Emergency Surgery: Day 209

Yesterday Andrew came home from football practice complaining of his left side hurting. Kevin and I didn't notice any swelling, so we gave him some ibuprofen for the pain. We figured he had bruised his ribs. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful until about 1:00 am when Andrew woke me up to say he couldn't get comfortable because his side was hurting worse. I got up, got dressed, and told Kevin I was going to take Andrew to the emergency room. I didn't think he needed to get up, because he would have to work the next day. At this point, I'm still thinking Andrew has bruised his ribs.

As I was driving, Andrew's pain became worse and he began to have trouble breathing. Needless to say, I laid a little heavy on the gas as I sped through the Chickamauga Battlefield to Hutcheson Medical Center. When we checked into the Emergency Room, I tried to reiterate how much pain my son was in, but I saw no sympathy in the woman's eyes. Andrew has always had a high tolerance to pain. He was beginning to tear up, so I knew he was miserable. We took our seat in the waiting room among some colorful characters who seemed to just stare at Andrew as he writhed in pain. After about ten minutes, Andrew turned ghostly white and broke out in a sweat. He was about to pass out. I ran for the nurse and they brought out a wheelchair and wheeled him into a room to take his vitals. Everything was dropping, and then he began to throw up. As terrible as he felt, he even apologized for throwing up. This is when things went from bad to worse. I just heard words like chest trauma and "get the doctor!" Andrew was whisked away to a trauma room. I was told to wait outside, and the curtain was closed. It was living out a scene from the tv show ER.

I completely regretted my decision to leave Kevin at home, and I tried to call home, but my phone wouldn't pick up a signal. A kind nurse let me use the hospital phone, but in my state of panic, I could barely call my home number. I finally reached Kevin, and I felt a little comfort knowing he was on his way.

Once Andrew was stabilized, I was able to go back to see him. He was still very pale, but looked a little better. The doctor was concerned a broken rib may have punctured his lung, but that was just one theory. The CAT scan revealed a ruptured spleen. He would have to have it removed asap!

Luckily, a surgeon was on call and had an appendectomy scheduled for 4:00 am. Andrew's surgery would follow. If he couldn't have done the surgery, Andrew would have to have been transported to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. I am thankful that was not the case.

Andrew's surgery went well, and I will continue with the story tomorrow.

This little crisis is why I've been so absent.

Grateful Mom,
Julie