Appendicitis

Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, a 3 1/2-inch-long tube of tissue that extends from the large intestine. No one is absolutely certain what the function of the appendix is. One thing we do know: We can live without it, without apparent consequences.

Appendicitis is a medical emergency that requires prompt surgery to remove the appendix. Left untreated, an inflamed appendix will eventually burst, or perforate, spilling infectious materials into the abdominal cavity. This can lead to peritonitis, a serious inflammation of the abdominal cavity's lining (the peritoneum) that can be fatal unless it is treated quickly with strong antibiotics.

In the U.S., 1 in 15 people will get appendicitis. Although it can strike at any age, appendicitis is rare under age 2 and most common between ages 10 and 30.

Courtesy of webmd.com

Why am I talking about appendicitis? Oh, that would be because I was rushed in to surgery yesterday afternoon to have my appendix taken out. I was having some abdominal pain on Thursday, that just continued to get worse through the night. I was unable to keep anything (including water) down overnight and didn't get any sleep the pain was so bad. As I've never been this sick before, I had Chris go into work Friday morning, but quickly called him back home to take me to the immediate care center down the street when I was still doubled over in pain and still throwing up that morning. We went to the immediate care and had an IV started, blood taken, and had a CT scan that showed my appendix was quite swollen and infected (but not burst, thank goodness). We were told to head to the emergency room immediately so I could have surgery.

The surgery is not very invasive any more. I have three little puncture wounds where the surgeon entered by laparoscopy. I spent the night in the hospital (that is two stays in one year, not something I want to continue) and was discharged around noon today. I'm still quite sore, but I've got some good drugs that help with that. You can't ever pick when these things happen, but it couldn't have happened at a worse time from a work standpoint. I have a huge presentation to make on Tuesday that I've been working on the past 6 weeks, that my boss will now be doing. So I'm taking this as an opportunity to get some much needed rest. I've been feeling very overwhelmed and overworked lately, and I have hours of Oprah to catch up on! I'm just thankful that it was caught early and that I'm safely at home now.