Daniel's in the hospital...
He had to have an emergency appendectomy this evening. He'd not been feeling well for a couple of days, and he even worked today. He came over to the house after work and slept, but woke up and asked us to call Dean. Dean and Tori and the little kids came over and Dean checked him over and said he thought Daniel had appendicitis. Dean and I took Daniel to the hospital Dean works out of in Midwest City, and two doctors confirmed Daniel's problem. He had surgery and is doing better.
I'm so tired now, I can't think straight. I'll write more later.
UPDATE 1313 SAT NOV 19, 2005: Okay... I was exhausted when I wrote the above early this morning. This is how it went down, to the best of my recollection:
Daniel had been complaining about not feeling well as early as Wednesday. He thought he was constipated, but the pain kept getting progressively worse as days went on. Friday, he went to work at 6am, and by the time he left work, he was feeling pretty bad. He came over to the house and slept for a couple of hours, hoping the pain would subside enough so he could drive home. Instead, he asked us to call Dean.
Dean, Tori and the little kids (Amalia and Joey) came over. While we were waiting for them, Mom and I took Daniel's temperature and it was 102.9 degrees. His pulse was racing, and he kept asking for something to drink. He was in so much pain he could barely sit up without someone helping him.
Dean checked Daniel's side, and hit the spot where it hurt the most. Daniel yelped out in pain. Dean thought that it was most likely appendicitis, and that a trip to the hospital was in order. Tori and the kids stayed at the house while Dean and I took Daniel to the hospital.
Dean drove like a bat out of hell. I figured that if he got stopped, he'd just explain he was a doctor and was taking a patient to the hospital. But that didn't happen. So Dean kept running stop lights and soon we were at the hospital in Midwest City that Dean practices out of.
While Dean went inside to get some help, I gingerly got Daniel out of the van. He could barely stand up because of the pain, and leaned on me until the bed arrived, and he carefully climbed onto that with a lot of help.
The ER staff did a lot of tests and stuff and determined that Dean was right, that Daniel not only had appendicitis, but that his appendix had either burst or was perforated. Daniel signed forms and got explanations to what he was in for with the surgery. By this time, Daniel just wanted the offending organ out so the pain would go away.
The surgery took about an hour or so (I honestly don't know). Dean had gone back to Mom's house to take Tori and the kids home, and to return the key to Mom's van because I had taken it with me in the rush to get Daniel to the hospital. I hadn't yet had dinner (we were planning it when all this began), so Dean asked what I wanted and I told him to get me something at McDonald's.
When the surgery was over, the surgeon came in and explained how the surgery went and what was really wrong. Daniel had appendicitis, and the organ had burst, but there was a lot of bactieria and other stuff to clean out. Then the surgeon showed me pictures of Daniel's insides taken during the procedure. I saw that the swelling was touching the abdominal wall, the actual absess that he removed along with what was left of Daniel's appendix, and what the area looked like after the surgeon was done.
Those were pictures of my son I'd never thought I'd have to see. They were pretty gross. I'd make a lousy doctor.
I asked the surgeon when Daniel's appendix burst, and he told me early Friday morning. That would put it probably around the time Daniel got to work at the grocery store. And he'd worked an entire shift!
Daniel should be in the hospital about 3 to 5 days, depending on how well he heals. Then time at home to recover from the surgery. I called the grocery store where he works and told the store manager that Daniel was in the hosptial. Apparently, Dean had also called because the store manager knew Daniel was sick. Daniel is not in any danger of losing his job, I was told, and that he should do what needs to be done to get well and get back to work.
I called Daniel this morning, and he's feeling better and resting. I will probably go up there to see him this afternoon.
And I was worried about the battery in the van....
And that's all from where I sit.
--MorelaterZ--
I'm so tired now, I can't think straight. I'll write more later.
UPDATE 1313 SAT NOV 19, 2005: Okay... I was exhausted when I wrote the above early this morning. This is how it went down, to the best of my recollection:
Daniel had been complaining about not feeling well as early as Wednesday. He thought he was constipated, but the pain kept getting progressively worse as days went on. Friday, he went to work at 6am, and by the time he left work, he was feeling pretty bad. He came over to the house and slept for a couple of hours, hoping the pain would subside enough so he could drive home. Instead, he asked us to call Dean.
Dean, Tori and the little kids (Amalia and Joey) came over. While we were waiting for them, Mom and I took Daniel's temperature and it was 102.9 degrees. His pulse was racing, and he kept asking for something to drink. He was in so much pain he could barely sit up without someone helping him.
Dean checked Daniel's side, and hit the spot where it hurt the most. Daniel yelped out in pain. Dean thought that it was most likely appendicitis, and that a trip to the hospital was in order. Tori and the kids stayed at the house while Dean and I took Daniel to the hospital.
Dean drove like a bat out of hell. I figured that if he got stopped, he'd just explain he was a doctor and was taking a patient to the hospital. But that didn't happen. So Dean kept running stop lights and soon we were at the hospital in Midwest City that Dean practices out of.
While Dean went inside to get some help, I gingerly got Daniel out of the van. He could barely stand up because of the pain, and leaned on me until the bed arrived, and he carefully climbed onto that with a lot of help.
The ER staff did a lot of tests and stuff and determined that Dean was right, that Daniel not only had appendicitis, but that his appendix had either burst or was perforated. Daniel signed forms and got explanations to what he was in for with the surgery. By this time, Daniel just wanted the offending organ out so the pain would go away.
The surgery took about an hour or so (I honestly don't know). Dean had gone back to Mom's house to take Tori and the kids home, and to return the key to Mom's van because I had taken it with me in the rush to get Daniel to the hospital. I hadn't yet had dinner (we were planning it when all this began), so Dean asked what I wanted and I told him to get me something at McDonald's.
When the surgery was over, the surgeon came in and explained how the surgery went and what was really wrong. Daniel had appendicitis, and the organ had burst, but there was a lot of bactieria and other stuff to clean out. Then the surgeon showed me pictures of Daniel's insides taken during the procedure. I saw that the swelling was touching the abdominal wall, the actual absess that he removed along with what was left of Daniel's appendix, and what the area looked like after the surgeon was done.
Those were pictures of my son I'd never thought I'd have to see. They were pretty gross. I'd make a lousy doctor.
I asked the surgeon when Daniel's appendix burst, and he told me early Friday morning. That would put it probably around the time Daniel got to work at the grocery store. And he'd worked an entire shift!
Daniel should be in the hospital about 3 to 5 days, depending on how well he heals. Then time at home to recover from the surgery. I called the grocery store where he works and told the store manager that Daniel was in the hosptial. Apparently, Dean had also called because the store manager knew Daniel was sick. Daniel is not in any danger of losing his job, I was told, and that he should do what needs to be done to get well and get back to work.
I called Daniel this morning, and he's feeling better and resting. I will probably go up there to see him this afternoon.
And I was worried about the battery in the van....
And that's all from where I sit.
--MorelaterZ--
My name is Stef, and I approve this post. Posted @ 1:49 PM
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