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07 July 2016
Appendix - An Unnecessary Organ
Friday night we finished the yard work, fed my kids and three other neighbor kids barbecued hot dogs. I was wrangling the kids in the house, cleaning up toys, etc. My stomach started to hurt. It was this sort of bent over, can't walk or stand straight, can't really sit either kind of hurt.
Ug. James left to go run a couple of errands. I was fighting to get 2 kids bathed and pajama-ed. It got worse. It was bad enough that while Molly was in the bath I was trying to get her to memorize James' phone number. In hindsight, she knows how to spell James and could have called him on my phone without knowing his number, but at the time I felt that was urgent in case I passed out or something.
I put in a movie and was pretty much out of it. James was taking forever. My dad called to asked a question and I probably wasn't clear. Meranda was texting me about my couches. It was giving me a bit of distraction.
When James got home I told him that I didn't feel very good, but he said "sorry" and continued working on what he was working on.
I got the kids to sleep. I showered and changed the wash. I took a handful of ibuprofen and then tried to sleep.
I woke up about 6:00 a.m.
The pain had pretty much subsided, though I felt like I'd taken a few good hits to the stomach and was recovering. Molly was in my bed, so I got up and moved to her bed. When I stood up I realized I still hurt, but mostly, the pain had moved a little lower and to the right. It was sensitive to touch, to move, to sneeze, but otherwise was not nearly as agonizing as the night before.
I started reading on my phone and thought I might have appendicitis. I was a little worried because the pain the night before and this morning was weird. However, I wasn't throwing up and I didn't have a fever. I thought I was probably fine, but maybe I should go get things checked out.
At 8:00 a.m., everyone was still asleep, so I left a note for James that I was headed to Instacare. I figured they'd tell me I was fine and then I could return home.
Instacare didn't actually open until 9:00. I just sat in the parking lot. After I finally got in and was seen by a doctor, he decided I probably did have appendicitis and needed to go get things checked out further.
Jump to the end of the story . . .
I spent nearly 7 hours in the IMC Emergency Room . . . . waiting. I waited for a CT Scan. I waited for the results. I waited for an open operating room. By around 5 or 6 p.m., I was finally wheeled to the operating room and my appendix was removed.
I stayed in the hospital until Sunday afternoon.
I survived. Laproscopic surgery is not quite as quick and painless as you'd think. I hurt. I have mega bruises and swelling even though I only had 3 small incisions.
I can't lift anything for 2 weeks and I am slow and sore, but I'll survive. It's not cancer. It's not a life sentencing disease. People have been really nice to me. I'll be better soon.
Ug. James left to go run a couple of errands. I was fighting to get 2 kids bathed and pajama-ed. It got worse. It was bad enough that while Molly was in the bath I was trying to get her to memorize James' phone number. In hindsight, she knows how to spell James and could have called him on my phone without knowing his number, but at the time I felt that was urgent in case I passed out or something.
I put in a movie and was pretty much out of it. James was taking forever. My dad called to asked a question and I probably wasn't clear. Meranda was texting me about my couches. It was giving me a bit of distraction.
When James got home I told him that I didn't feel very good, but he said "sorry" and continued working on what he was working on.
I got the kids to sleep. I showered and changed the wash. I took a handful of ibuprofen and then tried to sleep.
I woke up about 6:00 a.m.
The pain had pretty much subsided, though I felt like I'd taken a few good hits to the stomach and was recovering. Molly was in my bed, so I got up and moved to her bed. When I stood up I realized I still hurt, but mostly, the pain had moved a little lower and to the right. It was sensitive to touch, to move, to sneeze, but otherwise was not nearly as agonizing as the night before.
I started reading on my phone and thought I might have appendicitis. I was a little worried because the pain the night before and this morning was weird. However, I wasn't throwing up and I didn't have a fever. I thought I was probably fine, but maybe I should go get things checked out.
At 8:00 a.m., everyone was still asleep, so I left a note for James that I was headed to Instacare. I figured they'd tell me I was fine and then I could return home.
Instacare didn't actually open until 9:00. I just sat in the parking lot. After I finally got in and was seen by a doctor, he decided I probably did have appendicitis and needed to go get things checked out further.
Jump to the end of the story . . .
I spent nearly 7 hours in the IMC Emergency Room . . . . waiting. I waited for a CT Scan. I waited for the results. I waited for an open operating room. By around 5 or 6 p.m., I was finally wheeled to the operating room and my appendix was removed.
I stayed in the hospital until Sunday afternoon.
I survived. Laproscopic surgery is not quite as quick and painless as you'd think. I hurt. I have mega bruises and swelling even though I only had 3 small incisions.
I can't lift anything for 2 weeks and I am slow and sore, but I'll survive. It's not cancer. It's not a life sentencing disease. People have been really nice to me. I'll be better soon.
Kids Physical Updates - Doctor Visits
I took each of my kids to the doctor - on separate days - because they had a birthday and needed a check-up - and because it is a pain to take them together.
Here is the update:
Child #1 - Molly
Age 6 - Weight 47 Pounds (60%) - Height 46.75 inches (74%) - BMI 15.1 (45%)
Blood Pressure 92/64
Right Eye 20/20 - Left Eye 20/25
Child #2 - Jack
Age 4 - Weight 41 pounds (85%) - Height 42 inches (83%) - BMI 16.4 (75%)
Blood Pressure 98/54
Right Eye 20/20 - Left Eye 20/20
Here is the update:
Child #1 - Molly
Age 6 - Weight 47 Pounds (60%) - Height 46.75 inches (74%) - BMI 15.1 (45%)
Blood Pressure 92/64
Right Eye 20/20 - Left Eye 20/25
Child #2 - Jack
Age 4 - Weight 41 pounds (85%) - Height 42 inches (83%) - BMI 16.4 (75%)
Blood Pressure 98/54
Right Eye 20/20 - Left Eye 20/20
- Both kids were given a "How much time per day are they physically active?" survey.
- Jack got his kindergarten shots
- Disneyland Height Check - Molly cannot ride California Screamin', Jack cannot ride Indiana Jones or California Screamin'
- Lagoon Height Check - Molly cannot ride Air Race, Cannibal, Cliffhanger, Jet Star, Rocket, Samurai. Jack cannot ride those either, plus the roller coasters. He can ride Rattlesnake Rapids, Musik Express, the Bat, and Bombora.
Book Review
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
This book is a series of shorts stories/essays/articles on a variety of topics. It is very light-hearted and silly. Mindy discusses her high school friends. her family, her career, her fashion issues, and other non-life determining frivolousness.
It was a quick read and easy to skip around if you get to a chapter that you don't find very interesting. I read it over the course of a couple of weeks and skipped a few parts.
My favorite parts were this quote about high school:
“Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life. What I’ve noticed is that almost no one who was a big star in high school is also big star later in life. For us overlooked kids, it’s so wonderfully fair.”
I also liked a chapter when she talked about marriage and her parents. She basically said the marriage should be a partnership and good-working relationship. It doesn't need to be all about soul-mates and besties. You can be best friends and talk with someone else, but then still work together well with your spouse and enjoy the things you have in common. I couldn't find the quote I liked the best about her own parents, but this one was decent.
“I don't want to hear about the endless struggles to keep sex exciting, or the work it takes to plan a date night. I want to hear that you guys watch every episode of The Bachelorette together in secret shame, or that one got the other hooked on Breaking Bad and if either watches it without the other, they're dead meat. I want to see you guys high-five each other like teammates on a recreational softball team you both do for fun.”
Room by Emma Donoghue
I read this book for a neighborhood book club that I've never actually attended. I didn't get to discuss it at the book meeting, so I will discuss it here.
The story is set in a small backyard shed, called "room." The characters are a mother and her 5 year old son, Jack. The mother was kidnapped and has been held captive in this room for a number of years. Jack was born in the room and has never seen the outside. The book is written from his perspective. Eventually they make an escape attempt and then the last part of the story is about their transition to the outside world.
As far as reading it goes, it was intriguing and I couldn't put it down. I read it in just a few days.
When I was finished, however, I didn't really like it. It was sad and yucky (5 year-old breast feeding makes me uncomfortable). The mother did what she could to educate the little boy within the confines of the room. The transition was pretty rough for both of them. It was a sad story about something that has actually happened to people, but you hope it never happens to anyone you know.
The positives themes of the book are the unbreakable bond between the mother and her son as well as the hope that there will always be a way out of awful situations. I liked those ideas.
Should you read it? Sure, if you want. There is also a movie. I didn't see it and don't want to. It is rated R and I'm sure a lot of things that are innocently and naively explained from the perspective of a 5 year old in the book are more explicit and graphic in the movie. The book was not rated R.
Amelia Earhart: Young Air Pioneer by Jane Moore Howe
This is a silly little children's book about Amelia Earhart growing up. She had a great love for you parents and grandparents and a great love for adventure at a very young age. She had to break barriers all the time, from convincing her grandma that she could wear pants to convincing her dad that she could take flying lessons.
The book was a very brief introduction and I would like to read a "real" book about Amelia Earhart. I've always thought she was a fascinating figure.
This book is a series of shorts stories/essays/articles on a variety of topics. It is very light-hearted and silly. Mindy discusses her high school friends. her family, her career, her fashion issues, and other non-life determining frivolousness.
It was a quick read and easy to skip around if you get to a chapter that you don't find very interesting. I read it over the course of a couple of weeks and skipped a few parts.
My favorite parts were this quote about high school:
“Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life. What I’ve noticed is that almost no one who was a big star in high school is also big star later in life. For us overlooked kids, it’s so wonderfully fair.”
I also liked a chapter when she talked about marriage and her parents. She basically said the marriage should be a partnership and good-working relationship. It doesn't need to be all about soul-mates and besties. You can be best friends and talk with someone else, but then still work together well with your spouse and enjoy the things you have in common. I couldn't find the quote I liked the best about her own parents, but this one was decent.
“I don't want to hear about the endless struggles to keep sex exciting, or the work it takes to plan a date night. I want to hear that you guys watch every episode of The Bachelorette together in secret shame, or that one got the other hooked on Breaking Bad and if either watches it without the other, they're dead meat. I want to see you guys high-five each other like teammates on a recreational softball team you both do for fun.”
The story is set in a small backyard shed, called "room." The characters are a mother and her 5 year old son, Jack. The mother was kidnapped and has been held captive in this room for a number of years. Jack was born in the room and has never seen the outside. The book is written from his perspective. Eventually they make an escape attempt and then the last part of the story is about their transition to the outside world.
As far as reading it goes, it was intriguing and I couldn't put it down. I read it in just a few days.
When I was finished, however, I didn't really like it. It was sad and yucky (5 year-old breast feeding makes me uncomfortable). The mother did what she could to educate the little boy within the confines of the room. The transition was pretty rough for both of them. It was a sad story about something that has actually happened to people, but you hope it never happens to anyone you know.
The positives themes of the book are the unbreakable bond between the mother and her son as well as the hope that there will always be a way out of awful situations. I liked those ideas.
Should you read it? Sure, if you want. There is also a movie. I didn't see it and don't want to. It is rated R and I'm sure a lot of things that are innocently and naively explained from the perspective of a 5 year old in the book are more explicit and graphic in the movie. The book was not rated R.
Amelia Earhart: Young Air Pioneer by Jane Moore Howe
The book was a very brief introduction and I would like to read a "real" book about Amelia Earhart. I've always thought she was a fascinating figure.
Grandpa Turned 70!
Grandpa Binggeli turned 70!
His kids threw him a surprise party on Memorial Day and here are a few pictures.
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