And again and again… Surgery and Pain killers

What a ride. So much for “getting back on track with writing for Craft Leftovers”. I was really hoping my next post would be harolding that elusive next issue of the Craft Leftovers zine. Not to be so. Instead, I’ve got a crazy story to tell you of how I’ve had a whirlwind of bad luck when it comes to health.

I thought I was getting struck with food poisoning all too often the past month or so. I was like, “MAN, food poisoning again! I need to be way more careful about what I put in my mouth.”

Well, as it turns out, I was actually having gallbladder attacks. Bad ones. And a realllllly bad gallbladder infection.

Pizza, which I love, turned out to be the main culprit. Looking back, for the past month, whenever I would eat pizza, wham-o! Crazy pain, puking, etc, etc.

All this lead to more time off work, which got me further behind. And no time for anything outside of taking care of Lucille and myself (kind of) and working as much as I could stand to try and get caught up again.

Anyway, I’m digressing.

Friday before last we had pizza for office lunch, it was fun, it was delicious. It was deadly. About 4 hours later I was so bad I was sobbing on the floor in pain. And Jason was out of town. And I called everyone I knew in town to try to get a ride to the ER. All while Lucy is crying up a storm because she’s hungry. So then I’m sitting on the side of the bed crying, leaning over her nursing because if anything even touches my stomach (or turns out gallbladder) region the pain is a million times worse. I finally got a call back and my friend came over and rushed us to the ER. She watched Lucy while I had tests done. Other friends came up from des moines to relieve her and watch Lucy until Jason could get there.

The next day I had my gallbladder taken out and was assured it would be a quick recovery and that post surgery I shouldn’t even feel that much pain. A few days and I could even go back to work no problem. And I should also be able to eat my first food (in over 24 hours by this point) by that evening. Oh and I hadn’t been allowed to drink anything since I was checked in either. I was so looking forward to that first drink.

I woke up from the surgery crying it hurt so bad. The nurse kept telling me they gave me as much pain meds as they could. I kept crying and asking where Jason was. It was so confusing waking up in recovery. The pain continued. Finally they put me on a crazy strong pain killer. I puked several times. The nurse kept telling me it shouldn’t hurt so bad.

The doctor came in and it turned out I had pancreatitis too. Great. I wanted to tell that nurse, “See! I wasn’t just being a wuss!” So I had to be on the IV for another 2 days, no food and minimal water allowed. Apparently having pancreatitis is like getting a chemical burn in your pancreas every time you eat because you are pretty much digesting your own pancreas. Wonderful. And there’s no med for it. You have to seriously just not eat until it heals.

So 4 days with no food and barely any water and just IV fluids you can see how I’m already down to my pre-pregnancy weight 3 months out from giving birth. Geesh. I feel like a cheated.

I was messed up to say the least. And even when I got out I spent another week on a really strict no-fat diet. Pretty much boiled lean chicken, rice, and veggies. And really in small amounts at a time. And the pain is still bad so I’m still on some pretty good pain killers until I heal up some more. I feel in a fog. Everything takes forever and my brain is worse that when I was 9 months pregnant.

This past week Jason, Lucy, and I went and stayed with his parents so I could sleep a ton and have help with Lucy while Jason worked.

It felt so good to finally be back home as of Saturday. I went to work for my first day back yesterday and it was intense to say the least. Trying to manage an infant, work, and being post-surgery is quite the test of, well, everything it felt. Exhausting is a word that doesn’t quite cover it.

Anyway, here I am. Nearly a month since my last post. Minus a gallbladder and doped up to my eyeballs. I’m still working on the zine. But I’ve been working on it for over a year now. No promises, but maybe, just maybe before Christmas it will finally get printed. Maybe. If I can just get caught up at work.

Jason is being really great, for the random record. He’s watching Lucy in the evenings this week so I can try to get caught up at work. The hope is that after this push I’ll be able to have this weekend off.

I would love to spend the weekend working on the zine. We’ll see.

Anyway, here’s to hoping I stay healthy.

Kristin