An Ulcer and Appendix

March was such a crazy month for us. It started with David having horrible pain in his stomach that would just not go away. He was in so much pain and I kept telling him to go to the doctor, but he was being stubborn. I was convinced it was either an ulcer or his appendix. He finally went to the doctor on a Monday and found out that he had an ulcer. The doctor gave him some numbing medicine and then some prescriptions to take. He then told him to go on a strict diet for 8 weeks, if he wanted to get rid of the ulcer completely. No sugar, carbonated drinks, tomatoes, fried food or anything with acidity, which it turns out is a lot of things! He was amazing at it and really stuck to it.  Even with all the yummy treats and other foods around that he couldn't eat, he stuck to it. There was a lot of grilled chicken and healthy shakes.  At the end of the LONG 8 weeks we had a celebration and had a few friends over to help celebrate.  We had all the foods that he hadn't been able to have...and I do mean all of the them. We had Popeye's chicken and fries, Iceburg Burgers, Pizza, Mcdonald's, and a few desserts, which included a Whipped icing cake from Sam's Club. $100 worth of food for one big exciting meal! The kids were all so excited and loved it!
Thursday, March 2nd I had gone to a friend's house for a girl's night and had been feeling great and eating all the yummy snacks, until about 10:00 that night. I thought I had just been sitting up too long and ate too much and was having some pains in my stomach.  I went home around 11:00 and David and I watched Impractical Jokers, which I was having a hard time laughing at because I was in pain. I was also throwing up all night, but I really just thought it was from the baby and eating too much food that night. I just figured it was another pregnancy pain, but I knew it was one I had never felt before. I had my check up the next day with my OBGYN and so I thought for sure I could make it until then and see what he said. I think I slept about 2 hours total that night. I had tried everything I could to make the pain stop and nothing was working. The next morning after one of the worst nights of my life, I called my doctor, but unfortunately I was put on hold and after 45 minutes I was in so much pain and started having contractions about 2 minutes apart, so David took me to labor and delivery at the hospital.  They checked me and saw that the baby was okay and said it wasn't labor, so they sent me to the emergency room.  It was just constant horrible pain in my stomach. They gave me some pain medication and were pretty confident it was my appendix. They said they would try an ultrasound to see if they could see the appendix. They said it was a low chance that they would be able to through ultrasound and if they couldn't they would have to do a CT Scan. On a positive note, we got to see little Scarlett again.  The tech was very excited when she saw the appendix and told us it was so rare during pregnancy to see the appendix and it was a huge blessing.  She of course couldn't officially tell us if it was the appendix, but was very confident. While we were waiting for the doctor to come and tell us, my doctor finally returned my call and said not to go to the emergency room and that I should be just fine. They said to just keep my regular appointment and come in. I am so grateful I didn't listen to them. The doctor/surgeon came in a little while later after I was in my room and told us it was in fact the appendix and they would be taking me to surgery within the next little bit.  He told us that unfortunately it was somewhat risky for the baby and that they would not be able to monitor her during the surgery. I was so out of it from lack of sleep and intense pain that I don't think it really registered what he was saying, but there was no way around it. I know David was more terrified than I was at the time, since I was on medication and my mind could just not wrap around the thought of anything going wrong for Scarlett.  So they took me back into surgery and about 30 minutes later, they were done.  Everything went great and Scarlett was completely safe and well after.  The doctor came to talk to us later and I told him it had to be kind of cool to see the baby inside me, but he said it was terrifying. Apparently it's 1 in 1,000 that this happens, while you're pregnant, so somewhat rare. They had to make 4 incisions in my stomach. Then he said they kind of blew up my stomach like a balloon, went in and took out the appendix. So now I have 3 nice scars to remember my first surgery.While David and I were at the hospital, my sister Trish took off work to go watch all the kids for us and I think there were some neighbors who helped out as well, but my memory is foggy on what all happened. I had to stay overnight, so they could keep an eye on me and the baby, but then I was sent home the next day. My mom had asked if I wanted her to come out and I said, "Of course!" and then started balling. I was so relieved that she was coming to help out, since I wouldn't be able to pick up P.J. or anything heavy for the next week and recovery would be a little bit, since I was pregnant. My stomach was so soar and I was in a lot of pain. It was hard to walk and I had to be on a strict diet along with David, but only for one week. :) I let my mom and David take over everything and just tried to recover and take advantage of the help and rest.  I was so grateful that my mom jumped on a plane and came out to help so fast! It was such a blessing.  I still can't believe all the illness and things that happened to me during this last pregnancy. Between surgery, wisdom teeth and the flu, it was a rough pregnancy. At least now I know if any of my kids have intense pain and throwing up, I will know what to do for them. ;)
While all this was going on, we also had Giselle and Kevin and their 2 kids move in with us for a few weeks, while their townhouse was being built. It was a somewhat crazy month all around, but we all survived and we are grateful for family and friends to be around to help.