The dreadful 4th...

Bryan and I have been looking forward to his family's annual 4th of July bash since we missed it last year. The day is full of great food, laughter, and some pretty darn competitive games of volleyball. Erica and Brandon hopped in our car and we drove to Berryville, VA. Bryan had been up most of the night with stomach pain (which I should add has been going on for MONTHS!) but he was willing to drive. We enjoyed the party for a little while and then Bryan's stomach was hurting. I had gone in his aunt's house for a nap and while I was asleep he had his mom drive him to the hotel to rest. When I woke up I realized after a little while that Bryan wasn't there and decided to call him and he couldn't talk through the pain. I finally said, we are going to the emergency room. His mom and I hopped in the car, picked him up, and drove to the nearest hospital. At 8:30 pm on a Saturday night, of course the ER was PACKED!

We waited a very long 4 hours with Bryan moaning, rocking, pacing, etc. to try to relieve some of the pain. I have never felt more helpless and wished I could just take it away. I have to say that Gail and I got pretty irritated when they took back people practically skipping through the doors, and left poor Bryan dripping with sweat. I wanted to scream, but resorted to a nasty comment after they took back a drunk guy that made it very clear he was a regular.

We finally got back into a room and as I was helping Bryan change into a gown, he ran for the sink and lost everything he ate that day. I have a pretty weak stomach, so I was very thankful when Gail offered to take over. What are mothers for right?? Thank you Gail!

After a series of tests, including an ultrasound that showed what looked like bubbles in his gall bladder - I knew before they said it that he would need surgery to remove it. At 4 am they finally said he was being admitted and Gail and I decided we needed sleep. We got about 3 hours at the hotel and I went back to the hospital. Surgery was scheduled for 1pm but he got bumped to Monday at 12:00 pm. Gail and Alan decided to come back on Monday.

Surgery was delayed so they came up to get him at 2:55. They said that surgery would only take an hour so by 4:45 I started to get nervous. The nurse called the room and said they were having "trouble" getting his gall bladder out so he was still in surgery. She didn't call back and it was 6:15. I tried to hold it together but lost it in the hallway. The nurse saw me and offered to call down to the OR and get a report. Thankfully, he had just gotten out of surgery at that point.

The doctor came up and explained that the gall bladder was much more inflamed than what they thought but they were still able to do the surgery laparoscopically. Bryan handled the surgery really well. Dr. P also explained that there were a lot of gall stones - of all sizes.

I decided to sleep on the couch in the room last night, thankfully! Bryan was in a lot of pain and was required to start walking. Dr. P came in to give us an update and it was not the news we wanted to hear!

Bryan's bilirubin levels were higher than expected, which would explain his yellow eyes. Dr. P explained that his gall bladder actually ruptured during surgery and there could be a gall stone that has blocked the common bile duct. I am kind of glad that I didn't know that yesterday because I would have been a lot more worried last night had I known that. So we are staying for more tests today. Hopefully there are no blockages and he will be released today; however, if there is something wrong I pray they find it right away!

Will you pray that with us?

I have to mention also that I have a ridiculously strong husband. This has been going on for months, and he has been dealing with the pain. Bryan's doctor back home misdiagnosed him with a stomach ulcer so he has been trying to manage all of this with acid reducers. Even after a call to him on thursday saying his condition was worsening, he stuck to his story of an ulcer and told him to up his dosage. Needless to say, we will be searching for a new doctor!!

We are in great hands here at Winchester Medical Center in Virginia but will be excited to return home!