March 29, 2010

It had been quite awhile since it had happened, so I was starting to think it was over and done with. Then on March 29 it started up again. It was bad. Brother Reed, our home teacher, came over and helped Dave give me a blessing. I also called his wife, Cheryl, who is a nurse. She was in Portland at the time. It was getting worse and worse. Once again I wanted to go to the ER, but knew it would just cost us a bunch of money! We went to Banner Gateway and sat in the car for awhile, dying. We went in (about 10 p.m.) and they took me back right away because I was throwing up. I thought I would be seen soon. We were in a room with glass sliding doors. Dave was trying to rest. I was dying in pain and would go out where the nurses were at the computers and ask how long till a doctor would be in and if THEY COULD GIVE ME SOMETHING FOR THE PAIN!!!!! I had my sweat pants on because my legs were cold, and a wonderful hospital gown. Dave would try to close the gown in the back and try to get me back in the room. He finally stood by the door to keep me from going out. I was like a mad woman. A mad woman dying of pain!!!! Dr. Vance finally came in about 1:00 a.m. I had been there 3 hours! And I had been in pain for 2 or 3 hours at home before I went! I loved Dr. Vance. He gave me morphine. I would have loved Obama if he had walked in with a dose of morphine! He took an x-ray where they put the board (x-ray)behind my back as I was sitting on the bed. 2 nurses came in and showed me a tube that was going to go into my nose down to my stomach. This must have been BEFORE the morphine because it hurt like &%^$# and they said it would have to stay there until Thursday. This was Tuesday! They checked me into a room. I sent Dave home to get some rest and then I insisted he go ahead and go to work. I was on Morphine and very happy now. Some time later Dr. Vance came in with Dr. Byrum who is a surgeon. They said they had seen a blockage in my small intestines on the x-ray and they thought it needed to be removed at 2:00. Sounds good to me! I’m on morphine and had dealt with this issue for 2 years, so if my right arm needed to come off to stop this pain, so be it! They left the room and I was alone with my thoughts. I was going to have surgery. At 2:00. I looked at the clock, it was 11:45. I thought, “I guess I better call Dave”. I don’t know how long it took me to come to that realization.
Dave and Preston came and gave me a blessing before the surgery. I was pretty out of it. The tube was out of my nose when I woke up! After the surgery I was in my room with 2 nurses when Cheryl Reed walked in. She works at the hospital. That was the first time I cried. It just really touched me that she came to check up on me! My kids and grandkids came to visit, along with Dave’s parents and Jolene. Tannis brought me all my essentials. She also braided my hair, did my nails, and brushed my teeth! Thank you Tanny! That was Tuesday and I was told I could go home Friday or Saturday. Every night and every morning someone would come in to take my blood. Vampires! I hate that! My IV came out at one point and someone asked if a student nurse could do it. I said “Not on me. They always have a hard time getting it in.” The manager nurse came in to do it. She couldn’t believe it. It took her FOUR tries to get the IV in. I still have bruises 3 weeks later!