Ewww, ick.

Lucky me, I got to spend Thursday night through this morning in the hospital. I had a small bowel obstruction. Icky stuff follows, so the weak of tummy should just close the browser knowing I am home and fine.

I came home from work on Thursday with what I thought was just bad gas pain. When my usual remedies (heating pad, hot bath, Gas-X) didn't work and the pain got worse, I wound up calling for ambulance transport to the ER. After assorted pokings, proddings and questions, I was given contrast matter to drink, some Dilaudid for the pain, X-rays and CT scans. When the doctors determined that I did in fact have a small bowel obstruction, I was admitted and given a naso-gastric tube (as Zayrina says, up the nose and down the throat) and then sent off to a room.

One note on the ER visit--mostly, the staff was competent and thoughtful. There was one nurse, however, who was a complete shit to me. I had a hard time keeping the contrast down, and had vomited up a fair amount of bile. My mother, who stayed with me practically the whole time, had been back and forth with basins for me, but at one point one of them overflowed onto the floor. When the nurses came in to insert the n-g tube, the jerk stepped in some of the bile, and finding out what it was, he had a mini-meltdown about getting it off his new shoes. He was then very patronizing to me, and verbally rough when it came time to get the tube down me. Fortunately, I didn't have to see him at all again after that.

The nurses and techs on the floor were great, the surgeon I saw was very good at actually listening to me, and once I'd had a bowel movement and promised to make the earliest possible appointment for a series of X-rays with barium, agreed to let me come home. Zayrina called frequently and posted about my situation on the Lush message board. My Lushie forum friends were sweet as can be. MaryMargrt sent her mom over with a flower, KellyGirl stopped in for a visit and brought more flowers, several people called, and there was a 12 page thread full of warm thoughts and good wishes for me to read and tear up over when I got home. Mallie called and helped cheer me up, and so did both of my brothers. Amy was an absolute godsend in taking care of the puppymonsters and my house and even sent her hubby to pick me up from the hospital.

This week is going to be interesting--tomorrow, I have my 30,000 mile lube/tune-up/MRI at the Cleveland Clinic, Tuesday is Bigfoot's surgery, Wednesday is training in a new process at work, and at some point I have to have the all-day X-rays to find out exactly where the adhesions are and if they are going to require future surgery or possibly just a change of diet and awareness of onset symptoms.

My warmest thanks for everyone who has been so supportive through all of this.