I discovered that I had appendicitis on January 13, 2001. Appendicitis is the inflammation of your appendix. Your appendix is a thin pouch projecting from your large intestine. It is located in the lower right side of your abdomen. Your appendix has no known function or importance, so you can live without it.

If you think you may have appendicitis, the most important thing to do is have it checked. If it is caught soon enough, it can be taken care of with laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic surgery involves making a few small incisions in the stomach, and inserting a lighted camera and tools to remove the inflamed appendix.

Unfortunately, I didn't even consider the thought of having appendicitis. I had never had surgery of any kind, and had no idea what was going on in my abdomen. Many people ask if I had been experiencing any symptoms. The answer is no. In fact, the morning of January 13th, I got up and took a short trip with one of my friends. On the way home, around 4:00 pm, my stomach began to hurt a little. I didn't think much of it. When we returned home at 5:00, the pain had started getting worse. Around 6:30, the pain began shifting slowly into my side. The pain was getting so bad, I decided to call my mom (since mom's know best.)

She said, "Hmm. It's probably just gas. It might be appendicitis, but it's probably just gas. Lay down for a little while, and it will probably go away."

I took her advice, but the pain did not go away. By 7:30, the pain was so intense that I could barely move. I could not get up by myself or lay flat on my back. My husband was home by this time, and had to help me off the bed. Did we think it could it be appendicitis? Nah....

Why didn't we think it could be appendicitis?

The idea did go through both of our minds, but we both had heard that symptoms included fever, nausea, vomiting, and swelling of the abdomen. I began taking my temperature around 6:30, and I had not had a fever all evening. I didn't have any of the symptoms.

Finally

At 10:30 pm, my husband called the ask-a-nurse service. She said I should go to the hospital immediately. So we get to the hospital at 11:40 Saturday night. At midnight I was called back. I explained my situation to the doctor, and she said it sounds textbook!! She explained a nice little procedure called Laparoscopic surgery which involved making a few little incisions to remove the appendix. This didn't sound too bad. She said since I was female, and there is the possibility that it could be the right ovary, she would have to call in the surgeon.

Of course, John Q. Surgeon didn't arrive until 3:30 am. He examined my side. When I let out a gut-wrenching howl after he touched my right side, he was pretty convinced that I had appendicitis. He told me he would go ahead and remove it, because "it's better to remove a good one than to leave a bad one."

He admitted me to the hospital at 4:30 am. At this point, the nurse informed me that I would be having an emergency appendectomy. I had a 6-7 inch incision made in my lower right abdomen. My appendix had began leaking pus, so the incision was left open to heal from the inside out. I had to have a home health nurse come twice a day for 2 weeks to change my bandage. Boy was I wishing I had gone on to the hospital earlier.

I have since done some reading about appendicitis. I have discovered that 1 in 15 Americans will develop appendicitis at some point in their lives. It is most likely to occur in someone in their twenties (I'm 26), but can occur at any age. It can be life-threatening if not treated quickly.

Symptoms
(thedailyapple.com)

-Pain starting in your upper abdomen or around your navel and settling in the lower right side of your abdomen
-Nausea and vomiting
-Urge to pass stool or gas
-Lack of appetite
-Fever

Don't make the mistake I did. If you have pain in your stomach that moves to your right side, have it checked.







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