What you never want to do around Laura is make a plan. You just live your life, breathing, inhaling, exhaling, thinking to yourself, "I wonder if I can make a plan today" but as soon as you do, she challenges your thought process and does something outlandish like becoming anxious or dehydrated, or both. When she's walking through my office door asking if I'm on the phone or watching a YouTube video because she thinks she may need to go to the Emergency Room, I am so very glad I didn't actually make any real plans!
Yep, it's true. She did it again, only this time, I was so very prepared! Last night, my friend Jeannie came over and we watched a Bee Gees special. When the narrator got around to discussing how Maurice (pronounced "Morris") died, I told Jeannie that I think maybe Laura should be checked for gut issues, since she has been battling a lot of gastrointestinal problems lately. Over the past two or three years, anyway.
Well, low and behold, who should walk into my room today saying she thinks she needs to go to the emergency room, but my daughter -- who, I said, "OK, but I'm asking them to check your gut for a twisted bowel or something because this has gone on for too long." She didn't argue with me, and that's what we did. She went in and got hooked up to the standard IV that they use when they see her coming - and then she asked them to do a test on her gut -- they did!!
They gave her a CT (cat) scan - her very first ever. She has zero cats in her gut, but she did have an issue with her gallbladder. They ordered an ultrasound, and when the technician came to perform it, she allowed me to look at the monitor. I took photos, and we discussed them at length. I really learned a great deal! I had NO clue how the gallbladder can affect literally everything going on with a person's stress, anxiety, digestion, gastromedical stuff, and it's just too involved for too many reasons! You should read up on those things -- they are simply amazing.
Well, turns out, the woman has to have hers removed, and she's going to do that first thing in the morning, because it was just about suppertime and the doctors were already released unless there is an emergency. She's OK, she can do it tomorrow. She could have waited until next week, but they advised her that it was best to do it now, since it wasn't inflamed, but was on the cusp. She was in discomfort, not pain. She had gone in with dehydration, and her two nurses, a P.A. and a doctor, told her the same thing(s) basically - they all think that after the gallbladder is removed, MOST if not all of her health issues related to dehydration and cramping should go away! WOW! That is really really good news for Laura.
When I had my gallbladder issue I thought I was having a freaking heart attack! It was ONE big fat stone that blocked everything. They couldn't get it, and they ended up cutting my belly open (7-9" ) and dragging the organ out. That won't happen to Laura. She'll have the simple three-point surgery that 99.9999% of the people have. Did you know that 700,000 of these surgeries are performed in America every year? That's a lot!! It's 900,000 in Europe and 56,000 in the UK. We checked.
She's a little scared, of course; she hasn't had a real surgery. She's had tooth surgery, but not body surgery. She's up for it, and she's nervous, but in a good way. She has two male nurses tonight who both watch anime, so she's got good company with her. I left her at 7:30 p.m., and she's going to bed at 10, after she and the nurses review over 1,000 fun facts about things I know nothing about. I'm so happy she'll be healed soon. This has been a real pain and a real problem for just too long. It's like chasing vapor or smoke, you can't ever grab it!
The E.R. nurse, also a man, told her she could eat well until midnight, then she was to stop eating and drinking water. I went to Chick-fil-A and got her a #1 with a Sprite. As soon as she ate it, the hospital nurse on her floor brought her a bowl of broth, telling her she could only drink broth until midnight. OOPS! But it was okay, the doctor waived it, saying she would be fine. They're more concerned when surgery is scheduled within 6 hours of the last time you ate. She was literally eating her last bite when that happened. I had to laugh.
There is ONE funny thing about this - on her chart, or in her history, it says I am or have been abusive to her verbally. I guess someone didn't realize how she and I talk, get along, and act with each other. She laughed. They asked her if she felt safe around me, but I wasn't in the room when they asked. She said she laughed and then realized they were being serious. I think she told them she was fine, but I would have milked that for a while, I think.
Well, I'll blog again after she's had the surgery, comes home, and is resting. She'd love your prayers, and if you read this years later, she'd still appreciate your prayers. I know I do. She's texting me constantly now about what this or that nurse thought. I bet she'll end up being their favorite patient, and she'll end up with two new buddies! Woo!!
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