David Currie

Well, I needn’t have worried about the bad back stopping me running as by Sunday morning I something entirely different to think about: a sore stomach and vomiting. By late afternoon this was sufficient severe that we gave NHS Direct a call. This eventually resulted in my seeing an out-of-hours doctor at Winchester Hospital. His diagnosis was a stomach bug and he sent me away to drink lots of fluids.

Come the middle of the night I had added uncontrollable shivering to the mix and we called NHS Direct again. The conclusion was much the same but they also recommended I book in to the local surgery the following morning to check for any signs of a urinary infection. This I duly did. The quick test was negative and the full results wouldn’t be back for another five days. This was Monday morning and by then the vomiting had ceased. However, as the day progressed, the abdominal pain intensified and had shifted downwards. When the shivering returned that evening we managed to get a doctor out to see me at home. The relocation of the pain (particularly to the right) was sufficient for him to suggest appendicitis and pack me off to Winchester A&E.

By about 2AM the surgical registrar was sufficiently convinced that it was worth operating and that it was better to do it there and then rather than risk it being postponed in the morning. It was slightly unnerving that the other surgeon had to be got out of bed. They had, however, just completed another appendectomy together and, having used laparoscopy for that, they would do the same for me. (If I couldn’t get a bigger scar than Christine’s caesarian then I’d at least have to get more of them!)

By 4AM I was being wheeled to a nice new side room in the short-term surgery ward. This was promising as the conversation I’d had overheard the previous night indicated this is where I’d end up if there were no complications. When the doctors (I counted six) came on their rounds later that morning it was confirmed that the appendix had been partially gangrenous. I felt much better for then being allowed to have breakfast after which I proceeded to spend much of the day sat in the sun (by the window) sipping a cold drink (admittedly water) through a straw – bit like being on holiday! After being given my last dose of antibiotics I was allowed home shortly after six in the evening.

Today I have a rather sore and slightly swollen (not to mention shaven!) belly which makes moving about a little precarious and a sore throat from the tube they put down to keep your airway open. That, and a two week sick note…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.