone on my way. Such a blessing that she was able to take the girls for us. Rex took my Mom and the girls to Burger King, so i could get back to Matt. When I got back to Matt's room the surgeon was talking with him. They had already done the ultra sound and turns out he had a gallbladder full of gallstones that he wasn't able to pass. Their was no other option but to take the whole gallbladder out. The surgeon told us it would be a very fast process, about 20 min. He told us that surgery would be @ 5 in the morning, and to be prepared to have a very long boring night. Long and boring was right, but very hard as well.
Matt was told he could eat and drink up till midnight. Matt hadn't eaten anything since the night before, so I went home to get stuff for the girls to stay at my mom's, stuff for Matt and I. Called someone to come and give Matt a priesthood blessing. On my way to my Mom's I picked up a meal from Burger King for Matt. At my Mom's I was starting to lose it, and she asked if I needed a blessing. I did, so I asked Rex if he would give me one. The blessing was a great comfort to me, i'm so grateful that Rex was there to be able to give me the blessing.
When I got to the Hospital they had admitted Matt into the hospital and into another room out of the ER. He snarfed the food down. After he ate the nurse came in and gave Matt some antibiotics through Matt's IV. A little bit after doing this Matt started getting nauseous. Then he started to dry heave. Matt is not supposed to be able to throw up because he had surgery on his stomach about 5 years ago for his acid reflux. So it's a painful experience for him when he feels like he is going to throw up. Over the last 5 years though he has started to have vomit come out not a lot though. So when he started dry heaving, I started to tear up. I felt so bad for him already being in such pain, but to have to add this pain to it as well. After he was done we let the nurse know that he had thrown up, and that he still felt nauseous. She got some nausea medicine for him. That helped. Matt ended up having to have 3 rounds of the antibiotics and each time he got nauseous, which made me nauseous and start gagging.
It was a long uncomfortable boring night. Matt didn't feel like talking, I was too tired to read, and too tired to watch the t.v. I don't think that either of us slept, but 40 min. that whole night. 5:00 rolled around and nobody came into the room to take vitals or get Matt for surgery. By 5:20 I decided to go out and see what was going on. Turns out that the surgeon and the team don't even start until 6 a.m. The nurses asked me if he meant 5 p.m. I was like he better not have. So there was nothing to do but wait.
They finally came in to prep Matt for surgery at 7:15 or so. When the anesthesiologist came to take him into the surgery room I wanted to make sure of how long surgery would be. I told him that the Dr. said it would take 20 min. His reply was oh it could take 20 min. for Matt to go under, and then do surgery, and then wake up. So it would be about an hr and a half tops. I thought nice I could go run an errand and not have to have my mom or anyone else do it for me. I had paid for a bountiful basket for a food co-opp and it was at the mall not to far from the hospital. I thought I would have plenty of time to pick it up drop it off at home, shower, and be back before he woke up.
This was not the case. As I was putting the food basket into my car, Matt's Mom called the cell phone. She said she had called the hospital to see how Matt was doing. I guess apparently the Doctor talked to her, but he wouldn't give her any information since she wasn't at the hospital. She said he had gone out into the waiting room to talk to me and I wasn't there. The surgery did take 20 min. Crazy! I was really worried that something had gone wrong. You see when Matt had his stomach surgery they messed up on him, and he had a 2 week stay in the hospital. So I hurried back to the hospital. When I walked through the door the doctor was in the waiting room talking with another doctor. He recognized me right away, and said that Matt's surgery had gone well, and that I could go up to his room and wait for them to bring him up. So I did, and waited for about a half hr.
When they brought Matt up he looked like he hurt. Of course he hurt they he has 4 1 inch incisions held shut with a bunch of staples. I told the nurse what the anesthesiologist had told me on the time frame. She laughed and said that he must have never worked with this surgeon. Apparently the surgeon has removed so many gallbladders that he just goes right in and does it. I guess he doesn't want the patient to be under anesthesia for long periods of time. We had to stay in the hospital for a couple of hrs, to make sure he was able to go to the bathroom, and eat, and monitor his vitals. I'm so glad that we didn't have to stay overnight. I'm so glad that we live a little over 10 min. away from the hospital. Poor Matt got nauseous on the way home, and started to dry heave. Holy crap painful! I started to get scared when he started dry heaving. All I could think about was hurry up cars and get out of my way. When we got home I hurried and unlocked the front door so Matt could get inside. He went and laid down, and thank goodness the dry heaves stopped. I think he got car sick.
While he slept I went and filled his prescriptions, went back to the hospital because we forgot his breathing treatment devise, and then went to my mom's to pick up the girls. The girls were waiting for my mom to get ready so they could go to the park. They didn't want to come home. Fine with me, my Mom kept them for a few hrs. longer. She made us a couple loafs of bread, and said she would bring dinner with her when she dropped the girls off. When I got home Matt was doing alright. I was worried about him, and didn't want to be gone longer than I had to be. It was nice to be able to shower and clean up, and then have a nap.
My Mom brought the girls back around dinner time, with spaghetti. Funny thing though the 2nd counselor in the bishopric came with his kiddos to bring us dinner as well! We were so surprised. He came in for a few minutes to see how Matt was doing. He also just happens to be the counselor over the primary, and he told me the best news. That I was being released from the primary! Instant relief that I no longer had that responsibility of being the 1st counselor. He did say to not get to comfortable which scared me. I'm going to go into hiding! It will be nice to have a little break. =)
So it has been 4 days since Matt had his surgery. He is doing alright. We take it hr. by hr. He is good if he is lying down. He does get up and move around though. We are hoping that he will be able to go back to work soon. He doesn't have any sick leave, or vacation time, so it really puts us in a bind. Matt's supervisor had her gallbladder out awhile ago and she said she was out for 3 weeks. Matt's brother had his out a while ago as well, and he was in the same predicament as Matt. he had to go back almost a week after his surgery. He wished that he could take at least a couple of more weeks off. We are playing it by ear. Matt is scheduled to go in on June 7th to get his staples removed.
So the silly guy decided to watch a gallbladder surgery on the internet yesterday. Big mistake! He said it was so gross that it made him want to throw up. I said well if it made you want to, I know that I would have thrown up, and then passed out, or vice versa! I'm so grateful for Matt. He has such a high pain tolerance, it amazes me. I'm so grateful for the friends that have brought us dinner. I'm so thankful for the prayers and thoughts uttered in our behalf. It's nice to know that people care. Thank you all so much, and I love you dearly. So if you are experiencing intolerable gas pains and bloating and nothing works for you, go to the doctor right away. You may be experiencing gallstones. Believe me watching Matt suffer for a week and a half was horrible and you don't want to suffer like that.
I didn't know how long that was going to take to even do it, so I decided to call my Mom to have her come and get the kiddos. I couldn't get a hold of her though, so I decided to just go and stop by her house. She only lives 5 min. away from the hospital. Maybe she didn't hear her phone. That was the case, she was outside when I had called. I tried her home phone on my way. Such a blessing that she was able to take the girls for us. Rex took my Mom and the girls to Burger King, so i could get back to Matt. When I got back to Matt's room the surgeon was talking with him. They had already done the ultra sound and turns out he had a gallbladder full of gallstones that he wasn't able to pass. Their was no other option but to take the whole gallbladder out. The surgeon told us it would be a very fast process, about 20 min. He told us that surgery would be @ 5 in the morning, and to be prepared to have a very long boring night. Long and boring was right, but very hard as well.
Matt was told he could eat and drink up till midnight. Matt hadn't eaten anything since the night before, so I went home to get stuff for the girls to stay at my mom's, stuff for Matt and I. Called someone to come and give Matt a priesthood blessing. On my way to my Mom's I picked up a meal from Burger King for Matt. At my Mom's I was starting to lose it, and she asked if I needed a blessing. I did, so I asked Rex if he would give me one. The blessing was a great comfort to me, i'm so grateful that Rex was there to be able to give me the blessing.
When I got to the Hospital they had admitted Matt into the hospital and into another room out of the ER. He snarfed the food down. After he ate the nurse came in and gave Matt some antibiotics through Matt's IV. A little bit after doing this Matt started getting nauseous. Then he started to dry heave. Matt is not supposed to be able to throw up because he had surgery on his stomach about 5 years ago for his acid reflux. So it's a painful experience for him when he feels like he is going to throw up. Over the last 5 years though he has started to have vomit come out not a lot though. So when he started dry heaving, I started to tear up. I felt so bad for him already being in such pain, but to have to add this pain to it as well. After he was done we let the nurse know that he had thrown up, and that he still felt nauseous. She got some nausea medicine for him. That helped. Matt ended up having to have 3 rounds of the antibiotics and each time he got nauseous, which made me nauseous and start gagging.
It was a long uncomfortable boring night. Matt didn't feel like talking, I was too tired to read, and too tired to watch the t.v. I don't think that either of us slept, but 40 min. that whole night. 5:00 rolled around and nobody came into the room to take vitals or get Matt for surgery. By 5:20 I decided to go out and see what was going on. Turns out that the surgeon and the team don't even start until 6 a.m. The nurses asked me if he meant 5 p.m. I was like he better not have. So there was nothing to do but wait.
They finally came in to prep Matt for surgery at 7:15 or so. When the anesthesiologist came to take him into the surgery room I wanted to make sure of how long surgery would be. I told him that the Dr. said it would take 20 min. His reply was oh it could take 20 min. for Matt to go under, and then do surgery, and then wake up. So it would be about an hr and a half tops. I thought nice I could go run an errand and not have to have my mom or anyone else do it for me. I had paid for a bountiful basket for a food co-opp and it was at the mall not to far from the hospital. I thought I would have plenty of time to pick it up drop it off at home, shower, and be back before he woke up.
This was not the case. As I was putting the food basket into my car, Matt's Mom called the cell phone. She said she had called the hospital to see how Matt was doing. I guess apparently the Doctor talked to her, but he wouldn't give her any information since she wasn't at the hospital. She said he had gone out into the waiting room to talk to me and I wasn't there. The surgery did take 20 min. Crazy! I was really worried that something had gone wrong. You see when Matt had his stomach surgery they messed up on him, and he had a 2 week stay in the hospital. So I hurried back to the hospital. When I walked through the door the doctor was in the waiting room talking with another doctor. He recognized me right away, and said that Matt's surgery had gone well, and that I could go up to his room and wait for them to bring him up. So I did, and waited for about a half hr.
When they brought Matt up he looked like he hurt. Of course he hurt they he has 4 1 inch incisions held shut with a bunch of staples. I told the nurse what the anesthesiologist had told me on the time frame. She laughed and said that he must have never worked with this surgeon. Apparently the surgeon has removed so many gallbladders that he just goes right in and does it. I guess he doesn't want the patient to be under anesthesia for long periods of time. We had to stay in the hospital for a couple of hrs, to make sure he was able to go to the bathroom, and eat, and monitor his vitals. I'm so glad that we didn't have to stay overnight. I'm so glad that we live a little over 10 min. away from the hospital. Poor Matt got nauseous on the way home, and started to dry heave. Holy crap painful! I started to get scared when he started dry heaving. All I could think about was hurry up cars and get out of my way. When we got home I hurried and unlocked the front door so Matt could get inside. He went and laid down, and thank goodness the dry heaves stopped. I think he got car sick.
While he slept I went and filled his prescriptions, went back to the hospital because we forgot his breathing treatment devise, and then went to my mom's to pick up the girls. The girls were waiting for my mom to get ready so they could go to the park. They didn't want to come home. Fine with me, my Mom kept them for a few hrs. longer. She made us a couple loafs of bread, and said she would bring dinner with her when she dropped the girls off. When I got home Matt was doing alright. I was worried about him, and didn't want to be gone longer than I had to be. It was nice to be able to shower and clean up, and then have a nap.
My Mom brought the girls back around dinner time, with spaghetti. Funny thing though the 2nd counselor in the bishopric came with his kiddos to bring us dinner as well! We were so surprised. He came in for a few minutes to see how Matt was doing. He also just happens to be the counselor over the primary, and he told me the best news. That I was being released from the primary! Instant relief that I no longer had that responsibility of being the 1st counselor. He did say to not get to comfortable which scared me. I'm going to go into hiding! It will be nice to have a little break. =)
So it has been 4 days since Matt had his surgery. He is doing alright. We take it hr. by hr. He is good if he is lying down. He does get up and move around though. We are hoping that he will be able to go back to work soon. He doesn't have any sick leave, or vacation time, so it really puts us in a bind. Matt's supervisor had her gallbladder out awhile ago and she said she was out for 3 weeks. Matt's brother had his out a while ago as well, and he was in the same predicament as Matt. he had to go back almost a week after his surgery. He wished that he could take at least a couple of more weeks off. We are playing it by ear. Matt is scheduled to go in on June 7th to get his staples removed.
So the silly guy decided to watch a gallbladder surgery on the internet yesterday. Big mistake! He said it was so gross that it made him want to throw up. I said well if it made you want to, I know that I would have thrown up, and then passed out, or vice versa! I'm so grateful for Matt. He has such a high pain tolerance, it amazes me. I'm so grateful for the friends that have brought us dinner. I'm so thankful for the prayers and thoughts uttered in our behalf. It's nice to know that people care. Thank you all so much, and I love you dearly. So if you are experiencing intolerable gas pains and bloating and nothing works for you, go to the doctor right away. You may be experiencing gallstones. Believe me watching Matt suffer for a week and a half was horrible and you don't want to suffer like that.
2 comments:
So much to endure! I'm glad everything ended up going smoothly, and that your family was close by to help you!
DANG!
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