January 2012

January 2012 started off with a Bang in our house.  Sunday night Matt started feeling bad. His stomach hurt and he was just generally uncomfortable.  He went to bed but couldn't sleep and ended up in the bathroom throwing up pretty much all night.

Monday morning Matt said he felt he needed to go to the ER because he was really dehydrated.  I figured the doctors were going to tell him it was the flu, drink fluids and rest and then send us home.  Thats pretty much what they did.  But we were at the ER from about 9am to noon, and then add drive time (40 minutes each way).  It was a long day.

Tuesday morning Matt went back to work but he was still hurting.  A lot.  So he went to the clinic where our family doctor said he was concerned because the pain was emanating from the area of Matt's appendix and his white blood cell count was up.  So, off we go back to the ER for a CT scan.  That took forever.  I was already up at the naval hospital for one of Lottie's pre-surgery check ups but I'd only packed enough diapers, food and toys for a two hour trip.  We ended up staying there from 8am until nearly 5pm. It sucked.  Anyway, the scan showed there was indeed inflammation in Matt's appendix but it wasn't enough to be conclusive so they sent us to the ER for more blood work and to talk to another doctor.  They decided that there was nothing they could do because nothing was conclusive enough.  So, they sent Matt home and said if he was still in pain in 8-12 hours to come back .

So, at 3am we took Matt to the ER, again. This is now Wednesday and we've already spent most of Monday and Tuesday at the ER.  I was luckily able to arrange for babysitting for the girls this time!  We hung out in the ER for a few hours until they finally admitted him.  They then gave him IV antibiotics and observed him for about 8 hours.  When the pain was still not going away they decided it was time to take out his appendix.

Matt was wheeled back to surgery about 3pm.  They cut him open in three small spots on the left side of his stomach and took the appendix out (its on the right side).  This was called a Laproscopic Appendectomy.  (I just like saying that!).

As a side note, I went home while Matt was in surgery and discovered that Gabriella had popped her first tooth!

Matt was then released from the hospital at noon on Thursday.  So we spent pretty much all of Monday-Thursday in the hospital dealing with this surgery.  It was brutal.

But then!  Monday Lottie had tubes put in her ears.  So I left the house at 5ish in the morning and left Matt with the girls.  She was a super champ when it came to getting ready.  She let the doctors do everything they needed to do without being shy or scared.  They even carried her back in their arms and she didn't protest.  That child has complete trust. Its amazing.

Coming out of the anaesthesia was hard on her.  She really struggled and cried and thrashed about. They said that is really normal for kids because everything is so disorienting.  It was hard to watch and even harder because I couldn't comfort her.  I don't think she even really recognized me!  But she came out of it after about 15 minutes and then fell asleep in my arms and I got to cuddle her for about a half hour.

When she came home she was so excited and so happy!  It was like nothing happened.  Actually, it was like the pressure on her ears was gone and she felt so much better.

And, as another side note, Gabriella's second tooth came in and I discovered it when I came home from Lottie's surgery.  I hope she isn't waiting for any other surgeries before she pops the rest of her teeth!

Lets just say the beginning of January 2012 was rough. But I have every reason to expect a complete and full turn around and for 2012 to be a really good year.