To ER or not to ER

Ive experienced some pain in my life and this wasn't the worst pain I've had by far, however on Friday when I started having sharp stomach pains in my lower right abdomen, I began the debate of "am I being a baby?" or "better safe than sorry." The pain was significant, but I was sure I could handle it and it would go away. Then people started telling me lower right means appendix and if it bursts it could be very bad. New year, new deductible, ER on a Friday night. What to do?

The "better safe than sorry" won the battle and after Josh's persistent urging to get me to go, we got in the car ER bound. Checked in at the desk and claimed my bench to lay down in the waiting room until the nurse called me back. First went the elderly man with his jacket on backward. He must have been in a hurry. Then the elderly lady who must have been in a car accident that day and refused to go to the hospital from what I could overhear. An hour passed and I should be next, until the guy who comes in with chest pain. The nurse tells us all waiting that they have no open beds. Finally they decide to triage us waiting and get our blood work started. She took me back where I had to ask for a bucket because I got sick and I think she finally realized there was some validity to my seemingly non-urgent stomach pain. She then let us wait in the family room with a much bigger couch.

After two hours in the waiting room, they finally have a bed for me. My nurse comes to put in an IV because they already suspect appendix and surgery but because the pain was so low and I'm female, wanted to do a female exam as well. In the meantime while she makes small talk, I tell her where I work and as luck would have it, she's a current masters student! That may make for an awkward future meeting in the hallway as she was fully engaged in the process of my female exam!

Next a CT scan which of course was inconclusive and they decide to admit me. This was my first overnight stay in a hospital and possibility of emergency surgery. Josh went home to get my glasses and such and came back to spend the night with me. This was happening at 11:00 at night. I hadn't eaten since noon and was starving but since surgery was a possibility in the morning, they wouldn't let me eat. However, with the help of Phenergen and Morphine I drifted right to sleep. Sleeping in a hospital is next to impossible because someone will wake you up every hour for some reason or another. I got about 6 hours of sleep but it felt like I had been asleep forever.

Finally around 7 the surgeon comes in with his passé of about 4 people. Scared to death by all the people I was pleasantly surprised when he said they weren't going through with the surgery. They made me eat lunch and dinner and get up and walk and finally discharged me around 6 Saturday evening. I was never so happy to leave a hospital.

Overall I'm happy I decided to get things checked out and happy to know its most likely viral however, still another expense to add onto recovering from Christmas, buying a house, and just shelling out $500 on a second appraisal. But doctor bills are interest free so it will be fine! I am thankful for no surgery and hopeful my next overnight stay in a hospital will be more planned and for a happy occasion if you catch my drift! :-)

Moral of the story: always go with better safe than sorry!