theducks.dreamwidth

Wednesday
15:00 - Pains like indigestion/gas
15:45 - Rode home
17:15 - Drove from Helena Valley to Upper Swan
18:00 - Had some bread and dukkah
18:30 - Failed at having dinner, lay down at Powells in writhing discomfort.
22:00 - Arrived home, straight to bed, writhe around in discomfort
23:00 - Begin to expunge dinner..
23:59 - Elizabeth goes to bed

Thursday
00:00 - Continue writhing
01:00 - Ok, body isn't keeping water down.. this isn't good. Starting to feel de-hydrated
02:30 - Call Health Direct and had a word with a nice telephone nurse named Kelly (Your tax dollars at work.. it's awesome). She suggested I should see a doctor straight away. I said "so it's 2:30AM now.. wait till 9AM or go to the Emergency Department at the Hospital across the road. She said Hospital ED, so I work up poor Elizabeth and got her to drop me at the ED.
03:00 - At ED, pain getting worse. Morphine and Maxalon for the win though.
05:00 - Poked by doctor, who says it's appendix or gall bladder
09:00 - Moved from ED to Transit lounge. Work out that the guy next to me in conradin's uncle (and father of another HS friend, which is how we worked out that connection)
10:00 - Mum comes and relieves lizbyrd, who goes home to sleep moar. Aunty who works in hospital comes to visit too
10:30 - Poked by more doctors, observed by Medical Students. They laughed at my jokes.
12:30 - Whisked up to Operating Theatre reception ward. Told "you're next, three times".
15:30 - Slowly go mad waiting for surgery. Get nurse to call Elizabeth and get to come visit. ("Let me just get fluids going again" "I appreciate your effort, but I'm far more mentally disturbed than dehydrated.. can you please call my wife first?")
16:00 - Elizabeth arrives, get taken up to ward without surgery..
17:30 - Hang out in ward, nil by mouth, while everyone else is eating dinner. I on the other hand, haven't absorbed any food in well over 24 hours. Grr.
18:00 - More doctors, including a funny House-ish registrar who explained my delay in getting into OR on them spending several hours "trying to stop someone downstairs from thoughtlessly bleeding to death"
18:00 - Aunt and cousin come visit too
19:30 - Elizabeth heads out to dinner with parents and siblings.
21:00 - Ultrasound confirms it isn't gall bladder
21:00 - Yorkshire nurses arrive. It's a lark hearing them talk to each other.
22:00 - FINALLY get taken in to surgery
22:15 - One minute I was chatting to anaesthetists, the next *BOOM*..

Friday
02:00 - .. Awake in recovery ward
02:15 - Back to ward, sleepytime. Vague memories of being gently prodded around by nurses taking observations during the rest of the night
07:15 - Wake up. SMS lizbyrd, her parents and my uncle (to tell mum, who is away for the weekend and doesn't have a mobile phone)
08:00 - Breakfast! Yay food!
08:30 - Elizabeth arrives
09:00 - Shift change, Yorkshire nurses go, Malaysian-Chinese Auntie comes in (I can really see why people call them Auntie). And yes, I asked if she was Chinese-Malay or Singaporean, and she exclaimed surprise at how I spotted. Oh auntie..
09:00 - Real-aunty comes by to visit on her way to work. Gives me banana.
10:00 - Hang around, get out of bed. Very very stiff and slightly sore. dorothygale comes to visit.
12:00 - Doctor comes visit, confirms appendix was inflamed and is now gone, and that I shouldn't go back to work until the week after next. Oh drats. Elizabeth goes home, awaiting my call for pickup
12:30 - About to get nurse call orderly to take me home, when alone comes lunch. Yay free meals. Stewed lamb in plum sauce with mashed potato. Just like Grandma used to make. After hardly having anything for two days, it was delicious.
13:00 - Out! Wheelchair right to the kerb where Elizabeth and our mighty automobile were waiting.
13:05 - Home, shower, Elizabeth gets me an ice cream from down the street (Weiss Passionfruit ice cream bar.. omg good).

So now I'm home. I have a bit of a cough, which is a pain, since coughing hurts. Also getting up or down is kinda painful and slow (in a stretched muscle kind of way, not an "oww I'm tearing internal stitches" kind of way). Can climb up and down our stairs ok, as well as managing to stay standing up for a shower/hairwash. But I doubt I'd be able to walk all the way to work (or ride). I can only assume that things will get gradually better. Had dinner of fried rice, also some frozen yoghurt to get my digestive system restarted after all the antibiotics I've had.

All the nurses we so nice, so were the doctors of all sorts. The delays in actually ripping the thing out were very draining, mostly because I have anxiety over any surgery (though very little else..). Oh well, over and done with. Stupid body. Maybe it will have learnt its lesson now.

lizbyrd once again: The laparoscopic surgery went fine and Alex got back at 1am. He'll probably be out of hospital sometime today.

He says he's not up for visitors right now, but maybe later, so SMS him before you come (if you're planning on coming).

This is lizbyrd skilfully hacking Alex's laptop in order to inform you all that Alex is currently in hospital with suspected appendicitis.

More news when I have it - he's in the transit ward at the moment. Once they confirm the diagnosis they will probably schedule surgery.