Holy Week: Appendicitis!

ST. pADDY'S dAY PARTY!

My Irish IV

Br. Damiano gave me his hat and shades for the 1 hr. after surgery pic! Such a Nurse thing to do!!!!

Thanks Dad! Right after surgery!

Never a dull moment!

I love Dave!

I love Greg!

Seeing my Dad... I thought my heart was gonna burst!

Monday April 6th started with a 4 hour trip up to the mountains to drop a team off for Holy Week. I felt a little queasy that morning, but nothing that would have stopped me from going. About 2 hours into the trip I began to vomit uncontrollably for the next 4 hours. This pain started that felt like a really bad flu…but got consistently worse as the hours went by. I was determined to make it to drop off the team, and then return home, but as we got about 4 hours away it was clear that I was getting worse and worse. Carol found a way to get the team the rest of the way, and we began our descent home. Unpaved roads, in a bumpy truck, vomiting every 20-30 minutes…I’ll leave it at that! We were in contact with Dr. Eleana, one of the AMAZING doctors I work with at San Benito, and she had suggested we stop in Marcala which was ½ way between where we were and home, and go see a doctor. Being a nurse, I began to do all sorts of tests on myself….including the rebound test which states appendicitis, but the pain was not at all localized….at least not yet!

After a very unhelpful trip to the hole in the wall clinic, we finally make it back to Comayagua. I went for all different sorts of tests and came to the hospital to see Dr. Eleana, where after looking at the tests she told me she had called the surgeon because she thought it might be appendicitis! I had never had an IV before last month, let alone surgery, so to say I was fearful and anxious was an understatement! But God is SO much bigger then me! I walked out of the room to go into her office and as I opened the door, sitting there were my Dad, Greg, and Dave! I BURST into tears! Ha…to which David’s response was “Geez…we thought you were gonna scream because you were so happy to see us!” They had been panning to surprise me for a few months, and happened to arrive the day before I had surgery! To be comforted by “my boys” the three most important men in my life was unbelievable…literally. I said the only thing that would have beaten that was my Mom!!! They kept it real…squeezing my IV bag so it would “go in faster”, and just being them!

Because I never spiked a fever, I had to spend the night without pain meds, to make sure the pain got worse and worse every hour, and if in the morning my white count had not dropped (which as 16,000 2x the normal value) then they would do surgery. It was a night I would like to forget other then knowing it was Holy Week,,, and I guess if I could choose, there really is no better week to remember suffering then that! Tuesday morning brought a definite diagnosis of appendicitis and FINALLY some pain meds before surgery! My Dad was with me (Greg and Dave were killing a lamb with the Friars for Holy Thursday dinner!) and the last thing the Doctor said to my Dad was “25 minutes and we’ll have her out! It’s a really short Laparoscopic surgery!” Well, a little over 2 hours later they wheeled me into the recovery room. As it turned out he started Laparoscopically, and it became evident on the first incision that it had began to rupture. He quickly opened me old fashioned style (a nice 4 inch scar to accompany the other 1inch one!) and had a few difficulties after that, and then had to do a lavage (pretty much washing out all your organs). When I woke up he asked me why I had to be so complicated! So a one day hospital stay turned into 3. I am still trying to figure out the why’s and how’s. There weren’t pain meds like we have at home, and it was a really hard week. So many moments of thinking I just couldn’t do it…feeling so helpless on top of the pain.

I can’t thank God enough for sending my Dad and the boys, Carol, MJ, and Cecilia (the other Missioners) who could not have taken better care of me! Dr. Eleana who is so much more then my doctor, but dear friend cared for me as if I was her family! It was non-stop visitors between my crazy family, the Friars (Br. Paul decided since I’m Irish we should have a St. Patrick’s Day party…and brought pins…decorations etc! Picture to follow of my “Irish” IV bag…all that was missing was the green beer!), the Missionaries of Charity, the WHOLE staff at the hospital I work at, and a number of close friends of our community. I was cared for so well. Thank-you all for your prayers, love, and phone calls! In each moment of desperation, it was those very things that enabled me to keep going. Every time I see this scar I will not only remember the fear and pain, but more so the faithfulness of God. A week after surgery the incision re-opened, and they were going to have to open me up again, but thank God they did not have to. The surgeon commented to me how “lucky” I am, how many other directions this could have taken. It has nothing to do with luck. Nothing short of all your prayers and sacrifices…I thank God for showing me the fragility of the lives we are given. I am determined to continue to live my life that is on loan to me as fully as possible!