Saturday 26 September 2009

That Was The Week That Was...............

................And what a week it has been!! Last Sunday we had to interrupt our usual boot sale activity to bring my 13 year old daughter, Holly, home and take her to the hospital with severe stomach pains, ominously located in the region of her appendix. She spent two days at the local hospital being poked, prodded and tested in a variety of ways to ascertain the cause of the problem but to no avail. They even squeezed in an ultrasound scan for good measure but everything drew a resounding blank. SWMBO stayed with her on Sunday and we all came home Monday evening although Holly was still a little uncomfortable. She stayed at home for a couple of days and felt well enough to go back to school on Thursday but halfway through the morning had to come home as the pain was back with a vengeance. So it was back to the hospital for another round of tests only this time it was decided that more drastic action was needed. She was drugged up to the eyeballs but I was very impressed by the fact that despite her pain she managed to retain her sense of humour (obviously gained from her dad....) because at one point, after her third dose of morphine, she managed to unplug herself from the monitor (showing such things as heart rate, blood pressure and blood/gas levels) and so all her vital signs 'flat lined' and all manner of alarms and beeps sounded. She looked me straight in the eye and said "Am I dead yet?!" with jaw dropping dead pan delivery. Such is the stuff of comic legend!

It was decided that another overnight stay was in order (again with SWMBO) with an exploratory operation (using a camera) to finally decide, once and for all, what the problem was. This kicked off mid Friday morning and as a result of what the surgeons found my darling daughter is now minus her appendix - which the surgeon lately described as looking like 'a curly fry'. She is now home and aside from being very sore (with keyhole surgery they literally blow you up with CO2 which has the effect of making everywhere ache for a few days or so) will make full recovery in a short while. Two weeks off school and a further two excused from PE is also the result.

It is staggering to think that after some half a dozen blood and fluid tests, an ultrasound scan and an X-ray and the attention of several doctors and surgeons the only way they could find out what the problem was was actually to operate.

As a parent the worse thing you can experience is watching your offspring in pain and so this post is really one of self indulgence as I wanted to share with you all the joke from Holly for whom I have enormous respect and love for showing such bravery in the face of her obvious suffering.

On a completely separate subject I have also managed to get my PC 'deloused' and have also doubled the RAM so it should be a little faster to use and less 'clunky' in operation. I now have the small matter of a number of college items to catch up with as a result of the dramas of the week but am pleased and relieved that all ended on a positive note.

6 comments:

SteelonSand said...

Jeez, Ogre, that must have been pretty traumatic for all concerned, glad to hear that Ogre minor will be on the mend though; you are hereby excused posting duties until things have stabilised somewhat; please pass on a 'get well soon' to the convalescent, Best Regards, SteelonSand.

David Crook said...

Thank you most kindly Sir - traumatic is as traumatic does I guess but she is on the mend which is the main thing. Normal service will resume sooner rather than later. All the best, Ogre

El Grego said...

Glad to hear that your daughter is doing better - ill children are always a concern especially if it is something serious.

David Crook said...

Thanks E G - by far and away the worst part of it was not knowing what the problem was. Still, she is now on the mend and so what passes for normality in the Ogre household will soon resume!

Paul O'G said...

Glad to hear all has turned out well, but having been through the keyhole myself I know it isnt much fun the next day. Love the "flatline" story. I must admit my son pulled the finger pulse monitor off once and when all the alarms went off and people rushed in he just smirked and said 'Kewl...'!

Am sending the Lass mental "Get Well Koalas".

David Crook said...

Koalas received safe and sound - many thanks Paul. She is safely parked in front of the TV with a pile of assorted magazines and the music channels so all is well at the moment. Its been quite a year thus far and there is still three months to go! SHEESH!!!