Turning the Tables

Happy New Year!! It was a busy holiday season for my family filled with lots of family gatherings and watching the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a 4 year old and a 21 month old. Mom is a one year breast cancer survivor. That is the most important thing!

For me, it hasn't started out so well or 2010 didn't end so well. It's been an injury and illness plagued end of the year for me. I twisted my ankle on Christmas Eve when I slid down stairs carrying Christmas presents. That, is thankfully recovering. Then, I was hit with what I thought could have been stomach flu while visiting friends in Columbus on New Year's Eve. I had lunch and soon after started getting a severe pain in my lower chest/upper stomach. I thought that it would go away, but it didn't. I didn't eat any of the lovely spread of food that my friend prepared, but I was able to ring in the new year. I felt better the next day and was able to eat regular food again. The pain came back Saturday night, but not as severe. However, the pain kicked in Sunday night, while I was at my parent's house. I made a promise to the parents and sister that if the pain continues, I would go to the doctor. Strangely, the pain subsided on the way home from my parent's house. I took the day off of work to recover and was feeling better by Tuesday.

Tuesday night, I had another severe attack while at my part time job. I left there and drove myself to Fairview Hospital, not knowing what the pain was. I was admitted right away, as anyone over 30 with chest pain and sweating profusely will be let into the Emergency Room right away. I was hooked up to heart and blood pressure monitors and given an EKG. My blood pressure was sky high for me, which obviously was a concern. The PA came in to see me to ask a few more questions and let me know that he didn't think that it was a heart issue, but something to do with my gallbladder. They were doing more tests to find out. The nurse gave me morphine and an IV of fluids. I had never had morphine before. What a weird feeling! I was given a chest X-ray and then taken for an ultrasound. The ultrasound technician kept having to press on my ribs and chest bone to get an accurate reading. Boy, did that hurt, even with the morphine! My ribs still hurt from that (and that was 5 days ago!) The attending doctor came in about an hour later. He told me that the blood tests were fine. The ultrasound was good, except that I had gallstones. He said that my gallbladder wasn't infected, so I wouldn't have to be admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery. However, I needed to consult with a surgeon right away and get the gallbladder removed. He also said that I had to be on a bland diet, so I wouldn't get another attack. A few minutes later, the PA walked in and said that the doctor forgot to say that my potassium is low and I will need to be on a supplement for a week. Swell. Now what? I was released with a list of prescriptions for pain (if needed) and nausea(if needed)and the potassium supplement. I was also told if the pain came back or I felt feverish and looked jaundice to return immediately to the hospital. My dad drove my car home while Mom drove me to their place for the night. I stayed there, but of course, my mind wouldn't settle, even though I was exhausted. Everything kept going through my mind. I think that I finally fell asleep at 9am for a few hours. I made the appointment with the surgeon for this coming week. We'll see what happens from there. I've talked to many people in the past few days that have had something similar. They tell me that it will be fine and the surgery and recovery is very simple. And that I will feel so much better when this is over.

So, now the tables are turned. Mom gets to take care of me as I took care of her last year. Who would have thought....