And The World Keeps Turning...

Walla Walla Corn Maze - October 2011

This has been a month of craziness and when I say that I mean that with every inch of every letter in the word craziness. Shoo! We are actually still working through it, but I feel like we can actually see an end, like there is a light blinking through somewhere.

This month actually started on September 26th when Steve went in for a Appendectomy/Exploratory Surgery. For over a year now he has dealt with a pain in his side that was nagging, uncomfortable, at times excruciating, and always present. Finally, steps were being taken to deal with the issue. They had to go in, because they had exhausted all external means of figuring the pain out, to no avail. That day they removed the appendix (which luckily wasn't inflamed) and they also removed something called a Meckel's diverticulum. Somewhat unusual, it occurs in about 2% of the population and they felt certain it had been the cause of his pain all along. Oh what great news. Now for Steve to recover and life to resume as normal...

Or so we thought...

His pain after surgery wasn't getting better. Chills and fever sweats would plague his days. Aches and pains as though he was sick would simmer under his skin. What was going on? According to the docs and surgeon he was fine. Having a harder time than most recovering, but he would be fine. Then this past Thursday he went in for another routine check up following the surgery. His temperature had gone up to 100.4 and his skin was pale. He reminded the doctors of his chills and fever sweats. They grew concerned (about time I think!). He was sent for an immediate blood panel and CT scan. And there, on that scan, was the answer to why he wasn't healing. An abscess, 6 centimeters in diameter, lurked in his abdomen right where they had removed his appendix, right beside the junction of the small and large intestines.

Checking In

He was told to return home for a quick dinner and to gather his things and return immediately to be admitted to the hospital. As a family we drove back to St. Mary's Hospital here in Walla Walla and helped Steve get admitted and find his room. A visit from our friend Alisha made the night a little more bearable. I couldn't stop worrying about what the heck it all meant. So glad she works there and could help us smile. Before Linus and I left, they were already pumping him full of antibiotics.

Staying as cheery as he can...

The next morning, right at 7am, before Linus and I could even return, they took Steve down to CT and proceeded to place a drainage tube within his abdomen that would slowly drain the abscess over several days. The doctor made note that it was good they had caught it at this time...given a little bit longer the abscess could have grown infectious enough to cause Steve to lose part of his intestines or worse. The abscess was almost the size of a tennis ball, but would slowly (hopefully) drain down to nothing. The tube looked so weird being wound about and taped to his abdomen, with a little plastic bulb at one end where all the drainage went...

the drainage system

Steve had to remain in the hospital until Saturday afternoon and when we found out he was going home I even cried with relief. (The nurses had scared us because apparently they usually make people stay in the hospital until the tube is removed.) Steve is so happy to be home. I am so happy he is home. I wish I could give him so many hugs, but we have to be careful. And Linus, more than anyone, is so happy to have his Daddy home. Though he's still walking around the house with a tube and bulb hanging out of his belly, he's in such better spirits and doing so much better already. And I daresay things feel almost close to normal again. Almost. It brings such a smile to our faces. And when I see Linus and Steve hug and smile at each other, my heart couldn't swell more with happiness.