I Lost My Appendix but Gained a Pony
By: Alex Andra
Tags: Health, Pain, Appendicitis, Friendship, Healthcare

I Lost My Appendix but Gained a Pony

Photo courtesy of Getty images 524329139

A few weeks ago, I started getting a pain in the middle of my tummy, by my bellybutton just before I went to sleep at around 2am. It just felt like strong hunger pains, which I thought it could have been as I’d eaten earlier than usual that day. I went to sleep and was then awoken around 4am by the same pain which was now severe. I threw up down the toilet and felt cold and shivery.

I’d had this very same pain before back in February, the pain, along with the vomiting lasted about 24 hours and then disappeared, I’d said to Dan then that I thought it was my appendix and he told me not to be silly that it would be in my right side if it was appendicitis despite him always having told me it starts in the middle of the abdomen.

But this time, the pain was even more severe than in February. I got back into bed and then was awoken yet again by the pain at 8am, the pain even more severe, and had also extended to my lower right side as well. I was repeatedly vomiting and feeling cold and clammy to the touch, I called out for Dan to call 999 for an ambulance.

Dan’s response was “I’ll just call 111”, it’s the UK non-emergency number and it usually has a long response time. I begged him to dial 999 and thankfully, for once, he did as I asked. The 999 despatcher quickly established that I was an emergency case and that I needed to get to the hospital within the hour. It was a long 20–30-minute wait for the ambulance, and I did end up calling them again (as instructed) as the pain was gaining in severity.

By now, I was on the living room floor, on all fours, rocking back and forth and crying out from the pain. Dan knew I was in a lot of pain, I’ve had two children and never made such a racket during drug-free childbirth.

The ambulance technicians came in to do some observations, I was running a temperature of 39 degrees celsius, even though I felt so cold, and agreed with me that it was looking like appendicitis.

Just before I hobbled out of my house to get into the ambulance, I turned to my children and hugged them, kissed them both, and told them I loved them, my eyes welling up. Then I did the same to Dan. With the virus situation still a concern, they couldn’t come with me to the hospital and I knew they wouldn’t be able to visit me should I be admitted, so I was effectively saying my goodbyes to them, just in case I didn’t make it. That may sound dramatic, but appendicitis can be fatal as if the appendix bursts, it can cause a life-threatening condition called peritonitis, which almost killed Dan’s brother in childhood after their family doctor repeatedly dismissed his symptoms.

The ambulance journey was painful with the potholes in the road making me scream out in more pain but the lovely Geordie ambulance technician had supplied me with Entonox to take the edge off the pain, sending me high as a kite. But just getting that edge taken off the pain helped me to have a little chat with him during the journey which was nice. But every now and then when I took deep intakes of the Entonox, I’d almost drift out of consciousness, and as if in a dream, I’d hear him say “stay with us now” and he’d wake me up again to make sure I was ok.

We arrived at the hospital and getting the stretcher out of the ambulance was painful again, every knock and bump sending shooting pains through my abdomen. They wheeled me into a corridor filled with other stretchers, and I thought, “oh no, I’m being left in a corridor”, the thought filled me with dread but fortunately, they transferred me over to a hospital stretcher and wheeled me into a cubicle.

Once the ambulance technicians handed over to the nurses, they came to take the Entonox canister away, I begged and begged them not to and not to leave me, I grabbed the Geordie’s hand and almost crying begged him not to leave me. I was still under the influence of the Entonox in my defence! He had to peel my fingers off his hand and then they both left.

Entonox wears off after you finish inhaling it so with it gone, I went back to crying out in pain, I was left abandoned in the cubicle, without pain relief, without a sick bowl, and in agony. It took for me to shout out that I was going to be sick before someone came to quickly get me a bowl. Then I asked for pain relief but it was not forthcoming.

A doctor came to examine me, he organised some pain relief and he also suspected appendicitis. I was moved into the emergency observation unit. There, I was examined again and swabbed to test for the virus. I was told the surgical team would be down to examine me but shortly after, they transferred me up to the surgical unit. I was left to sit in a busy waiting room on a hard chair with my drip stand and cold from only wearing my nightie. I felt exposed, uncomfortable, and in pain. I thought “how long am I going to be sat here for?”, people staring at me, it was horrible. Fortunately, after not too long, a nurse came and took me to an examination room. She then said I could stay there as I was only in my nightie, so I got to lay down which was great as the chair had been so uncomfortable with my pain levels.

Another doctor examined me and she too suspected appendicitis but wanted her senior to confirm. She said if it was, they would want to operate that same evening.

I waited for hours.

Then I was moved to a different examination room, this time the examination bed was rock hard and I had to keep getting up to move about to stop the pins and needles in my legs and bum.

Finally, the Registrar came, examined me, and said he wasn’t convinced that I had appendicitis. He said it could be my ovaries or bowels and that he did not want to put “a woman of my age” through a general anaesthetic unless he’s sure of what is wrong. So he wanted me to have a CT scan. I said I didn’t want one because I was concerned with the radiation levels.

He refused to operate unless he had appendicitis confirmed beforehand.

I asked for an MRI instead and he said it was closed on a Sunday night and that if it was appendicitis that he wanted to operate that night. He told me if I was a 20 year old, he wouldn’t give me a CT scan due to the radiation risks on my reproductive organs, but because I was older and had children, he wasn’t bothered about frying my reproductive organs with high doses of radiation (not quite his choice of words). I’m not even old by the way, I’m still very much of child-bearing age!

I felt like I had no choice.

So I reluctantly agreed to the CT scan. I was told it would be done within 90 minutes. Two hours later, I still hadn’t been taken for it, so I went to the nurses' station to chase it up. Turns out, they hadn’t even put my name down on the list. I was then taken down shortly after and had the scan. It was a fairly quick experience and it wasn’t scary at all for me, other than the worry of radiation and how that might affect my body. The Registrar had kindly informed me that even if the radiation does give me cancer, it won’t be until another 15 years, something for me to look forward to — thanks doc!

As I was wheeled back to the surgical unit, the Registrar passed me in the corridor and smiled, dressed in his civvies leaving work! I thought to myself “he’s supposed to be operating on me tonight and he’s leaving!”

Back on the surgical unit, not long after my CT scan, after the shift changeover was complete, another doctor came in. He told me he had reviewed the CT scan pictures and said “it’s bad news”, I immediately felt dread run through my body. He then went on to say that I had acute appendicitis. I was relieved! When he said it was bad news I thought he was going to tell me I was riddled with cancer and dying or something. I was so pleased when he said it was appendicitis as I knew once they whip it out, I’ll be ok and it was what I had suspected all along anyway, so I’d already prepared myself mentally for surgery.

He then told me they would operate in the morning. Great, so I could have been saved from the radiation and just had an MRI scan the following morning. Hmmm, not amused.

By now, it was 10.30pm and I was then taken into a ward and given a bed. I knew I wouldn’t sleep that night from the fear of my appendix bursting in the night but even if I had wanted to sleep, I’d have had no chance as another lady on the ward was snoring like a goodun. At 2am, I went to the loo and as I hobbled back to bed, the lady in the bed opposite me asked me if I could sleep. I said no and she pointed at the noisy lady in the next cubicle and said she couldn’t sleep for the noise. Not only was she snoring ridiculously loudly but she also hadn’t put her phone on silent and it kept having notifications come through every 10–15mins on a loud volume. I think that bothered me more than the snoring. Anyway, so the lady asks me what I’m in for and I tell her, then ask her the same, she had fractured her pubic bone and pelvis. I asked her if she had she fallen off a horse and indeed she had. I just knew it sounded like a horse-related injury! She invited me to sit on her bed to chat. I looked at her and asked did she live in (our town name) and she replied yes. I told her I recognised her. Turns out, she lives not even 100 metres from me! How coincidental is that? We meet in a hospital in another town (almost 20 miles away) and we end up in opposite beds and live only around the corner from each other.

We ended up sitting up until morning chatting and getting to know one another and turns out we have very similar viewpoints on various aspects of life and parenting. We also share a love for horses. She told me she had a pony available for loan that her daughter had grown out of and I told her I was looking for a pony loan for my daughters. So we swapped numbers and said we’d meet once we were both on the mend.

The doctors and anaesthetists then came to do their pre-op checks and paperwork. I was told my CT scan showed no sign of bowel cancer. Something I wasn’t aware they would be checking for but was a relief to know. I was taken down to theatre after 10am and my new friend wished me luck. As I was wheeled into the theatres, I was greeted by three medics in full hazmat suits. I joked and asked if they were taking me to Mars. They did the handover paperwork with the nurse and one of them got rather stern when he asked if my pregnancy test was negative as he couldn’t find it on the paperwork. He declared “we cannot operate unless it’s written on the paperwork!”, fortunately, the nurse found it and showed it to him.

I was wheeled in and they started prepping me, they had to fill my lungs with oxygen before intubating me. I was holding the oxygen mask and before I’d finished my 10 deep breaths, I’d slightly moved it away. The anaesthetist then grabbed the mask and firmly pressed it over my mouth and nose. I panicked (I cannot have anything near my mouth, nose or throat, it causes me panic attacks due to PTSD). I grabbed his arm to move it away. Then I asked if I could hold it myself. So he let me. Shortly after, the very smiley female anaesthetist started putting the general anaesthetic in my cannula and within three seconds, my eyes shut tight, the time on the clock was 10:40am.

Photo courtesy of Getty images 938738228

I was brought round in recovery sometime after 1pm. I immediately needed the loo and they shoved a bedpan under me, that was an odd experience, trying to pee whilst laying down. I repeatedly needed the loo but was told as they had used a catheter during the operation that it was just the sensation from that. I was wheeled back to the ward and I don’t remember much other than using my new friend’s zimmerframe to get to the loo and sitting on the toilet delirious, whilst leaning on the zimmerframe. I returned to my bed and asked the noisy lady to turn her phone down as it was keeping me awake! I then ended up having a sleep for a couple of hours.

I woke up at 4pm and got up for yet another loo attempt, then I went to the nurses to ask for food, it had been 48 hours since I’d eaten and I was famished. It finally arrived 1.5 hours later! I spent that time chatting with my new friend, but my throat was so sore from being intubated so she got me a drink. She was just waiting to be collected to go home. I thought to myself, it must be awful for people coming off ventilators after long periods on them if my throat is that sore from just a couple of hours on one.

My new friend left but we promised we’d see each other again soon. We kept in touch by text, checking in on each other.

Later the same evening, the surgeon came to see me. I had asked to keep my appendix but due to them sending it to pathology for tests, they said it wasn’t possible but they would photograph it for me instead. So the surgeon brought me some of the photos they had taken and talked me through everything, it was wonderful and I was so grateful to her.

My Appendix — Photograph Author’s Own

I then asked her where she was from (we were both Northern Irish but living in England) and turns out she’s from the same town I went to school in. Small world! We then chatted about life back home, life in England and shared common interests of playing music etc. She was a lovely young woman.

The following day, she came to see me again between her clinics, which was lovely. It’s very special being Northern Irish and meeting a fellow Northern Irelander outside of our home country, as soon as we hear the accent, we will always chat to each other and often make a new friend!

I went home that evening to start bedrest and generally taking it easy for a couple of weeks.

My family and I met up with my new friend at her stables last week and we met the beautiful pony she will loan to my little girls, they had a little ride on him and just love him. When I’m better she said I can loan another of her horses for myself.

We’re both still recovering, only two weeks on, she’s getting regular physio sessions and I’m still taking it easy as my wound has reopened. But we’re both making improvements every day which is great. It will be another few weeks before I’m able to get back to my fitness workouts which is a little disappointing but I know resting and taking it easy now is the best thing as doing too much too soon will only hinder my healing.

Finding her in the hospital that evening was just lovely, it was so good to meet someone with similar views, someone who is a genuinely warm, caring and compassionate individual and I just know that this will be a friendship that lasts a long time. Her husband was thrilled to hear that Dan wants to learn how to forage, he’s already taken him around their fields foraging for mushrooms! Dan is loving it. Their daughter gets on really well with our daughters. They are a genuinely lovely family and I feel so blessed to have met them.

I may have lost my appendix but I gained a pony, and a friend.

Appendicitis — The Facts

Appendicitis usually affects young people aged between 10 and 20 years old, however, it can happen to people of any age.

Appendectomies are one of the most common surgeries in the UK, with 50,000 people being admitted to hospital with appendicitis in England alone.

The surgery is usually performed by laparoscopy, unless the appendix bursts, then open surgery is normally required.

Symptoms start with pain at the bellybutton which then travels down to the lower right side, becoming constant and severe. Other symptoms can include: vomiting; constipation; and diarrhoea.

Causes of appendicitis are not fully understood, however, it can be brought on by a blockage or by respiratory tract infections (of which I had been suffering from since October 2019).

As with any surgery, there are risks and some people suffer complications afterward such as:

wound infection

haematoma

scarring

abscess

hernia

complications from general anaesthetic such as an allergic reaction, inhaling stomach contents, leading to pneumonia.

Source: nhs.uk

©Alex Andra 2020