Saturday, April 11, 2009
Trip to the ER
It wasn't about Jack. It was about that intense upper abdominal pain hitting me again in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, this time it was at Noni's, where people were sleeping in nearly every room of the house and there was nowhere to sit or pace or writhe in pain other than my own bed. It started at 3:00 a.m. I struggled with it until 4:30 a.m. and then got in the shower to try to soothe the pain with warm running water again. This time it didn't make a dent. I kept thinking about what the 24/7 Anthem nurseline told me last time this happened. I should go to the emergency room. I debated it for another half an hour before I gave up and went to wake Noni. They were all due to get up around 5:20 a.m. anyway to start getting ready to go set up the yard sale in town. Noni woke up my SIL (the nurse) to ask her drive me to the ER.

We got there around 5:20 or so and we were the only thing happening in the ER. We were able to check in quickly since I was pre-registered for delivery two weeks ago. They started by giving me something they call a GI cocktail. It had Maalox and lidocaine and something else. They took blood and vitals. Then they sent me to ultrasound. I think everyone was figuring a gall bladder attack. That was my guess. Since the baby has all my stuff squished up high it was challenge to get the pictures they needed. When the u/s was finished they sent the pictures to Australia, where they have a radiologist who's awake to read the u/s results.

The verdict...I have a 2 cm gall stone. Yippee. They can't do anything about it until after Jack is born. Then we can consider surgery or wait to see if it passes. In the meanwhile I'll be doing myself a favor to avoid fatty foods. I was sent home with prescriptions for a pain killer, something for nausea and something to stop spasms.

We left the hospital by 7:20 a.m. An amazingly fast turnaround, if you ask me. We picked up coffee, donuts and bagels to take to the yard salers and then reported in to them. Noni went with me to pick up my prescriptions and then I brought the kids home, put the 11 year-old in charge (at his parents suggestion), took a Vicodin and went to bed. I slept until after one, when the yard salers were home.

This pregnancy has thrown some of everything at me. In 25 days it will finally be over. Come on, May 6!
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Good memory
Emma and M had gone for a walk out to the red gate. Because of all the recent rains we had a nice stream running where the ground is usually dry. Emma says to M, "Remember that time when I was 2 and we put my boats in the water and they floated away? Remember that, Daddy?" M did, indeed, remember when Emma was 2 and we did exactly that. "Can we do that again?," she asked.

But of course!