A stomachache

Flashback to mid July 2005:
We had just broken ground on our new house on July 11, and I was having breakfast out with school friends. We were all talking about what was going on in our lives and I mentioned about breaking ground on the house. I jokingly said that Ted suggested that I take the upcoming school year off to be available to make decisions on our new home. We all laughed at that.

Flashforward to August 3, 2005:
Alex (then 14) and I were in Canton doing some back to school shopping. This was way out of the norm for me, as I usually wait until the last minute. We were getting Alex clothes and supplies and had been to Old Navy, Target, Kohls, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Aeropostle. We were tired and hungry by this point, so we went to Rockne's for a late lunch. When our food came, I started eating french fries, as they are so much better when they're hot. I thought that the burger could wait a few minutes. I finally took a couple bites of the burger and got a little bit of a stomach ache. I decided to take the rest of it home. Alex finished his stuff all up, and off we went. That night I didn't feel well. The next day I felt really lousy...sort of nauseous. Alex wanted my leftover burger from Rockne's and I told him that I could possibly have food poisoning, so he should just throw it away. Friday I felt a little better and realized that I hadn't had a BM for a few days. Aha...maybe that was my problem. I just needed to "go". I hadn't been hungry at all, so I was barely eating anything. On Saturday I forced myself to drink a can of Pepsi and eat a small chicken pot pie. In the past, that combination would always make me run to the bathroom. It took a L O N G time for me to get that down, but the worst part is that it didn't work. The next day, I didn't eat because I felt so sick. Monday morning our builder had called just to see how I was. Our builder is a man we have known for years and an EXCELLENT carpenter. He told me that I needed to call my doctor. To take my blood pressure pill I needed to eat something. It took me half an hour to eat one saltine cracker. It was terrible. Then I called my doctor, got in immediately, and then he sent me to the hospital for bloodwork and x-rays.
I finished up with the labwork at the hospital and had to take Joey (then 18) to the doctor for a follow-up for something...I can't even remember what now. His doctor was running way behind and I was feeling miserable. After an hour of waiting, they told us it would be at least another hour and gave us the option of waiting or rescheduling. Joey and I opted to reschedule. When we got home there was a message from my doctor's office. I called them back and was told that I had gall stones and they would make an appointment with a surgeon for me. I told them to make it ASAP because I was in major pain. They called me back and said that it would be that Friday. I told them that I couldn't wait that long because I was miserable.
For the rest of the day, I was in so much pain that I could barely stand it. That evening after Ted and the boys ate dinner, Ted took Alex to Wal-Mart to get a binder, the last thing he needed to start the school year. While they were gone I began throwing up. Up to this point in my life I had probably thrown up about 5 times in my entire life. I was feeling so bad by this point that I was crying. Joey was scared because I was in such bad shape, and I was a little concerned too. I asked him to call Grandma, my mom, the retired RN. She came up and talked to me for a few minutes before Ted and Alex came home. Throughout the next few hours they tried to get me to go to the Emergency Room, but I kept putting it off, thinking I would feel better soon. My mom even gave me an enema, but nothing helped. I finally resigned myself to the fact that going to the ER was what I needed to do, but wanted to take a shower first. I was so weak I had to sit on the edge of the tub while I took my shower and when I washed my hair I couldn't even put the conditioner on it. After I got out of the shower I didn't have enough strength to brush my hair, and we went off to the ER.
This is enough for one day. I'll continue the story again very soon. For now, I'm not eating today (what fun) and will take a bunch of pills tonight to get "cleaned out" for my colonoscopy tomorrow.