Well, it became apparent this week that my body could not WAIT to be in the hospital. So, it thought of the quickest way to get there, and came up with appendicitis. I was planning on not going to school on Monday, which ended up being a really good idea since that was the day it occurred. I had a normal breakfast at eight then started to develop cramps. Thinking they were severe gas pains, I told my mom in a none serious matter then went on with my day of preparing for finals. At about 10 am, I was found myself on the floor with my knees to my chest because of the pain. When I got up to talk to my mom, I became nauseous and couldn't stand up all the way. I then got the chills which made me believe I had the flu, but my mom knew the signs of appendicitis and soon took me to the hospital. Eight hours, one CT scan, and three doctors later, I was diagnosed with appendicitis and planned for surgery at 9:45 the next morning. The next few hours were the worst part. Thinking I would have the surgery then be discharged that day was a big mistake. First we were told the surgery was at 9:45am, then it moved to 1:00pm, then 2:00pm. I didn't enter the surgical room until 4:00pm. With the surgery being so late, I had to stay another night. I became nauseous because of the pain killers and general anesthesia, but after I threw up (sorry for being gross) I felt a lot better. The worst part having to rest. I really would just want to clean my room, do my laundry and go Christmas shopping.The funny thing about this surgery is that I wasn't even nervous at all just because I have been so focused on the surgery next week.
As annoying as this surgery was, I can't help but laugh at this whole scenario. First of all, I had been looking forward to this week for two years....I'll explain. Because of my disability, my diet is vital towards my ability to stay walking. I am only allowed to ingest 1300-1400 calories per day. Having the caloric intake being so small, I have always been concerned about the calorie content of every single meal. With the jaw surgery not allowing significant caloric intake for seven weeks, this was my stress free eating week. The one week in my life that I can absolutely indulge and not feel any guilt for what I eat. This means ice cream with chocolate, a full burger instead of half, things like that. Not only was I not able to eat or drink anything for a total of 50 hours, but my stomach shrank too so I can't even enjoy the thought of pigging out! I laugh at the thought. Second of all, this is final week for me. Three of my finals were on the fourteenth. Having that be the day of my jaw surgery, I was planning on taking these finals this week. Well, now I am left one day, this Friday, to complete six finals. Seeing that this is nearly impossible, my surgeon insisted on writing letters excusing my finals from being taken. I will still be taking three finals though just because I can.
Despite all these problems though, I still saw God in every step of this procedure. Had it been only a day later, my jaw surgery would not have been able to occur which is something we have been working at for three years. If I had developed the appendicitis next week it would have been too much to deal with. His timing was perfect timing which is usually how it goes. I was also able to discover any problems I may face with my surgery next week. For example, when I was hooked up to the ventilator, they expanded my lungs too far resulting in chest pain. It was also hard to breath after they took the breathing tube out, which is of reasonable concern when combined with swelling in the back throat for the jaw surgery. Little things like that were concerns important enough to be aware of next week. If I had not had this surgery, I would not have known what to be concerned about: yet another blessing...
Well that pretty much sums up my experience which was not the worst one I have had. I am planning on posting my next update the day before my surgery unless something else arises. Until then!
Brynne Willis
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