Appendectomy

Alisha and I got about a week after Roscoe's passing to settle back in at home before I returned to work. The day after I returned, she woke up at 3am with severe stomach pain and dry heaving that kept her awake. We went to the emergency room to find out what was wrong, but the tests they ran all came back negative (which, confusingly, in medical terms tends to always be a good thing). They sent her home on pain medication and gave us warning signs to look out for.

When they checked in with us by phone the following morning, the pain had migrated from above her belly button to near her hips. She also developed a fever of 99-100 degrees, so we went back in. They planned to run a CT scan to check for appendicitis, but due to the radiation risk of a CT scan, I asked if they could use an ultrasound instead. Each CT scan has a risk of about 1 in 1,000 of causing cancer. Thankfully, the ultrasound revealed appendicitis and planned a surgical removal (appendectomy) just two hours later.

Waiting to be prepped for surgery

Though we thought we were finished with the hospital, we visited some familiar places that day. Alisha's ultrasound was conducted in the very same room where we found out that Roscoe was 500g in weight (a very specific answer to prayer). Before surgery, her bed was parked right next to the spot where Roscoe had been prior to his tracheostomy and gastrostomy. After the surgery, we wheeled her past the waiting room where we'd heard that Roscoe's surgery was successful. These were all happy memories.

Prepared for surgery, waiting one bed over from where

Roscoe was before his surgeries

This infirmity might seem like just another kick to us while we're down, but the timing couldn't have been more perfect. Had Alisha's appendix had trouble a few weeks earlier, it would have impacted her last week with Roscoe (which would have been a disaster). Had the appendix trouble happened a few weeks later, it would have ruined an "escape" trip we planned for the end of August. It's just a matter of finding the bright spot in a dark cloud!

Since the appendectomy on August 1st, Alisha has had a week of healing and antibiotics that have put her in a much better place. She's now able to walk comfortably and even cough or laugh without pain.