Mad Girl Versus the Angry Pancreas

At about 2 am last Friday morning I awoke with what I thought was just an upset stomach. I took a few Tums, updated my Facebook status and planned on heading back to bed. However, my body had other plans. My upset stomach soon turned into a sharp stabbing pain. I thought I could wait it out, but when I started having issues breathing I knew I had to take myself to the emergency room.

I'm not sick person and I try to avoid the hospital at all costs. I had an appendicitis when I was 15 and had to spend a week in the hospital. This was not a pleasant experience and I have avoided the hospital at all costs. A few years back I cut myself while doing dishes and tried to bandage it up myself. I soon realized that this cut was pretty serious and decided to take myself to the emergency room where they stitched me up. So, making the decision to go to the emergency room did not come easy, but I was pretty sure something was up.

I got myself dressed and went to hail a cab. Of course I get the cab driver who doesn't know where he's going and wants to make chit-chat with me as I'm doubled over in pain in the back seat. I finally make it to the emergency room where I got checked in and poked and prodded to see what the problem is. I had blood drawn, urine sampled, an EKG and an ultrasound. It turned out that I had a small gallstone that needed to be removed. At around 8am Friday I was actually admitted to the hospital. By this point I hadn't eaten (see my Last Supper entry) since the night before and haven't slept since 2am.

This is where my own little slice of hell awaits. Apparently they can't operate right away because I have Acute Pancreatitis - or angry pancreas. as I like to call it. So, I am kept in the hospital for observation. Thankfully, I brought my nook with me - I really don't know what I would have done without it. In the time I was there I finished Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton, #2 in the Blackdagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward and started #3 in the series. Clearly, I am on a vampire kick. My other saving grace was my friend Jen. Jen was kind enough to come up to the hospital on Friday to get my keys and run back to my apartment for some necessities - like my nook charger and clean underwear. I also had her pick up some lip gloss and bronzer wich helped me look a little less like death.

Being in the hospital is not glamorous. Those dressing gowns are nasty as all get out. They are not comfortable (unless you enjoy letting your ass hang out to the general public) and certainly not cute. I managed to dress mine up with a pair of yoga pants and accessorized with an IV. The whole time I was in the hospital my only form of nourishment was from my IV. I wasn't even allowed a drink of water. By the end I was hallucinating about beer and chicken wings. I imagined my IV was filled with Makers Mark and my nurse was actually a Hooter's waitress.

The other big buzz kill was my 90 year old roommate. That's right, they put me with batty old lady. I like seniors about just as much as I like children. Not only did she feel the need to ring the nurses bell every 10 minutes, but she had to use a bed pan to go to the bathroom. So, I got to be present every time she had a BM. It was so disgusting I nearly vomited. I do not deal with other peoples feces or vomit very well. The smell alone makes me gag.

I was finally let go from my torture at around 5pm on Saturday and was told that I needed to return at 8am on Monday for my surgery. Thankfully, I was able to go home and relax a bit before having to return. My surgery went really well and I am now one gallbladder short. I did have a very bad reaction to the anesthesia and was quite nauseous for a while, but I was finally released to go home. I'm pretty sore and my throat still hurts from the breathing tube. The vicodin I'm on is easing the pain, but making be very tired. So now I have a week of recovery ahead and plan to polish off a few more trashy vampire books and crank out a few blogs along the way. Expect to hear a little more from Mad Girl as I recover over the next week.