Unexpected Chaos Part II
Emergency Room
Sunday evening the 10th of November I arrived at the emergency room via ambulance. The doctor dismissed everything after running routine blood work and doing an EKG to make sure my heart was good. They tried to admit me upstairs to wait on my doctor to come in but due to Veteran’s Day he wouldn’t be there until Tuesday. I was tired of being poked at so I asked to go home and wait to hear from my doctor when he got in Tuesday morning.
Still Waiting….
After many long hours of being in pain and terrified to get up in fear of passing out again my husband called the doctor’s office. They said no one let them know what happened and that they would alert the Dr.
Thankfully the Doctor called back shortly and asked me to come in for a CAT scan. I got ready and went straight in. The next day they called with the results they found a pinched nerve. This was the cause of all of my pain. I was headed back in for another surgery. This will be surgery #2 for this round but surgery number 4 total.
Getting Ready Again
We made the very last minute plans to get me into surgery later that day because I had just eaten. We are on Wednesday the 13th of November and I’m scheduled for surgery at about 2pm. I sat the whole day starving, wondering and praying. I was a miserable human being by this point.
Finally it was time to be there and get this over with. We get to the surgical clinic and it’s taking forever to be called back. We eventually did get called back to get me in a gown & all ready. Hours have passed and we can’t figure out what is going on, Finally we find out that there was a gas leak in the hospital earlier in the day, it got cleared but that happening pushed all surgeries back.
No surgery today…
They told me I could go home and wait it out until they could reschedule me or they could bring me upstairs and admit me. By admitting me I would get bumped to the top of the list for the next day. I had to make the tough choice to tell my kids I wouldn’t be home that night. I had to say goodbye to my husband and sit all alone in pain waiting for surgery the next morning. Each time I’m stuck there they don’t want me eating, they put me in a room with other people and I feel even worse because I’m stuck.
Starving is an understatement
By the time they finally got me upstairs I couldn’t have food because they wanted me completely ready for surgery the next morning. Y’all I can’t tell you how many hours I have fasted already! However I was doing my best to stay strong and lean into God to get me through all of this.
You wouldn’t believe it but I finally got back for my surgery at about 1:45pm on the 14th for my 2nd surgery. It was a little long because they had to take screws out and release some things due to the compressed nerve. I made it through it and I was excited to get the night stay over with so I could go home.
As the meds started to wear off we realized the pain is still there. We get the doctor called up and scans ordered. At this point we are nearing our breaking point.
Praying for a miracle
We didn’t know what else to do but pray and sleep as much of the time away as we could while we waited for answers. The test results came back and we found out that there was a sliver of bone that got left on the nerve. Think of this sliver of bone as a splinter. Every time I moved and it hit the nerve it would send this terrible pain through my whole body.
It’s Time for Surgery # 3
We got the news that we had to go for surgery number 3. They weren’t going to touch the screws this time. It was just a quick procedure to remove the piece of bone. However this started my healing process all over again and it meant another 12 hours not eating, another night away from my family, another set of unknowns.
Good News
The surgery was over the pain was gone. We were finally getting ready to go home! I was so excited to be out of the hospital, to eat real food and be able to rest in my own space. Things were finally starting to turn around. Now I had a long 8 weeks of recovery to go.
Share the Love!
Have you ever had a time when life threw more challenges at you than you could have imagined? How did you handle it, and where did you find hope? Share your thoughts in the comments below or pass this article along to a friend who may need some encouragement. We’re all in this together, lifting each other up through life’s unexpected moments.
