I am sitting in the hospital tonight with my husband, who got sick last night, throwing up and then complaining of a pain in his right side. We were in the emergency room by 4 am, and he was in emergency surgery by 7, having his appendix removed. Now, he is in bed and I’m sitting in a chair beside him, and we’re watching Big Bang Theory. Pretty funny tv show.
I am tired. I didn’t get lots of sleep last night since Ray started complaining of stomach pain by 9 and then was making regular trips to vomit by 11. By 2, he was feeling better – at least for a little while – before the PAIN appeared. I asked where he was hurting and he winced when I gently touched his right side. I immediately got up and got dressed. I knew we were going to the hospital. By the time I was driving him at 3:45, he was moaning in the car. When we got to the emergency room, the receptionist saw him and we were in an examination room within 6 minutes. After a CAT scan, the diagnosis went from possible kidney stone to appendicitis. A friend who is a surgeon was there by 6 and because this was deemed “emergency surgery,” it trumped all the scheduled surgery.
Ray was first up for the day.
He is on an IV drip of two types of antibiotics, plus is taking pain medication. His coloring is much better, though his temperature went up over the day to 102. The nurse said that wasn’t unusual, but it was enough not to allow him to go home this evening. The doctor said there was lots of infection and predicted 3 – 4 days in the hospital. We are both determined Ray will go home tomorrow.
We want that to happen because my sister-in-law’s memorial service is on Saturday in Texas and we want to go. If all goes well, we’ll climb on a plane on Friday and make the trek. I am hopeful all will indeed go well because missing that service will be a big disappointment. So, fingers are crossed.
We are not big “doctor” people, both spending most of our lives avoiding the medical profession as much as possible. But the truth is doctors and hospitals are great when you need them and sometimes out of nowhere you really do need them. So, thank God for that.
The people here have been so attentive and kind. A lovely experience, given the situation.
And Ray didn’t die today. In another time, without antibiotics and surgery, he would have.
So, this is a good evening and I’m thankful.
This also serves as a reminder of how unpredictable life can be. One more reason to seize the moment.
After all, we don’t know how many moments we’ll actually have.
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