Hi dear reader! Sometimes I forget that this is primarily a blog, not a magazine, and I am here to connect with you all….. not editing and writing different articles every week.
If you haven’t noticed, I have been quite absent from my work for a couple of weeks. So, as a result, all the pending summer-related articles are piled up, and it’s time to upload articles for Fall…. so weird!
I have been quite sick lately. I had to go through emergency surgery on July 17th, and it has pretty much kept me under the radar. So I am taking this time to heal my body and clear my mind to focus on what’s important.
Here’s the story of what happened:
I developed severe pain and chills around my abdomen on Thursday 15th. I am not new to this specific pain, but this time, it felt worse. I tried every OTC medicine to ease it. These dulled the pain for a couple of hours and then came back. I tired Ice, cold compression….nothing helped.
I developed shortness of breath, severe shoulder and back pain along burning abdomen pain and chills that night, and my body was telling me it’s time to stop tolerating this pain and start taking action. So we went to the emergency around 5 am Friday…and after the tests, it was diagnosed as Gallbladder stones and blocked bile duct.
After the diagnosis, everything was moving pretty quickly. They took me to endoscopy for further investigation, removed the stone blocking the duct, and put stents inside to keep the ducts open. Day after the endoscopy, my liver and pancreas started acting up, and I was kept under observation for a day to control and improve the condition to go through the surgery.
Prepping for the surgery felt “normal” and acceptable because somehow I knew, even before the diagnosis, drastic measures have to be taken to get me out of this misery, and I was right. There was no other option than to take out the culprit. So the surgeons took out the gallbladder. I stayed in the hospital for 2 more days, and before discharge, the doctor said I am on the road to recovery.
I studied gallstones and the associated condition when I was in dental school. We had to take surgery classes in the 3rd year, and gall bladder stone was one of the conditions we needed to study properly to pass that class. Little did I know I have to go through this one day!
The pain before and after the surgery is no joke. You have to give your body time to heal and make many adjustments to make the body normal after the surgery.
I am back at home now. My body is still healing. Moving or stretching still hurts. Food intake nowadays is a big adjustment, no oily, creamy or fatty foods. Even drinking some coffee is a big no-no.
I have lost 7 lbs in almost 10 days; my movement is slow; I can sit down for 20 minutes before the incision site hurts like h***. Unfortunately, I will also need another procedure around September to take out the stents. (Agh!)
BUT… I am thankful! I am thankful that I listened to my body instead of just tolerating the pain and gobbling down painkillers. I am happy that I am back with my daughter, who was terrified seeing mommy crying in pain like that.
I am happy that even though I have diet restrictions now, I can, one day, get back to normal life.
At least I can hope!
If you are having any similar symptoms, consult your doctor. Do not neglect the pain and discomfort. My regular posts will be uploaded from next week. Till then…stay healthy and stay beautiful my friend!
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