My first week of summer

Well, my first week of my summer vacation didn't go exactly as planned. Instead of enjoying the sun, going to Winstock, and sleeping in, I spent my time in the hospital!

The day after Eric's surprise party I started to feel sick. In the early afternoon my stomach began to cramp up and have pains. I lost my appetite and was very tired. I never get hangovers, but thought that maybe that day I did for some reason. So I chalked it up to my first hangover in some time.

However, by late Sunday night I was in quite a lot of pain and could not find a position to get comfortable. I came to the conclusion it was not a hangover and must be the flu. I have not had the flu since 4th grade so did not quite remember what the symptoms were or how you should feel. I assumed what I was feeling was "normal."

Monday was the first day of summer school which I was suppose to be teaching. By late Sunday night, I knew there was no chance of me going. I could barely walk or get out of bed. From Sunday afternoon until Monday night I laid in bed moaning and groaning and in a great deal of pain. I couldn't believe how horrible the flu was!

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling a bit better and had my appetite back. So now I was sure it was the flu. I went to summer school to teach but was still pretty slow, sore, and weak. Tuesday night I decided to make an appt. "just in case."

On Wednesday when I still was not feeling up to par I went in. They did a urine and blood test before the Dr. even saw me. Upon seeing my white cell count, she knew right away something was wrong. My count was a 17.8 when normal is between a 4-11. Basically it meant my body was fighting a nasty infection. I was sent immediately to the Buffalo hospital for a CT scan. The CT scan told me just what I was afraid to hear...you have appendicitis. From there I was admitted to the hospital and had surgery that evening. Wednesday was a LONG day!

Surgery went well. During surgery they found that my appendix had ruptured. Because it had ruptured, it made my condition a little more serious. Thankfully it was caught early enough to be taken care of.

Since surgery last Wednesday, my recovery has been slow but sure. Wednesday through Friday I was in the hospital and was still in quite a lot of pain. I was able to go home on Friday. My mom came up and helped me out tremendously. I don't think I could have made it without her here that day. Saturday I started to feel a bit better. I even got out of the house for a few hours and went to Winstock...Tear:( It was good to hang out with the crew! There is always next year for Winstock, I guess.

I am slowly beginning to feel better. I think I am able to walk without a hunch now and am walking at a normal pace. I still get pains every now and again, but feeling better than what it was last week. The dr's have told me it will take a couple weeks to fully recover. I am hoping another few days and I will be back up to speed!

This has been quite the experience. I have never spent time in the hospital (other than my tonsils many years ago) and I have never been this sick before. I was so amazed with the overwhelming support and love from my family and friends. I have so many wonderful people in my life. Thank you to all of you for being so caring and helpful! Without all of you this would have been a much harder ordeal. A special thank you to my wonderful husband for taking care of me and being super sweet. And another special thank you to my mom for helping me as I healed! I love all of you! Thanks again!

Carissa