Several months ago (when I was 16 weeks pregnant), I began hurting. It took until 26 weeks for my doctors to believe me and do an ultrasound. Lo and behold, I had gallstones, but by the time they discovered them I was too far into the pregnancy to have surgery so it was time to put on my big girl panties and stick it out. I had no idea what this meant at the time, but boy did I find out. I've heard gallstones are painful, but try running out of room and then having a baby dance on your gallbladder. THAT is painful. They were a concern during delivery, but thank goodness the epidural numbed far enough up that I didn't experience much pain from them.
After delivering I truly thought I had walked into heaven. No attacks, no pain, no nothing. When Emory was 4 weeks old I had my first attack. I was quite a thankful mommy when it happened on a Saturday night because Phillip was home to help. These attacks feel completely different from the ones when I was pregnant. I didn't want to go to the doctor because I knew they would tell me that I needed surgery, and I was not ready to leave Emory (I was with Emory every second of every day until he was 5 weeks old). I got over my attack and life as I knew it continued.
Last Tuesday I decided that I could leave and go work at the florist for a bit. So I saddled up and headed in. I spent a whopping 2 hours away from Emory. This was HUGE for me. Little did I know, things were about to get a lot worse. That night I started feeling bad about 11:30, but Phillip doesn't get home until 1:30 AM. I tried to stick it out. Emory was crying, but nursing in the middle of a gallstone attack (as I found out) is close to impossible. So I called my sister at 12:30 AM to come help me since I couldn't move. She did a good job coaching Emory on how he shouldn't poop while he's being cared for by his aunt because she doesn't change dirty diapers. I didn't know it, but Phillip had to work late and wouldn't be home until 2 AM. When you're having an attack, minutes feel like hours. When you have an attack with a screaming baby, minutes feel like days!
Phillip finally got home, I called the surgeon that I had met with during my pregnancy. He said that I needed to immediately go to the ER. Ummm, no. I have a newborn that I can't leave. I stuck it out until 4 AM, at which point I was having trouble breathing and could barely walk (we're talking way worse than labor pains here). My mom came over to keep the baby, Phillip helped me to the car, and I was in the ER by 4:45 AM. Normally ER waits take FOREVER and a year, but I was back and being shot up with drugs in 30 minutes (after the nurses blew several of my veins attempting to start an IV...one day they will learn to use the pediatric needle when I tell them instead of on their 5th attempt).
I don't remember a lot of the next 15 hours, except when the pain killer wore off 7 hours in. Apparently I had an MRI, another ultrasound to see how bad the stones were, and some x-rays. I remember the MRI, vaguely remember the ultrasound, and have no recollection at all of the x-rays. The surgeon came in and told Phillip (and myself but I wasn't aware of my existence on the planet) that my gallbladder was done. After months of fighting it was completely distended and well beyond the size of what it should be, full of fluid and stones, blocking images of the duct so they couldn't determine if it was ok, and had begun to impact my liver function and size according to the labs and imaging. FABULOUS. Surgery was set, Phillip was supportive (and exhausted), and I was an emotional wreck because I had already been away from Emory for close to 24 hours.
Thursday morning rolled around and I was a bit nervous. The surgeon came to say hello that morning carrying his yogurt (which I thought was cruel since I hadn't eaten in two days). I really like him and was quite happy I had consulted with him during pregnancy because it calmed some of my anxiety. Poor fella has SIX daughters, but that's a post for another day. Phillip kissed me goodbye and within a few minutes I was out. Before I knew it, I woke up with five new holes in my body, one fewer organ, and just wanted to know how my baby was doing. Phillip laughed because I was quite heavily sedated, but could worry about nothing but seeing my child. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to leave until my liver panels came back showing some improvement. So Friday around 11 AM, we were sent home FINALLY!
Now in case you haven't noticed, Phillip and I have pretty awesome family members. My mom and dad kept Emory until Phillip's mom and aunt came up Thursday afternoon to take over. My grandparents came and spent time with me after my surgery on Thursday. Phillip was at the hospital with me all night Tuesday and Wednesday and went to work Thursday and Friday nights. So it was all hands on deck for our 5 week old.
Luckily when little one had jaundice I was forced to pump a lot, so we had a nice stock pile built up. Unfortunately, we burned through all of that by Monday and he wasn't allowed to nurse until all of the medication was out of my system for 48 hours so I didn't take any pain killers after Friday. Poor guy, his somewhat normal "schedule" (if you can call it that with a newborn) was thrown way out of whack. Factor in having to supplement formula for lack of production and you have a recipe for one cranky baby. You can't blame him though. No one likes change...especially not that much change in that short of a time period.
He had a great time with his grandparents and great aunt though! Phillip and his mom took care of all of his feedings in the middle of the night so I could rest. Linda (Grammy Harris) and Aunt Diane stayed all weekend and helped clean, cook, and babysit. My mom spent all day here yesterday slaving away making enough food for a small army (I think she forgot that only three people live here and only two of us can eat). My dad came over to clean and then took Emory on an evening stroll outside. My mom has continued to spend the afternoon/evenings with us just helping out. I have to say that it's nice having someone to hold him when you're cut and bruised up all over your abdomen. Emory is some kind of spoiled! We are slowly attempting to work our way back out of this hole I got us knocked into. Maybe by this weekend we'll be back and better than ever!
Here are a few pics to sum up this novel of a post. Thanks for everyone that has helped, prayed, and encouraged us over the past week! I have a few appointments over the next few days, but feel SO much better now! Love you all!
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| I walked into Emory's nursery and found this one night. His Grammy is great at getting him to stop fussing. Love this picture. |
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| My mom (aka: Nana) has spoiled this child beyond belief! They like to spend their afternoons looking outside at all the birds, flowers, and trees. (Seriously, God gave me a child that loves being outside and I despise it...dirt, bugs, heat, and all. Heaven help me!) |
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| Some of my bruising. Took 11 sticks just to get 2 IVs started. FINALLY, the lab tech brought her pediatric needle when she came to get my blood Friday morning. Only took 3 days! Imagine this on my other arm and both hands. I look like a hot mess! |
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