"Appendicitis"

Of course the boy who hates hospitals, doctors and anything blood or needles had to have his appendix out and spend three days in the hospital. Poor R.J. Has been put through the ringer. It all started Saturday afternoon. R.J. And Rob went for a long bike ride. A couple hours after the ride around 2 pm, he complained to me that his stomach hurt (It felt like someone had kicked him in the private area). I thought he must be sore from his bike ride, I told him to just lay down and rest. That evening we wanted to take the kids to the movies, he declined to go. Still not feeling good. After we got back and brought him something to eat. He barely ate, something must be wrong! But, he was actually acting a little better. After we all went to bed he came into our room. Poor thing was feeling terrible. I got him some Tylenol and he slept on the couch in our room. All night he was moaning in his sleep. When he woke up in the morning we talked about where his pain had shifted to. Rob thought it was his appendix. But, after having mine removed I wasn't so sure. Mine hit me very quickly, I had a fever and I felt like throwing up all the time. He really didn't have these symptoms. The girls and I went to church and left him there to sleep. At church rob talked to Johannes Neuendorf (an ER doctor). He left church to go check out R.J. A little while later I get a message from him saying' "take R.J. to the emergency room, I am 99% sure he has appendicitis.". Just the mention of hospital put R.J. into a worry! Rob and I immediately left church and went to take R.J. to the hospital. Sean Parry came over and helped rob administer a blessing. At the hospital we got a confirmation it was indeed his appendix. But, they wanted to transfer us to children's hospital because they felt more comfortable for him to have a children's anesthesiologist. So we went there. Luckily, Dave Pyatt who is a big wig at children's gave them the heads up his friend was being admitted and we got right into a room. The nurses said they knew by just watching him walk in that it was his appendix, he was doing the "appendix shuffle". I guess they aren't use to having children over 5'11 because the poor kid was way too big for the bed. His feet hung way over the edge of the bed. By this time he was doubled over with pain. He desperately needed some pain medication. They wanted to insert an IV. He was so brave i couldn't believe it. I think he just wanted the pain gone and knew what it was going to take. After giving him medicine through his IV he was much more happier! By the time we settled in to his room it was about 8 pm. We had a huge private room (thanks Dave). After talking with the doctor we were told the operation would take place first thing in the morning. They were going to be giving him antibiotics and pain medication to help him till then. R.J. was nervous but very anxious to make the pain go away forever. The only question R.J. Had for the surgeon was, "how soon can i play baseball?" he is so nervous because he was asked to play on the all-star team and their first game was in 3 weeks. I slept at the hospital with him in a little fold out bed near his bed. It was hard seeing him this way. My big sweet baby looking so vulnerable and scared. He didn't look like the big, strong, tall boy I saw everyday. The next morning we were told they had to move his surgery to later in the day due to some other emergencies. I felt so bad because my boy was starving by that time. He hadn't eaten for over 30 hours. We passed the day by watching t.v. And talking. Finally about 4 pm it was time to take out the painful appendix. Rob gave R.J.a blessing to bring him comfort and courage. The surgeon who came up to about R.J.'s waist came in to tell us exactly what was going to happen during the surgery. Then she gave him some "magic medicine", that seemed to do the trick. He started smiling and giggling. We each gave him a big hug and kiss and they wheeled him away. The surgery went pretty quickly. A sense of relief rushed over me when the nurse called our names and said R.J. was out of surgery. He looked great! R.J. spent the next couple days recovering and regaining his strength. And also do our best to not make him laugh which was hard. Every time he laughed he'd start to cry! We were slowly getting the old R.J. back. His sense of humor, his good attitude, and his coloring were all returning. Even though he looks like a little old man when he does his laps around the hospital, he wears a smile on his face. By the time he made it home R.J. Had lost 7 pounds. That's a lot for his lanky frame. He was glad to be back home and in his own bed. The hardest thing now will be keeping him down, he's eager to get back on the pitching mound. At home he was welcomed with posters on the garage of get well wishes, get well cards from kids from school, the Cliffords, the Weenigs, the Solanos and his grandparents! When people would visit they were surprised to see how big a toll the surgery took on R.J. He did look weak and pale for a while. But, after his post op visit with the surgeon she gave him the okay for baseball. He was able to play on the all stars. And show off his new battle wounds to his team mates.