Jul 24, 2011  •  In Aerin, Personal, Pregnancy

Surgery

I am currently writing this on my phone while lying in bed at the hospital.

Early yesterday morning I woke up to excruciating abdominal pain, similar to the severe round ligament pain I had experienced during my pregnancy with Claire. With this pregnancy being so similar to the last, I had believed myself to have been lucky to have been spared such dramatic afflictions, but I was wrong.

When the pain level reached that of labor pains, J called his brother to come watch Claire so that we could head to the hospital. Being 25 weeks pregnant, I was admitted to Labor & Delivery right away. The pain continued to grow worse, but BebeDeux seemed to be in good condition.

Soon, the pain became almost unbearable. I could not walk or talk, only rock back and forth with tears streaming down my face. I began to vomit and shake uncontrollably. My OB prescribed me some morphine, but that would only provide me about an hour of relief and then the vicious cycle would begin all over again.

It was the worst physical pain of my life.

This was not round ligament pain, like last time. Neither was I in premature labor (and with labor pains, I would at least get some relief between contractions while this pain was continuous).

The doctors were perplexed. All my bloodwork, abdominal ultrasounds, and other pregnancy-safe tests came back normal. But after about the 9th hour of this agony, they decided that an MRI was needed. There were some risks to the baby, sure, but they just could not figure out what was wrong with me.

I fervently prayed that the MRI would show what the other tests did not, and it did…

Accute appendicitis.

I needed surgery asap, before my appendix burst.

My OB, surgeon, and anestheseologist all assured me that the procedure would be safe for BebeDeux. And that the small risks involved with the surgery were nothing compared to the risks I would be taking by not getting my appendix removed and quite possibly have it burst.

A couple of hours later, I gave J a kiss and told him I loved him while getting wheeled into the OR. And an hour after that, I woke up to my surgeon informing me that the surgery was a success, and that my inflamed appendix was now no more.

So here I am now, back in the maternity ward, recovering from surgery while they monitor BebeDeux. She seems to be handling it a lot better than her mama, and I am forever grateful for that.

Depending on my progress, I may be discharged as early as today. Be that as it may, I can’t help but be worried about the upcoming week or two as I continue to recover and have little Claire to take care of…J will most likely need to work from home many days, and/or our nanny will need to come in for extra hours.

Please keep our family in your prayers as we recover from yesterday’s surgery. I hope that you’re all having better weekends than me. 🙂

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50 Responses to “Surgery”

  1. Ang says:

    So glad you are on the mends! Will be praying for a speedy recovery.

  2. Courtney says:

    Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry to hear that you had to have surgery, but relieved it went well and you’re on the road to recovery.

    This blogger has a similar appendicitis while pregnant with little ones at home back in Jan/Feb. She and her baby were fine! http://flakymn.blogspot.com/

  3. Mina says:

    thank goodness you and bebedeux are okay, but how scary for everyone! i am so glad they figured out what happened before anything worse occurred (i mean, i’m sorry that it had to happen in the first place, but you know what i mean). rest up well, we’re all sending you thoughts of a speedy, healthy recovery!

  4. christine says:

    praying for your speedy recovery and that baby deaux continues to be safe and sound inside of you!

  5. Jacqueline says:

    OMG I’m so sorry to read this! I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I’m so glad they were able to figure out what was wrong in time. Sending warm wishes and get-well thoughts your way. Can your mom come help with Claire? Hope you get some rest.

  6. So happy to hear that you are on the mend. Sending your get well thoughts!

  7. Jennielee says:

    so glad to hear you’re doing better! how scary!! Sending good vibes your way

  8. Cindy says:

    Hope you feel better soon and recover quickly!

  9. Heather says:

    Oh my gosh, Jenny – how scary!! I’m so happy they finally found the root of the problem and were able to get it taken care of. So happy to hear that BabyDeux is handling it all with no issues. That’s going to be quite a story for her to hear later! Feel better soon!

  10. waisze says:

    sounds scary! i’m glad your surgery was successful and baby is doing okay. wishing you a speedy recovery!

  11. Grace says:

    So sorry to hear about your illness. As some other people have said, the good news is that the recovery should be pretty quick, especially if they did laproscopy. I hope they did! (probably, I think it’s standard now).
    I had my appendix out in 2004, and was pretty much all better in a week. I worked as a preschool teacher then, so you too will probably be able to care for your daughter very soon. Don’t worry! Best wishes.

  12. Sunny says:

    Eeek I didn’t know appendicitis could cause that much pain and trouble. Hope you and bebedeux will be fully recovered soon!

  13. Jennifer says:

    Hope things are improving speedily for you! Keeping you and the family in the thoughts and prayers.

  14. Nev says:

    Hope you’re recovering nicely, get well soon!

  15. Robin says:

    Just checking in to see if there was an update. You are missed.
    Praying all is well.

  16. I so feel for you… I had basically the exact same thing happen to me about a week later than you… pain through the night with hyperventilating and vomiting, rocking and crying, and I thought it was just related to my pregnancy as well. This is my first, so everything is new to me. I was 20 weeks! I had a similar laparoscopic procedure, and 2.5 weeks later, I’m significantly better, but holy cow this whole thing has completely kicked my butt! The pain from the appendicitis was so very intense, like nothing I have ever felt.

    I’m really glad to read that you and Babydeux are doing well… I’ll be thinking of you, wishing you full and speedy recovery! (while I try and accomplish the same thing myself!)

    Jolene

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