Last Tuesday, our son Mike stayed home sick. He wasn't feeling well, and over the day the belly pains and diarrhea he was complaining about got worse. At first, we thought it was just a belly flu, but during the evening he kept having severe pains and started vomitting as well and it got so bad we took him to the doctor on duty at midnight. He was examined, and told it was just a belly flu, and that it would pass. Wednesday, he felt even worse. The pain got so bad he was dizzy and half dazed, and so we took him to our family doctor who agreed with us: this wasn't just a belly flu. The family doctor sent us to the hospital where he was examined by the pediatrist first, and then the surgeon.. soon, the verdict was clear: acute appendicitis, emergency surgery.
Wednesday evening at 7:30 they operated on him, and by 8:30 he was conscious again. The surgeon came to talk to us and told us it was just in time. The appendix was badly infected over its full length (did you know these things are about a finger long?) but it hadn't ruptured yet, so no gunk had gotten out. If that had happened, complications would have been severe. A ruptured appendix can cause infections all through the belly and in extreme cases the patient can even die from it. So phew, just in time, had we come a day later it would have been ruptured.
He spent two nights at the hospital. I stayed with him the first night, sleeping on a matrass next to his bed. Yesterday we visitied during the afternoon, with Joy, and in the evening Ron went to see him again. This morning Ron picked him up and now he's here again, still in some minor afterpain from the surgery, but looking and feeling an incredible lot better.
I'm so glad we didn't just go by the first doctor's opinion and went to our family doctor the next day. I can't even begin to express the feelings of relief and thankfulness about being on time, and being able to take our son back home, healthy and smiling. This has been tough emotionally, especially for Ron who lost his son Gerard only a few years ago. There were flashbacks of course, and he had to struggle with those while staying with Mike and being the rock in crisis situations he always is.
And so, both my men went through an incredibly hard time here, suffered what had to be suffered, and came out victorious. Mike's wound will heal, and I can only hope this experience and the way it ended will also help Ron heal a little bit more. All here, all healthy.. all is well.
