What a pain!

This post is long overdue...
Blogger and I actually broke up for a while because it wasn't working properly on my ipad!

Anyway, here is a little update of what's been going on...
Back in July we traveled to Las Vegas for see our friends tie the knot! It was just a whirlwind trip, we flew out early morning on July 21 and flew home on July 22. I underestimated how exhausting it is to travel while pregnant. Despite the extra precautions I took to stay hydrated and have a few snacks in my purse this little trip still did a number on my body :(
The flights were extremely full both ways, so much so, that I wasn't sure we would even get on. We got lucky though and made it by the skin of our teeth! Once we landed we took a shuttle to the rental car center and picked up a car for the day. (it was probably the smoothest process of renting a car that I have ever been through!) It was HOT HOT HOT in Vegas that weekend. With some time to kill and knowing we couldn't be spending time walking around outside we decided to head to lunch at Border Grill YUMMY! After a very delicious lunch and a walk around The Mandalay Bay we decided to head to our hotel for a nap before the evenings events. We woke from our nap refreshed and were ready to enjoy an evening celebrating our friends Heather & Cody on their very special day. It was such a fun wedding :)
We crashed that night after eating, dancing, running around and eating shave ice for hours! I could definitely tell the next morning that I had overdone it and my body was not happy, I wouldn't realize just how much I had over done it until later that day...
    We ate breakfast and then headed to the airport where we nervously waited at the gate to see if we would be on the flight. We waited as the entire terminal cleared out until we were the last 2 standing there. I motioned to the gate agent to see if she would give me a signal that the flight was full so we could work on other arrangements and just then we were called to the counter where they had 2 seats with our names on them! WAHOO! We were so happy! We didn't get to sit together but that's ok, we were just happy to be on the plane.

Flights out of Vegas are rough... I swear the entire plane reeked of stale alcohol that was seeping out of everyone's pores from the night(s) before! YUCK. Maybe I just noticed it more because a) I hadn't been drinking and b) my senses are in overdrive haha. Either way, it was not pleasant. I put on a scented lotion to distract my sensitive nose and tried to sleep. I swear as soon as I closed my eyes I got this shooting pain in my side. My first thought was, "Oh no, my kidneys" since it was very similar pain to kidney stones or the kidney infection that I've had in the past. The pain started radiating to the front and made it extremely uncomfortable to sit. As soon as we got home I put my feet up and took a nap, hoping the pain would fade away with some rest. Unfortunately, when I woke from my nap the pain was worse :( It continued through the night making it impossible for me to sleep more than a few minutes on each side since it would send shooting pains every time I would turn over. It was a long night.
        I called my OB first thing the next morning and was instructed to go to the ER right away since my symptoms sounded very much like appendicitis. Luckily, we got there early enough in the day on a weekday and they didn't have a waiting room full of people yet so they got me right in... the unlucky part was that since I'm pregnant they don't rush into any form of testing or anything until all options are discussed. I got a round of pain meds which took the edge off and also made me very sleepy. I was unable to sleep though, since they whisked me away for an ultrasound to make sure baby was ok. That was definitely the best part of the entire day was getting a peak at our little peanut bouncing around in there! Israel was not allowed to go in for the ultrasound :( He was really disappointed. It was a nice long ultrasound since they were being very cautious, and I had a new tech so she was also very thorough and then her work was double checked by a more experienced U/S tech. After making sure baby looked fine, they checked my ovaries for cysts which were clear thank goodness. Unfortunately, they could not see my appendix on the ultrasound machine which meant they would have to try to get a look another way. I was given two options: A CT scan which would expose my peanut to more radiation than I was comfortable with, given that I was barely out of the first trimester... or an MRI which had little to no risk to myself or the peanut. We went with option 2 but it took forever for me to be taken back for the MRI because they wanted me to meet with the surgeon first. I was told the surgeon had just gotten called into surgery and would be down in about 45 minutes to talk to me. A few minutes later he stopped by to say hi and to reassure me he would be back in the 45 minute time frame I was given. About an hour or so later he came in shaking his head and said, "I"m so sorry, but I just got called into another surgery!" I was told to hang tight and that he would be back in an hour or so.. (hang tight, like I have anywhere to go in a hospital gown with an IV sticking out of my arm!) About an hour and a half later he showed up and the second he stepped foot in my room his cell phone rang NO JOKE. Seriously, I was running out of patience. I had barely slept in going on 2 days and wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything so I was dehydrated and starving too! Not a happy combination. The surgeon disappeared for almost 2 hours and in that time I was taken for the MRI. The MRI was one of the most awkward procedures I've ever had done. I was forced to lie on my back which was the most uncomfortable position with the side pain which had returned full force by this time. You're put inside a tube basically and this thing spins around and around with lots of banging and clicking sounds. I was given headphones so I could listen to music throughout most of it, when the nurse wasn't giving me instructions on when to breathe or when to hold my breathe etc.) Thank goodness for those headphones though, otherwise I think I would have had a panic attack being in such an enclosed place for 30 minutes or so was very strange and uncomfortable. A while later the surgeon came in to give me the results of the MRI which was basically inconclusive. The good news was he didn't see any inflammation to indicate an immediate need for surgery, the bad news was it didn't completely rule out appendicitis. UGH! By this time it was 11pm and I had been in the ER since 11am! My nurse even said he had never had a patient that was there for his entire shift. LUCKY ME! Glad I could help you cross that off your list of "firsts." BAH!
Anyway, the surgeon told me I should go home and wait it out and if the pain got worse than I should come back. All I could think was, "I waited 12 hours starving, freezing, thirsty and tired out of my mind to hear that??" It was better than the alternative though which was to be admitted and be under watch, which basically meant having my blood pressure monitored every 15 minutes and then having the same tests repeated the next day. Instead I got my IV removed and was able to go home and eat something and then I promptly fell asleep and slept for 14 hours straight! I had a huge bruise on my arm from having the IV in all day and being dehyrated and it took me 3 days after to get rehydrated enough and start feeling decent. The pain slowly faded away and I'm hoping that if it is my appendix that it stays put until after this baby is born! I really don't want to repeat any part of what I went through that day. I am so grateful for my hubby who was by my side for the whole ordeal as unpleasant as it was. I know neither one of us planned on spending our day off at the hospital. He even got me Wendys on the way home and tucked me in bed before I passed out!