Last month we went to Boise for eye appointments for the kids and went to the zoo. At the zoo Alexis started complaining that her stomach hurt. I, of course, went to my usual"do you need to poop?" immediately. She stayed in the car while we ate after the zoo and was miserable the rest of the day. She started vomiting on the way home. She continued to throw up for the next day. I assumed that she had a virus. On the morning of day 3, she was no longer vomiting but was crying because of the pain in her stomach. I took her to our doctor and he ordered a CT scan and blood work. We went to the hospital and the CT scan confirmed appendicitis with possible rupture.
Poor Alexis! She was so scared to have surgery. She was very brave. The nurses kept telling her what a great patient she was. She didn't complain during the IV or the blood draws. While we were waiting for the doctor before the surgery, two nurse friends of mine came upstairs to give her a blessing. I'm not sure if the blessing helped her or me more. I felt so much better after it.
The anesthesiologist gave her some "happy medicine" (Versed) prior to taking her back to surgery and we were all laughing at her because she couldn't stop smiling. Even as they wheeled her around the corner into surgery she was still smiling.
Thankfully, her appendix had not ruptured. She only had to spend one night in the hospital. Her nurses and doctors were amazing and she received great care. She had hardly any pain and recovered very quickly. It's amazing how fast kids bounce back!
The surgeon gave her pictures of her appendix and pictures of it being removed. This was a big hit the first week of school when her teacher put them in the overhead projector for the whole class to see on the big screen. :)
Those three days she was sick, Ed would not leave her side. I mean literally would not leave her. I had to drag him outside to go to the bathroom. Funny how animals know that something is wrong. He is so protective of her! When she came home from the hospital he once again wouldn't leave her side. It's so nice to be loved and we are so grateful that Alexis is healthy again.
