Last weekend proved to be a very shitty one for me... quite literally. I had been anticipating going to Gerry's holiday party for dinner and dancing and socializing (I don't get out much). Gerry bought me a new black dress and high heeled shoes and I was so excited for Saturday night. I had two episodes recently where I thought that I had thrown my back out doing various household tasks but eventually the spasms subsided and I was feeling... ok. On Friday I awoke with an uncomfortable feeling in my abdomen, but I usually ignore stuff like that because at my age there's always something uncomfortable going on... "mind over matter" is my motto. However, by 7 PM the discomfort turned into a stabbing pain in my side and I knew I needed to be seen at the local clinic. They did bloodwork and sent me to the hospital for a CT scan, with a diagnosis of suspected appendicitis. Was I pissed off thinking about my missed party? You bet. I sent Gerry home knowing that this would be an overnight ordeal and worst case scenario they would snare out the appendix and I would go home in the morning. At 1 PM the CT scan was completed and more blood work was taken. At 3 PM the ER doctor came to tell me my appendix was fine but there was something suspicious on my colon and my liver enzymes were very elevated. I was told that I would be admitted for further testing... the doctor looked really concerned. On Saturday all thoughts of the party disappeared as I was handed the report which had the words "suspected malignant neoplasm" in the report. I almost fainted and being an oncology nurse for years... well you could just imagine how I felt. The pain subsided but was replaced with dread and shock and fear. I tried to be brave for Gerry's sake, but I'm very emotional and spilled a few tears of self pity. He was so supportive and kept reminding me to be positive. He even laid his hands on my side to do a healing. I was so touched and cried for his love and concern. Then the bowel prep of mega laxatives began and for two days I was awkwardly running to the bathroom with an IV pole and a pad between my legs to get "clear for the colonoscopy. I didn't want anyone to know about my predicament and I certainly didn't want any visitors under the circumstance. I was happy to hear from Gerry that back at home Otis my bunny kept jumping up on my side of the couch seemingly perplexed that I wasn't there. Gerry put my bathrobe on the couch and poor Otis burrowed into it and wouldn't come out for some time. It's not like him to do something like that! I had my test on Monday and miraculously they did not find anything wrong. The doctor and nurses were baffled. I still have to have a test to see why the liver enzymes went up and where the pain was coming from, but they think I passed a gallstone. I wouldn't have thought of that as I had my gall bladder removed last year, but evidently the body can still makes stones that block the bile duct from the liver. Who knew? I'm home now and waiting for a follow up test and a clean bill of health, as I'm convinced that Gerry and Otis healed me more than medical care ever could.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Otis Missed Me!
Last weekend proved to be a very shitty one for me... quite literally. I had been anticipating going to Gerry's holiday party for dinner and dancing and socializing (I don't get out much). Gerry bought me a new black dress and high heeled shoes and I was so excited for Saturday night. I had two episodes recently where I thought that I had thrown my back out doing various household tasks but eventually the spasms subsided and I was feeling... ok. On Friday I awoke with an uncomfortable feeling in my abdomen, but I usually ignore stuff like that because at my age there's always something uncomfortable going on... "mind over matter" is my motto. However, by 7 PM the discomfort turned into a stabbing pain in my side and I knew I needed to be seen at the local clinic. They did bloodwork and sent me to the hospital for a CT scan, with a diagnosis of suspected appendicitis. Was I pissed off thinking about my missed party? You bet. I sent Gerry home knowing that this would be an overnight ordeal and worst case scenario they would snare out the appendix and I would go home in the morning. At 1 PM the CT scan was completed and more blood work was taken. At 3 PM the ER doctor came to tell me my appendix was fine but there was something suspicious on my colon and my liver enzymes were very elevated. I was told that I would be admitted for further testing... the doctor looked really concerned. On Saturday all thoughts of the party disappeared as I was handed the report which had the words "suspected malignant neoplasm" in the report. I almost fainted and being an oncology nurse for years... well you could just imagine how I felt. The pain subsided but was replaced with dread and shock and fear. I tried to be brave for Gerry's sake, but I'm very emotional and spilled a few tears of self pity. He was so supportive and kept reminding me to be positive. He even laid his hands on my side to do a healing. I was so touched and cried for his love and concern. Then the bowel prep of mega laxatives began and for two days I was awkwardly running to the bathroom with an IV pole and a pad between my legs to get "clear for the colonoscopy. I didn't want anyone to know about my predicament and I certainly didn't want any visitors under the circumstance. I was happy to hear from Gerry that back at home Otis my bunny kept jumping up on my side of the couch seemingly perplexed that I wasn't there. Gerry put my bathrobe on the couch and poor Otis burrowed into it and wouldn't come out for some time. It's not like him to do something like that! I had my test on Monday and miraculously they did not find anything wrong. The doctor and nurses were baffled. I still have to have a test to see why the liver enzymes went up and where the pain was coming from, but they think I passed a gallstone. I wouldn't have thought of that as I had my gall bladder removed last year, but evidently the body can still makes stones that block the bile duct from the liver. Who knew? I'm home now and waiting for a follow up test and a clean bill of health, as I'm convinced that Gerry and Otis healed me more than medical care ever could.
