Happy Lap Appy!

So, I'm a nurse, right? Well, yesterday I realized how much I hate being at a hospital when I'm not working there. Especially when my husband is the patient. Monday was quite the eventful day, but before I go into details, I'll give a brief history:

For the last three years, Caleb has suffered from some really intense abdominal pain. We nurses like to objectify our pain by using the "pain scale." 0 is no pain, 10 is the worst pain you have ever felt in your life. (Which, according to Brian Regan, is getting your femur cracked in half. In fact, you should really watch this video if you haven't seen it. It is hilarious, and strangely similar to our ER experience.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-JRQXYy9wk

Caleb's pain would get up to 8 and 9 about every month or so. Anyway, he's seen every specialist and had every test done, but nobody could find anything wrong. He's been to the ER a few times, and the same things always happens. They think it's his appendix, so they do a CT Scan, and find out it's not the appendix, then send him home again with diddly squat. Super frustrating. So that's been going on for the last 3 years, and it's been really hard for me to see Caleb in so much pain. Plus it messes with his life. He won't sleep or eat because his body hurts so much.

Anyway, so back to Monday: Caleb had been in excruciating pain since Saturday night. By Monday morning the pain was still just as bad. So I woke up at 6am to find him writhing in bed. I made him get up and I took him to the ER. Same thing: they think appendix, so they do a CT Scan. This time the appendix shows "borderline" inflammation. It was enough for us. We told that doctor to take it out. Doing something was better than nothing. By 11am Caleb is in surgery for a "laparascopic appendectomy" (hence the title of this post). I sit in the waiting room--a nervous wreck of a wife--wondering a) how the surgery was going, and b) how big the hospital bill would be. Merry Christmas, Caleb! They took your appendix and your money, AND any time off you had acquired at work.

Soon enough, the doc comes in to update me: Surgery went well, except for they found a little something extra when they opened him up. He then shows me this picture of Caleb's insides:

So, um, that swollen rope-like thing? Not his appendix. Not supposed to be there. In fact, neither the doctor nor the pathologist have any idea what it is. It is some 4-inch long anomalous tissue that started right behind the belly button and connected back behind his intestines somewhere. The doc thinks that Caleb's intestines were getting wrapped around it, causing all the pain and inflammation. So they took that out along with his appendix.

This may sound strange, but I am SO GLAD! Not glad about Caleb's surgery and potentially-malignant-alien-looking-appendage, but that the doctors were finally able to figure out what was causing him all that pain! Dr. Francis has restored our faith in modern medicine.

I am filled with gratitude this holiday season as I reflect on all the blessings that God has given me, especially this year. He is in control. He knows us, loves us, and wants us to trust him. When we do, things have a way of working out.