Clyde go BOOM!

So I think that anytime you plan on waking up early and have lots of stuff planned to do during your day, you may as well just sleep in because your plans will get screwed up anyhow. Case in point, the Clyde building (engineering building) is closed all day today. Apparently a contractor blew up a transformer and caused a gas leak inside the building. So it was all evacuated and nobody is allowed back in until they get it all fixed. Usually, not that bad, but I had like 3 things planned to do at work today. There were two catalysts that needed final impregnations and TPO to analyze and a TPR to run. But NO! I can't do any of those. Usually I wouldn't really care, but I want hours at work! Haha, me need moneys! Secondly, I need to get this data done as I have to present it all in less than a month. At least I get to do that. The ORCA grant stuff didn't work out so well. Our group went 0/3 in ORCA grants this year. Lame. Oh wells. In other news, I did get a pay raise at work, always appreciated. And i get to work more hours as well. Another bonus. So in the meantime I guess I just try to catch up w/ the work I missed being in the hospital. It shouldn't be too bad now that I only have 8 credits. (LAME, I would like a healthy semester for once!!!!) Anyhow, that's me in a nutshell at this moment.

Surgery is fun?

Okey doke. So in lieu of telling the story multiple times, I find easiest to just blog about it! Woohoo! Plus I haven't blogged in quite some time, so those of you who have been waiting (I write as if anybody cares) here a new one is. So almost two weeks ago by now (wow, it's been a long time) I got this incredibly bad pain in my stomach. Actually below my stomach, in the intestinal area. And to top that off, I couldn't eat anything without throwing it all back up again! Pretty good stuff, I know. So I tried to tough it out and just wait for it to fix itself. But after like 16 hours and a night with literally no sleep b/c of the pain, I decided to go to the ER. Always good times there.

So I get in the ER and they do their spiel and take forever and a day to do anything about the pain. But thankfully they gave me something for pain and something for nausea. Then they took some x-rays. I didn't know that you could find intestinal problems on an x-ray. Anyhow, I sit in the ER, they run my blood tests and urine tests and give me a whole bunch of fluids b/c the throwing up all night has made me quite dehydrated. So after many hours, like 7 or 8, probably average for an ER, the doctor comes in and tells me it's just a bowel obstruction that will go away on it's own and he prescribes me some percoset for the pain and some zofran for nausea and was about to send me on my way. Then he asks me if they did any x-rays and such. First, how does he almost discharge me without looking? Anyhow, I tell him they took three. So he goes and looks at them and the radiologist suggested I get a CT scan of my intestines b/c the x-ray showed some abnormal stuff. Ironically, when you can't keep any food down and your intestines are blocked, they make you drink 6 cups of apple juice mixed with contrast. Crank up the nausea meds....that's about all that can really be said at that point. So I dutifully drink it all down and then they take me to get the CT scan. Pretty fun stuff. Actually, they're really boring. So they finish and bring me back to my lovely ER room. Guess what happens next?

Yup, you guessed it. I wait some more! Eventually my nurse asks if they have received the results of my CT scan, and they had....a while ago. Go figure. But this time instead of just the ER doctor, they also bring in the trauma guy working at that time. You know you're in for some fun when they call in the trauma guy. So he comes in to deliver the diagnosis. Apparently, I had a volvulus. It's kind of a cool word I guess. Basically it means that my intestines got all twisted up around themselves, wikipedia it if you really want to see. He explains this to me, and then tells me the good part! A volvulus can kill your small intestines pretty quickly and I may already have some dead tissue. GREAT. And the cherry on top? This was all caused by some scar tissue from the surgery WHEN I WAS BORN! A 21 year time bomb. Awesome stuffs. So then they wheel me into the ER. Naturally, I want to know what they're gonna use. And they be using Propofol, that stuff that killed Michael Jackson. Sign me up. And then they put me under and I don't remember a thing.

Then I came out (please hold all gay jokes, I didn't say the closet), and they gave me a nice SMALL room on the surgical floor. Then I got to chill there with some morphine and nurses and patient care techs and all that good stuff till Saturday (surgery was on Sunday). Then I got home and did nothing, except take a lot of percoset. Now, almost another week after that, I'm still taking my percoset! But at least I made it to class and such. Well, today. I'm gonna try to make it to all of my classes tomorrow! Wish me luck! So all in all, I almost lost my small intestines last week. And now I have them. Hooray!