Oh My Aching Back!

*Warning – Bodily Function Alert*Read At Your Own Discretion!*

That’s what i thought i had when i went to bed on Saturday night, so i took some medicine and settled down in the bed. i felt uncomfortable, but considered it might just be from the delicious meal i had stuffed myself with at my in-laws that evening, so i nuzzled on down and prepared for the medicine to kick in and sweet slumber to follow. Well, the medicine did kick in, however, there was nothing sweet after that. At 1 am on Sunday morning, i woke with a sharp, stabbing pain in my mid-back. i begged Beef to force his fist into the throbbing pain, however, even his strength was not enough to cut it down. He suggested i take a hot shower, and that i might have pulled my back moving boxes out of our guest room earlier Saturday afternoon. After scalding my skin in the shower, i again had hopes of sleeping… after the second shower, i was less hopeful. At 3 am, i woke Beef again, this time to run to the all-night grocery store to pick up a heating pad that the manager was so generously holding for me. (i had called ahead while waiting for the pain to subside) Surely applying direct heat for a few hours would make this terrible pain go away. As Beef headed off to town, an incredible wave of sickness rushed through me, and i rushed to the bathroom to revisit my supper. It wasn’t as appealing coming back up! i also noticed that i was having sharp pains under my rib cage, which i suspected meant i had pulled something while spewing my guts up in the “throne”. When Beef arrived back home with the heating pad, i was determined to have him remove the knife i was sure some little elf had stabbed in my back during the night. He found nothing, and sent me back to bed with a clean change of clothes. Our darling daughter woke up around six, and i got up to feed her, taking my heating pad into the living room and noting that after three hours, the back pain should have gone away. At 8:30 i was in tears and practically begging someone to shoot me, or at least dig the knife in further until it hit an artery or something to make the feeling go away! By 9:30, i drove myself to the emergency room, ready to be put down. The doctor was nice enough, but i am an information junkie, and i just don’t do well with “You decide whether or not you want to be admitted”. i need small, simple bits of information, like, “You are going to die if you do not get admitted”, or “You are fine. Go home and put the heating pad back on”… see, i’m good with simple. At any rate, after arguing with the attending ER doctor, i convinced him that i was going to go home, at which time, he called a surgeon.
Let me back up to 2006, when i had to have a CT scan for over productive adrenal glands… at that time, they found 12 gallstones. i asked them of the stones and gallbladder could be removed then, and was told that it would not be possible. You see, 85% of all people live out their entire lives with gall stones and never have trouble, so preventative surgery isn’t really a good idea. That’s what they told me back in 2006. Fast forward two years, two surgeries and one baby later, and we find out that i am one of the LUCKY 15% whose gallbladders do get infected, and that studies have found that pregnancy hormones can influence a gallbladder or gallstones acting up! Oh Yay!
At any rate, the surgeon came in and immediately did a manual exam, where he found trouble, and scheduled an ultrasound at the earliest time. So, this morning, i went in for the ultrasound, and this afternoon met with the surgeon. He told me that indeed, i do have infection in my gall bladder. Indeed those stones are acting funky. So, i’m waiting for a scheduled surgery to remove these little buggars, so i can get on with my life.
Bad news? Oh yes, well, there is no pain medication that can alleviate the pain of gall stones or an infected gall bladder. Such joy! Two surgeries in four months! How lucky can one girl get?
Well, i am pretty lucky, it takes a special kind of man to get up out of a nice warm bed and sound sleep to drive into town to buy a heating pad for his wife.
Seriously – i really am blessed!
Praise God that they weren’t terribly infected to where i had to be admitted Sunday. Thank God that i have a great surgeon who will get this taken care of. Glory to God!