Hospital Visit Numero 3

I was in the hospital AGAIN! Last week I thought I had a stomach bug and then it went away. Then on Sunday night (after I sent the email saying how excited I was to spend the week with my family and how life was sooooo good) I developed severe stomach cramping that kept me awake all night long. It carried on into Monday until I could no longer stand it and I went to see my doctor. The doctor took one look at me and said, “Go straight to the hospital, I will have you admitted, they will be expecting you.” So, off I went to the Katy Memorial Hermann ER and was admitted immediately. In the ER they did an ultrasound of my Kidneys, Liver and Gallbladder. Apparently I had an extremely diseased gallbladder that required emergency surgery. The doctors performed the surgery on Tuesday and removed the gallbladder which was about 5 times its normal size and was completely full of gallstones. The infection had also spread into my bloodstream which required days of antibiotics. I was anticipating going home Wednesday morning when the doctor came in and told me my Liver enzymes were extremely high (0-30 is normal- mine was 2000) and that I had jaundice. Much to my surprise, a quick glance in the mirror confirmed that I was now completely yellow, which I though was kind of cool since yellow is my favorite color ;)—totally kidding. I was then rushed into another surgery yesterday that required the doctor to use a scope down my throat to find why my liver enzymes were up. The gallstones had spilled into the common bile duct and intestine causing a blockage and backup of bile into my bloodstream—hence the jaundice. The doctor found the culprits, removed them and sent me on my merry way. I was able to return home today. I am still yellow and my enzymes are still high, but the doc says the liver is one of the slowest organs in the body and it could take weeks to return to my normal shade of pink. I am feeling pretty good for having 5 incisions in my tummy and looking like a bottle of mustard. I just kind of feel like I got hit by a DHL Truck. J I am so thankful that the doctors were able to move quickly and get the stones out—I could have been in BIG trouble had they waited or misdiagnosed me.

Nathan was a champ throughout this entire ordeal. Because Kayelyn is homebound, he had to stay home with the girls the entire time while I stayed in the hospital. I have to say I am married to an incredible man. He jumped right in and played mister mom and took perfect care of both girls, handled the cooking, cleaning and laundry. I came home to a perfectly clean house- bed had new sheets and was made, the dishes were clean and put away, the kids were bathed and happy and the carpet was vacuumed. I am so thankful that my husband is so wonderful!! It certainly makes my life much easier!!!

The girls are great! Kayelyn grew while I was gone and I missed many of her first real smiles—daddy took pictures for me though, which I will email out later. Briley was so happy to see me and is obsessed with my “Boo-Boos”.

SO here we are, our “bonding” week is almost over and I am finally home getting to spend time with my family. We have 3 days now, and since I am pretty much laid up in bed healing and Hurricane Dolly is drenching us, hopefully the next 3 days will be uneventful and peaceful. I am pretty much tired of hospitals, the way they look, sound and smell. AND If I have to send Memorial Hermann anymore of my money I may very well commit a crime J