Goodbye Appendix, Hello Parenthood!

So my appendix broke up with me in early April. Not a fun experience. That Sunday I woke up feeling a little "off" but decided to push through and go about my day. Miguel and I did some yard work but around noon I started feeling really awful. My whole abdomen began severely cramping. It felt like I was doing a plank... this went on for hours and hours. By 9 o'clock that evening I just burst into tears because I felt so rotten. I took some pepto-bismol hoping that I was just experiencing a stomach bug that hadn't yet made me be ill. I tried to sleep but rolled around until about 2 am when I got up and desperately tried in vain to make myself get sick. With no luck and still in severe pain I called Urgent Care and my parents and they both suggested I go to the doctor and get checked out. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do that because then it was 1) acknowledging that something might actually really be wrong with me and 2) I didn't want any expensive medical bills. 

Urgent Care took my vitals, did a urine test, and prodded around my abdomen. This is when I first started noticing that the pain was more intense in my lower right side. It didn't matter where I was pressed on my abdomen... it would cause a shooting pain in my lower right. The Urgent Care nurse practitioner did a great job putting up with my hyper paranoia btw (I'm always certain I am on the very brink of death due to some medical issue I have imagined). After examining me they decided I better go to the ER. Booooooo! Thanks for the $150 nothing. I should have just gone to the ER to begin with, but I really wanted it to just be a stomach bug and nothing more ominous. 

So Miguel took me to the ER. Which I was dreading. But thanks to it now being 4 am we were ushered right back into the ER and into our own examination room.  I changed into the flattering XL hospital gown and began the fun ER experience of waiting and waiting and waiting. 

I was finally seen by a nurse and the ER doctor (which, by the way, was the only ER doctor there during the night shift). They examined me, took vitals, ran both urine and blood tests, and hooked me up to an IV. Eventually I was told that they thought the pain could be caused by appendicitis or an ovarian cyst that may have burst. So I was wheeled to get some x-rays done. 

Lovely bed head going on here...

(I feel like I should mention that we have these photos because we were sending them to my parents with updates. We weren't just passing time trying to document the experience)

While we were in the x-ray waiting room a nurse came in and retrieved me and took me back to our ER room with no explanation other than "the doctors decided not to have you x-rayed". Then began the waiting game all over again. 

Eventually the ER doctor came back in and told us some very exciting news.... We were PREGNANT! 

Ittttty bitty baby! Only 6 weeks!

Ahh! We couldn't believe it! We were thrilled but also scared as the doctor delivered this news as if it was bad. We were kinda holding our breath waiting for the other shoe to drop. The doctor explained that the blood work showed levels of hCG indicating a pregnancy but that due to the pain I was in they were concerned the pregnancy was ectopic. Ahhh, talk about a roller coaster of emotions. Neither of us had slept in almost 24 hours at this point, I was physically drained by the pain, and now our emotions were being tugged in a billion directions. 

For the next hour we waited for the 1 ultrasound technician in the hospital to become available. During this waiting time the ER staff changed shifts and much friendlier and much more energized staff started to assist us. I was really grateful. I was also given some morphine and had some temporary relief from the pain. 

Eventually we were seen by the ultrasound tech. I was shaking so violently at this point. I'm not sure if it was from the chilly ER, the nerves, the stress on my body, or emotions. The ultrasound tech layered me up with blankets and was really sweet and encouraging. Miguel held my hand as we anxiously looked at the ultrasound screen for any signs of a baby or ectopic pregnancy. I was pretty pessimistic at this point and was sure the ultrasound was just going to confirm the fears the doctors had expressed. Almost as soon as the ultrasound began we saw the pregnancy sack in the uterus and the technician pointed out our baby to us! Praise Jesus! Seriously! I was gobsmacked. Tears of relief swelled in my eyes and I just kept asking the technician if everything was okay, if that was a good thing etc. She was really kind and showed me that she didn't see any ectopic pregnancy (though she reminded us that she wasn't really allowed to say that and that we really would have to wait for the radiologist to read the images). She tried to measure the baby but the pregnancy was so new that it was too small to even measure. 

We were eventually wheeled back to the ER examination room and for the first time in hours Miguel and I felt some sort of joy and relief. I was still in a lot of pain though so that was still a concern. Over the next few HOURS we were seen by many different OB/GYNs, mostly residents. We got some helpful information, though the doctors still seemed to think the pregnancy was ectopic, even though we told them we saw the sack in the right place. I think they doubted us. The doctors explained what surgery would entail if the pregnancy was ectopic and once again Miguel and I were in a sort of limbo of emotions and expectations. 

Miguel started entertaining himself with hospital gloves etc while we waited and waited and waited.

After what seemed like an eternity the radiologist finally sent over the results of the ultrasound and ta-da! the pregnancy was healthy and in the correct location! That was great news, but we still needed to figure out why I was in so much pain. So onto option B and meeting with a surgeon. Again we waited for a lifetime and met with the residents who couldn't really do anything but guess what was likely going on and wait for their boss to come in and examine me. To no ones surprise the surgeon and doctors thought I had an irritated appendix. But here's the pickle, you find out you're newly pregnant and you're given the news that surgery is required and may harm your precious little miracle that you all of a sudden want to desperately fight to protect. We were really scared and nervous, but also knew that the appendix needed to come out.

During the whole waiting process my pain had started to decrease. This kinda alarmed the surgeon who said that often happens after the appendix ruptures. If that was in fact the case then they could just drain the fluid from the burst appendix and then operate on me after the baby was born to remove anything left over. This would be excellent if we could avoid having surgery and the risk that would put the baby under. However, to determine if the appendix had ruptured they needed to do a CT scan. We were absolutely against this idea because we didn't want to expose our baby to any kind of radiation. Miguel and I decided to opt instead for surgery.

Over the next couple of hours we were visited by many OBGYNs and surgeons all of who really encouraged us to have the CT scan in hopes of avoiding surgery all together. We were told that the risk to the baby would be greater under stress of surgery so close to the uterus and also under anesthesia. We were also presented with documentation regarding CT scans and the amount of radiation I would receive and at what levels of radiation are dangerous to a fetus. We decided to go ahead with the CT scan and hope that we didn't have to have surgery!

Over the next hour I had to drink that awful contrast. Honestly I was just SO thrilled to finally be able to drink something that I really had to be careful not to drink it too quickly!

This was a huge pitcher

After I finished the contrast I was wheeled back to get the CT scan. The technician was so nice and assured me he would use the lowest levels of radiation possible. He stayed true to his word (the surgeon said the images were blurry because of it). Whomp whomp... the appendix hadn't burst... so that meant surgery. 

They took me back to surgery pretty quickly. While they started prepping me to go back to the OR everything final set in, all the emotions from the 24+ hours, the lack of sleep, etc. It all added up and I just broke down into tears. Miguel was so incredibly sweet to me. He held my hand, encouraged me, and prayed over me. I cried all the way back to the OR and the last thing I remember is a surgical nurse wiping the tears from my cheeks before I got all loopy. 

Surgery went well. They got my appendix out laparoscopially and and drained out the surrounding infected fluid. I'm also so grateful to our community group who came and sat with Miguel while I was in the OR. 

We spent the night at the hospital where they kept an eye on my blood pressure. It got super low... at one point getting to 58/29! Yikes!

We also had this really fun beeping noise to listen to through the night. Cause sleeping in the hospital isn't uncomfortable to start with... 

I was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. It felt so good to get home and shower. And then a few hours later my mom arrived from Atlanta to take care of me. Nothing is as comforting as having your mommy there! She stayed for a couple of days and was an excellent nurse! She even brought me snacks in bed! (Though I hardly had any appetite for over a week)! 

My grandmother also got me beautiful flowers to help lift my spirits and let me know she was thinking of me from afar! Thanks Gramma!

Saturday of the same week was my birthday so I had planned a get together with some Savannah friends to celebrate Friday night. I really wanted to feel better for my birthday dinner and decided I still wanted to go. In hindsight I shouldn't have gone. About an hour and half into dinner I started to feel really bad. I got pretty pale and dizzy and just absolutely drained! I ended up being the first one to leave... which is sad haha.  But I was so grateful to everyone who came out to help celebrate the last birthday of my 20's (ahh!)

The whole week was a whirlwind and insane. I'm so thankful that we live in a country and time with modern medical care and that I have such a loving spouse, family, and friends! Glad I'm all healed up and looking forward to our little one's arrival in December! 

Bippity Boppity Boo and Birthdays!

I know I really don't blog much anymore, but I'm going to try my hardest to keep it up... starting now!

This past weekend Miguel and I headed to Atlanta to celebrate both my Dad's birthday and my Mother-in-law's birthday. Both of them were born on the same exact day and both in West Virginia. What are the odds? 

It's tough trying to get time in with everyone when you're only in town for a few days! But we did our best! 

Thursday night we stayed at my brother-in-law and his wife's new house. So much fun to see their new place and be their very first over-night guests! Thanks for letting us stay, Juan and Jessie! Your home is beautiful!

Friday we went to Miguel's parents to celebrate his mom. We enjoyed family time, some yummy Thai food and finished up the evening with some cheesecake. Unfortunately I didn't snap a single picture. :(

Saturday we headed to my parents to celebrate my Dad's birthday. First things first I had to get some cuddles in with my absolutely favorite nephew, Evan! Happiest baby in the world right here! He just can't help but smile. Every time I see him he has grown so much! He is rolling himself over and has two baby teeth popping up! 

It's amazing how being around my niece and nephew makes me take a billion pictures. I want to capture every moment to remember them and soak them in! 

The ladies spent the rest of the morning baking G-Daddy's birthday cake. All four of us got involved and Karis was such a big helper!

Karis helped mix all the ingredients together and then helped mommy do the icing.  Oh my goodness. She is just so cute.

After the kiddos went down for a nap the original Leeper ladies went out for a movie date to see Cinderella. Those who know me know my love for all things Disney. Well I share that love with my sister and as soon as the three of us saw the preview for the live action Cinderella we knew we all wanted to see it together! 

Guess I missed the pink and stripe shirt memo...

The theater we went to put any other theater I've ever been to to shame! I mean for reals. I got totally spoiled and don't know if I will ever want to see a movie in a theater here in Savannah again! The seats reclined and you had so much room! 

The movie was sooooo good! They really did such a good job of telling the story, keeping to the Disney version but not making it cheesy. I'm going to be honest, there were quite a few tears shed between the three of us. 

When we got back to my parents house we started getting things ready to celebrate my daddy. My dad loves sitting out by the fire so for his birthday we thought it would be fun to roast hot dogs and have s'mores. My mom is like Martha Stewart and always has everything just so and perfect. She set up a wonderful meal and brought it all out to the picnic table. We had baked beans, a tasty salad, roasted veggies and all the toppings you could think of for the hot dogs. 

We had such a relaxing fun time enjoying each others company, watching the sun go down, having lots of laughs and celebrating my dad.  

 

Miguel and I had to turn around quickly Sunday morning and come back to Savannah to pick up our dogs (thanks SO much Jason for puppy-sitting!!) and get back in time for our kickball game. Even though we had a quick visit it was so great to see family!! I'm so glad that most of our family lives so closely now (Adrian move closer to the south east)!

Friendsgiving 2014

This weekend Miguel and I had about 10 people over for a Friendsgiving dinner. This was Miguel's idea, but I love throwing themed parties and so I was excited to help host! I am fully aware that I go a little cheesy with themes, but I don't care, I embrace it haha.  For example, I cut out Thanksgiving photo props that no one used, but Miguel was kind enough to humor me and take a picture as a pilgrim! 

Once people got to our house I didn't remember to take any photos, but I snapped some pics of the food and decor earlier. 

This was the first time we used our new dining room table! We put one of the leaves in so that we could fit more people, but that also meant that there was very little wiggle room as the table took up pretty much the whole length of the room! 

Poor Madison got stuck in the chair closest to the window! Once she got in, she couldn't get out. Especially once we added a chair to the opposite end, essentially blocking the doorway to the kitchen. 

We also set up another little table so that there would be more room, but in the end we didn't get enough extra chairs so it became an impromptu "sweetheart table". 

Publix commercial salt and pepper shakers my dad gave me years ago =)

We also had candles and a fire going outside, but then, of course, it started to rain... pout.

To make the house smell like fall I had a simmer pot of orange peels, apples, cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, etc going on the stove.

Our guests each brought a Thanksgiving dinner side or two, so I put my energy towards making little finger foods and things to snack on before dinner. 

These cute peanut butter pumpkin balls were my favorite thing! They were so easy to make! I think this would be a fun activity to make with kids too! And, apart from the pretzel stick stem, they are GF and DF!

Next I had a pumpkin pie dip with graham crackers and apples. I just wish the apples didn't brown so quickly.  This was also pretty simple to make, but sadly, it's not DF. I may still have had a bite or two though...

I also made some GF & DF sugar cookies that I made in the shape of fall leaves and pilgrim hats. They tasted really good to me, especially for being GF and DF!

This pic is pretty blurry, but for drinks I made a cranberry champaign cocktail.  It only has 3 ingredients and is so easy to make! Just don't make the same mistake I did and have the spout of the drink dispenser open when you pour in the juice!

But, of course, the biggest hit of the night was Miguel's turkey! Yummmmmmmy! He smoked it in the Big Green Egg and it turned out wonderfully! 

We had a fun night with good friends and are very thankful to have such a great group of people to celebrate with here in Savannah! Now that we are all warmed up  we are definitely looking forward to this upcoming week celebrating with our families!