*sigh*

my health has once again taken a turn for the worse. i woke up early yesterday morning with severe abdominal pain. it was just a constant pain, and i couldn't get any relief whether i laid down curled up or standing around and pacing back and forth. it hurt so much, i got nauseous and threw up a couple of times. not too much came up since my stomach was empty. after about an hour and a half of this, i decided it was time to go to the ER. it just wasn't getting any better...in fact, it was getting worse. by the time we got to the hospital, i was in so much pain and discomfort, i started going numb. my chest, hands and legs started getting tingly. they took me back, hooked me up on an IV but gave me no drugs. a doc had to see me before they could order anything for me. i was in such agony. puking, moaning just wanting it to stop. and it wouldn't. not even for a second. it was the most intense and relentless pain i've ever experienced.

they finally have me some pain meds but that didn't take care of my nausea. they tried 3 different meds before my nausea finally subsided. from what i remember, they took a couple of xrays and i had to drink a bunch of radioactive contrast dye before getting a series of cat scans done. since they didn't get the shots they wanted, i had to drink yet another 16 oz. cup of radioactive cocktail. yum! actually, at this point it was kind of refreshing since i hadn't had anything to drink.

so the ER docs came back and said my appendix looked like it was inflammed and had a blockage since the dye didn't appear to go through. they said i needed emergency surgery...so off to pre-op i went. my first question was how long is recovery? no lifting more than 10lbs for 6 weeks. 6 weeks? fuck! no boyne, no duathlon, no stoney marathon, not to mention no riding my brand new 29er! double fuck! i talked to the pre-op nurse and then one of the doctors. finally, the surgeon came in and did a physical exam. he said he didn't think it was my appendix based on the physical exam. hmmmm...that's strange. the other docs sure were anxious to get me to the OR for emergency surgery so what gives? he thought that if it was my appendix, i would be in A LOT more pain while he palpitated. so, he thought he'd keep me overnight for observation. as soon as they moved me to the inpatient floor the pain and nausea came back with a vengeance. i started feeling really sick again and finally threw up. after that i felt much better. they ordered some more drugs and i could finally eat and drink. i ordered some chicken broth, jello and popcicles. i was able to keep everything down.

this morning another doc came and checked me out and didn't think it was my appendix either so they released me. i'm supposed to call the surgeon on thursday to update him on my condition. so far, i'm still not back to normal and i'm not fully convinced that it's not my appendix. it's still a little tender in that area but now excrutiating pain. it's just a little crampy down there. they think it might just be viral gastroenteritis. who knows. i mean, we don't know if this is in any way connected to the stomach/abdominal pains i had been having the last month or so. they pretty much went away until this happened sunday morning.

so, i'm up in the air about boyne. i'll have to make a last minute decision. i would hate to be up north and have my appendix burst. that would not be good. also, my new frame and parts came in today. it's pretty hard to get excited about that with all this other shit going on. it's funny because i was feeling pretty good on saturday. i went for a 5+ mile run and ran faster than i ever have. i also lifted saturday night too. who knew what was around the corner. well, it seems like one problem after another for me. i'm just hoping it was viral in nature and i'll recover okay.