Somewhere in Georgia
Thanksgiving 2001
I was discharged from the hospital less than an hour before my scheduled interview. I called and explained my situation and they agreed to reschedule for the following day. I ended up getting a job offer later that week and a couple of weeks later we were living in Jacksonville.
My ulcer was causing problems off and on for the rest of the summer and into fall. I went to a doctor and even visited the ER a couple more times. I tried different prescriptions and avoided all greasy foods. Nothing seemed to help.
I was still dealing with the ulcer when we decided to drive to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with Lisa's brother and his family. We left after work on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was hoping to drive all the way through with minimal stops as Lisa and Kellisa slept. Even if we didn't make it all the way, my plan was to drive as long as possible.
We were a few hours south of Atlanta when my ulcer started to flair up again, but this time is was worse than ever before. I was hoping that I could sleep it off and pulled over at the first hotel. I had no idea where we were. Lisa and Kellisa quickly fell asleep in our hotel room, but I tossed and turned in severe pain. Nothing was helping. The pain in my chest was unbearable and I even thought I might be having a heart attack.
I woke Lisa and told her I needed to find a hospital. Lisa figured they wouldn't be able to help me since nothing up to that point had helped. It was 3am when I left Lisa and Kellisa sleeping and headed into the night.
I had no idea where I was going and just started driving towards Atlanta, I knew I would find a hospital sooner or later. I have no idea how much time passed, but I finally found a medical center and pulled up to the emergency room area. I was vomiting uncontrollably at this point and could barely walk. A nurse met me at the door with a wheelchair and I was immediately given a room.
I remember telling the doctor that I had an ulcer acting up, but thankfully this doctor wasn't buying that as my issue. He ordered tests and a short time later, I was told that my gall bladder needed to be removed.
I said, "OK, I'll have it taken out when we get back to Jacksonville after spending Thanksgiving in Ohio".
The doctor said, "It needs to come out right now".
I said, "It can't come out now, my wife and daughter are sleeping in some hotel room. They don't even know where I am or have any way of getting here. Plus, family is expecting us for dinner later today and we live in Jacksonville".
At this point, the doctor advised, "You don't understand, it needs to come out now or you will die! You won't make it back to the hotel".
With my opinion of the surgery suddenly changed, I agreed. The ER doctor told me not to worry about Lisa and Kellisa. He said his shift was over and he would drive my car to the hotel and drive them back when they were ready.
I gave him my car keys and my hotel key so he could find the right hotel. Thankfully, Lisa and Kellisa made it to the hospital just before they wheeled me off to surgery.
The next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital room and Lisa and Kellisa were there for me. All I knew was that I had to go to the bathroom, probably from all the I.V. fluids pumping in to me. Despite being hooked up to monitors and the I.V., I started to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. Before Lisa could stop me, I was standing up trying to figure out how to make this work when I passed out.
The next thing I remember was waking up face down on the floor with Kellisa screaming and Lisa and the nurses trying to help me back in bed. I tried to explain, I don't need to get back in bed, I need to go to the bathroom.
Once I was fully awake after the surgery, I knew I felt a million times better. I hadn't felt this good in months. I was released the following day. We rested in the hotel room and Lisa drove us home the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
I was told to rest for a week and stay home from work. However, I felt so good that I went to work that Monday morning. As soon as everyone saw me at work, they asked what happened and why I was at work? My gall bladder surgery wasn't obvious, but I was unable to hide the giant yellow dinosaur egg on my forehead that was a result of falling in the hospital room.
About a week after surgery, I started having massive headaches. They would become so severe that I was sensitive to light, motion and smells. I would vomit out of control if I wasn't in the exact right position. I had a CT Scan and was diagnosed with Post Concussion Syndrome.
I had always heard about football and hockey players being out indefinitely when they were suffering from Post Concussion Syndrome, but I had no idea how bad it was to have. It got to the point where I couldn't do anything. I had to sleep sitting up. As soon as my head would move a little, I would wake up and vomit. I needed complete darkness and quiet. There was no relief or breaks, it was non-stop suffering.
My doctor told me that it could last weeks, months, years or even for the rest of my life. There was no way that I could live with this forever. I would find a cliff sooner or later. Fortunately, every symptom disappeared three months later as suddenly as they appear.
It was a long 8 months and I was thankful to have it behind me, but not nearly as thankful as I was to the doctor who took time out of his Thanksgiving after working his overnight shift in the E.R. to bring the car to Lisa and Kellisa, who were trapped in some distant hotel. I was also very thankful to Lisa for taking care of everything for those months while I suffered.
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