I'm home...and this time I really mean it!

Okay, so I spoke too soon. After glorying in the feeling of being at home from the last trip to the hospital, reality sunk in and so did the few bites I tried to eat after I got home. Ryan and I went out to make a visit to the store, and part way through our stroll through Lee's, I knew the gut problems were back.

To fill in the details for those who don't know my whole happy story, here's the short version. A few years ago I had a ruptured appendix. They took it out and cleaned me up, and I had a long, nasty few weeks of recovery, but after that felt much better. I wasn't able to have it done laparoscopically, which made for a very long recovery. Fast forward three years. I've had bouts of stomach aches, but they've usually resolved in a few hours. Last week, I had a stomach ache that lasted all day, and got worse as evening approached. After a few trips to the ER over the course of a few days, where they loaded me up with meds, took X-rays, patted me on the arm and told me it was probably a viral infection, they finally did a CT scan and discovered I had a bowel obstruction caused by scar tissue from the appy a few years ago. I met with a surgeon, who wanted to try resolving the problem without surgery first. I stayed a couple of days, had an NG tube put in, felt much better after they took it out, and went home.

So, back to the trip to Lee's. We went home, called the surgeon, and ended up coming in the next day for another CT-scan. It was very interesting to look at the scan, especially in comparison to the scan from the previous week. It made it very apparent that the problem had not resolved itself, and that surgery would help me feel a lot better. I appreciate the surgeon holding off in cutting in, but it was obvious that it was necessary.

And now I have two weeks off. I feel very fortunate for many things. One of them was finding a sub. I've been worried about my classes at school and finding a sub for them who can sign. (They've had movies this week. I can't handle the thought of having them watch movies for two more weeks.) I was able to locate someone who not only signs, but is very familiar with the curriculum and teaches at the local university. Hooray! That takes a load off my mind.

Once again, we are very grateful for the love and care of those around us. I don't know how we would have gotten through this with your help, support and prayers. Thank you, thank you!