My Monday started out how all normal Monday’s do. Once my oldest was on the bus and my youngest was dropped off at daycare, I headed to work.
After about an hour in the office I started to feel off – heartburn and a lower backache. Over the next few hours it only got worse and my attention span waned. I decided it was best to call it a day.
I’m still surprised I made it home given how disoriented I was. Of course I didn’t realize it at the time but my appendix was severely inflamed and close to rupturing.
What started out as a normal day slowly turned into one I never thought would happen.
After heading to urgent care around 3 in the afternoon, I was quickly sent to the ER. In hurry up and wait fashion I ended up in emergency surgery at 11 p.m. and spent the night in the hospital.
Kids’ reaction
My girls didn’t know what to think. I was with them in the morning and by the afternoon Grandma was picking them up from school and telling them I was at the doctor. Because we didn’t know what was wrong with me or that I would be having surgery until around nine that night, they were left wondering what was wrong with me. It was scary.
It was even scarier for them knowing I was having surgery and not coming home. Grandma stayed with them until my husband was able to go home early the next morning.
They had no idea what to compare the situation too. Mom had never just NOT come home and the only other time I had been in the hospital, we came home with a baby.
My oldest had a break down at school on Tuesday. Her teacher called my husband trying to confirm what was going on. Knowing that I would be all right, she had Tessa write me a letter. Accompanying the letter was a lovely picture of me throwing up. Her idea of my being sick was just that.
I was home from the hospital before the kids came home from school on Tuesday. I was nestled in bed when they came in to see me. They were very cautious when approaching me and giving me love. We talked about what had happened and I assured them I was fine, although I would need time to recover.
My reaction
Being in pain is hard. I tried to work through the pain. It truly wasn’t until I was looking at someone talking and not hearing a word she said that I realized how bad I was hurting (especially since we were talking about my favorite thing, red velvet cupcakes).
Recovery was rough for a few reasons.
One – even though my appendix was taken out laparoscopicly, it was still hard. Imagine a mini c-section. My midsection was inflated with air and instruments were inserted rearranging my insides, and removing a body part. I really don’t care how easy that seems – recovery stunk.
Two – I had to rely on people for help. When my husband had surgery a few years ago, I said I can handle it! I can handle cooking and cleaning, and the kids. Who knows how I did it (or if I was really successful). But with me having surgery I realized that we needed help. I had help taking care of my girls physically and emotionally while at the hospital. When we got home, people brought food. I had to have people step in and handle meetings for work.
I needed my village, and I needed to realize it was ok to have help or to ask for help. I’m not weak because of it.
Having emergency plans in place is great for these situations. Our plan is usually to contact local family to help out. This time it worked great. What I hadn’t thought through was the emotional plan – how do you plan ahead for the scary parts and talk through that with kids. Now that we’ve experienced it, they have a better understanding. But here’s hoping it doesn’t happen again!
How have you managed a medical emergency and what advice do you have for others in planning ahead?
Read more from our It Happened to Me series:
