An Unexpected Hospital Stay| What I Learned |A Little Thank You

Hey Friends,

I’m so sorry that Thomas and I have been away. We’re super grateful to all of our clients for being so patient. Here’s a little breakdown about what happened.

Last Wednesday, I woke up, looked at Thomas and nonchalantly said “My side hurts.” Little did I know, that later that afternoon I would find myself in the emergency room.

I went in to work Wednesday morning, and my right side continued to hurt. At lunchtime, I wasn’t very hungry. I got back to the office after running some errands on my lunch break. By 3 o’clock that afternoon, my side hurt when I stood straight up and when I walked. I  called Thomas, and told him I was going to head over to American Family Care to have it checked out. (We were shooting a wedding on Saturday, so I just wanted to make sure that I was 100% healthy.)

At the doctor’s office, they took some blood, and within minutes, the doctor popped his head back in my room. “We’re sending you over to the E.R. to have your appendix checked out because your white blood cell count is really high…Which hospital do you want to go to?”

Whoa!?! Talk about whiplash. I needed some time to take everything in. I hadn’t had a fever, and I wasn’t nauseated. I just didn’t have an appetite and my side hurt. I called Thomas, and he met me at Crestwood Hospital.

They got me a room right away, because I was deteriorating quickly after I arrived at the hospital. I had a fabulous nurse, and he took great care of me (and Thomas) while we awaited the doctor. The doctor came in about 3 hours later, and after examining me, he asked me if I knew any surgeons. I replied, “Are you saying I need one?” Then he broke the news to me. He thought my appendix was going to have to come out, but I’d have a CAT scan first to confirm it.

My nurse brought me a gown (which 4 of me could fit in) and started an I.V. with pain meds and fluids. My surgeon, Dr. Fernandez, arrived as soon as I was feeling “loopy” and I let him know that he’d probably have to talk to my husband. 🙂 He was super nice, and it turns out that he grew up in Auburn too. A little while later, someone from radiology came in with not just one, but two, super gross “milkshakes” for me to drink for the CAT scan. It was like drinking chalk, but I got it down. The radiology tech then arrived, and he wheeled me down to have the CAT scan. Sure enough…the images confirmed it. My appendix was coming out at 6 a.m.

When I went back for surgery, I remember looking up at the anesthesiologist. I must have looked terrified, because he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “You’re more at risk when you drive your car than you are while having this surgery.” That relieved my fear a bit, and I closed my eyes to say a little prayer…until my surgeon walked in and said, “She’s already asleep?” I threw my eyes wide open and shook my head. I remember thinking, “I’ve got to keep my eyes open until I’m REALLY out!” Ha. We’ve gotten a good laugh out of that one since then. The last thing I remember is someone throwing a super-warm blanket over me…

Then I woke up in the hospital room…hurting, but happy to be looking at my super sweet husband. I had a bout with low blood pressure while recovering, but the doctors determined it was just due to the pain medication, and they decided my blood pressure is probably always a little lower than the norm. They sent me home that evening.

My sweet husband took great care of me that night. I don’t think he slept a wink. The following day, he gave me my medicine, a blanket and put me in a car. He was taking me home to my parents…and I was so grateful. He had a wedding to shoot in Auburn. (I obviously didn’t get to go along…so this was a solo wedding for Thomas.) I was so sad that I couldn’t go, but I was so grateful that I had a husband/business partner who I knew would do a stellar job.

I’ve learned a lot in this experience.

Here’s the short list of the things I learned:

  • Trust your instincts. If you hurt, and if something doesn’t feel quite right, GO to the doctor. You’ll be better off in the long-run. {If my appendix had ruptured at the wedding on Saturday..my clients, Thomas and I would have been in a pickle!}
  • Be nice to nurses and doctors…even if they aren’t taking care of you. Take an interest in who they are, especially if they ARE taking care of you. They have super hard jobs…and a little kindness goes a long way! {I had fabulous nurses and doctors. They were all so nice, and I enjoyed getting to know them.}
  • Good friends are a treasure…and when you’re down and out, you can always count on them to lift you up. {Just reading the tweets, Facebook messages and emails of encouragement from my friends made me feel so much better in the hospital. Thomas also answered lots of phone calls from concerned friends…those made me feel better too!}
  • Family is irreplaceable…and you should remember that ALL the time, not just when you’re ill. {Our families have been wonderful. They have done everything they possibly could to make this recovery as easy as possible.}
  • No matter how old you are, when you’re sick, it’s always good to have your momma close by. {Thomas took me to my parent’s house, and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather recover. A momma always knows how to make it better…especially mine.} 🙂
  • When you’re sick, there is absolutely NO better medicine than a loving spouse. {Thomas was definitely the very best medicine. He was so concerned about me, and he went two nights without sleep while I was in the hospital and when I got home. He helped me with everything…and he was super patient and gentle. When I couldn’t do anything on my own, he was there to do it for me. He definitely lived up to the “in worse” and “in sickness” parts of the wedding vows.}

Anyhow, I am feeling much better and getting stronger by the day. Thank y’all for all of the kind words, prayers and well wishes this past week. {Clients, thanks for all of your patience!  We hope to be caught up with editing sessions and distributing orders very soon.}

Much Love,

Sarah

Yes…I’m crazy, and I’m sharing these awful photos Thomas snapped with his phone while I was in the hospital.
I suppose it’s just his duty as a photographer to document the day. 🙂

5 comments
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  • Jessica BarkerApril 7, 2010 - 8:54 pm

    So glad you’re feeling better. How scary! I love that you shared what you learned… very brave of you. Rest up and you’ll be back on your feet in no time making things happen all over town. 🙂ReplyCancel

  • lydia {ever ours}April 7, 2010 - 8:58 pm

    so happy and so glad you’re feeling much better!ReplyCancel

  • SarahApril 7, 2010 - 9:48 pm

    Thanks Jessica! I am hoping to be up making things happen VERY soon. 🙂

    Thank you Lydia. I am SO glad to be better too. Hoping that we’re done with doctor’s offices and hospital visits for a little while!ReplyCancel

  • Teresa SpiveyApril 8, 2010 - 2:46 am

    Sarah- We missed you Saturday and pray you are recovering quickly! You do have a very sweet husband who was SO concerned about you but did a great job for us.

    Thomas- Thank you for making the wedding day fun and helping Elizabeth through her stressed out moments. I love that you were with us all day and even got to document a few “surprising” things! We can’t wait to see the pictures!!!! Take care of yourself, too! I know you are taking great care of Sarah!ReplyCancel

  • SarahApril 8, 2010 - 10:45 pm

    Thank you so much Teresa! I am soooo very sorry that I couldn’t be there for Elizabeth and Paul’s big day. I was really looking forward to the wedding…I knew it was going to be just beautiful, and from what I’ve seen, it certainly was! 🙂ReplyCancel

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