Sometimes, life is a bowl of cherries and, sometimes, it's the pits!

About 48 hours ago, I was starting to get ready for bed and told Sean that I didn't feel very good. My abdomen was sore, but it didn't feel like an upset stomach. We weren't really sure what it was, so we tried to go to bed. At about 11:30, I started throwing up which didn't seem to provide any relief like it usually does. Sean got up again and started looking in our medical book about abdominal pain. He was wondering if it could be appendicitis or not, so he read me that section. I still wasn't convinced that's what it was, so he went back to sleep and I stayed in the bathroom for a while. At about 1:30 a.m., I got Sean up again and asked him to reread the appendicitis section. After rereading it, we decided it was probably time to call his mom so she could come watch the kids. We got to the hospital at about 3 a.m., I had a CT scan at 4 a.m. and was diagnosed with appendicitis at about 4:45 a.m. Finally, they gave me some drugs that stopped the vomiting and pain! Woo hoo! Due to the large number of people evacuated from Houston/Galveston hospitals, our hospital was pretty packed. They couldn't get me in for surgery until 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon. They did the surgery laprascopically, so I only have 3 very small incisions. Right now, I am very sore, but am able to get around decently. The worst part post-surgery has been little gas pockets inside my upper chest. Apparently, during the procedure, they fill your abdomen with gas so they can see better. After they close you back up, the gas doesn't have anywhere to go, so it makes pockets in your body. The nurse said some patients even think they're having heart attacks because the pain is so sharp.
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I was discharged this afternoon, so I'm back home to sleep in my bed tonight and I was able to kiss the kids. I have had very good care from the nurses, doctors, and, in particular, Sean and my mother-in-law. Mindy came over in the middle of the night and took 2 days off from work to watch Benjamin. Sean has been doing a great job watching over me, keeping me company, making sure I take my medicine, and warding off the kids.
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It certainly makes me step back and appreciate the good, healthy days that are the norm for us. I also realize even more how brave and wonderful Benjamin is. He has had 5 surgeries in his short life, while this was my first at age 37. Make sure to give your loved ones a hug and kiss today! You never know what adventure is just around the corner.