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Be A 0.5 Percenter [Become a Marathon Runner From Scratch]

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What is a marathon?

26.2 Sticker Image
The 26.2 sticker is popular among those who run a full marathon.

According to Emily Abbate, a contributor to Runner’s World magazine, only 0.5 percent of the United States population has run a full marathon. For some people, being in this elite group of only 0.5 percent is one of the sole reasons why they choose to tackle such a feat. Some people are wired to want to be different than others or accomplish more than the average person does. This is not to be better than others, but a way to feel a sense of accomplishment within themselves. Running a full marathon is one of these ways. How long is a full marathon? 26.2 miles.

Among the people who consider themselves runners, 50 percent of them have never tried a full marathon. Another statistic to note is that the average time to complete a full marathon over a 20-year period has been between 4 hours 15 minutes and 4 hours 40 minutes. It was interesting that only around 80 percent of people, who start running a marathon, make it to the finish line. The Boston Marathon has the highest percentage of finishers with 97 percent.

Can anyone run a marathon? Yes! So, why don’t more people?

How do you train for a marathon?

Runners Signed Up To Run A Full Marathon

You certainly should have some running experience under your belt before training for a marathon. I was probably considered a beginner when I decided to run a full marathon but had run enough to begin marathon training. Jeff Gaudette, a writer for Active.com, defines a beginner in the following way, “a beginner is someone who has been running consistently for less than two years, or who averages less than 20-25 miles per week.” I had been running fairly consistently for probably two years.

My opinion is that anyone can run a full marathon, but you MUST train. I trained for four months. There are running plans all over the internet that you can use. Runner’s World had a good one, and that is what I used to train for the two marathons I did. It is vital to follow the plan exactly! You can find running plans on active.com.

What is the most essential item you need for training?

Technology has come a long way since I trained for my marathons. One must have item for training is either the FitBit Versa Watch, which is on sale on Amazon, or the Apple Watch Series 3. If you do not care to read your texts on your watch and don’t mind running with your phone for GPS, the FitBit Alta HR is a good option. It’s on sale on Amazon Prime Days which are July 15-16! These watches keep up with your mileage, heart rate, calories burned, and MANY other things.

Should you run one in your hometown or do a destination marathon?

Mississippi Blues Marathon–my hometown marathon

Both! I suggest running your first one in your hometown or close to it. Here’s why: recovering in your own bed after the race sure is nice. Plus, since most friends and family know that you have been busy training for four months or more, they can come to cheer you on at the end of the race. You will need the encouragement!

I ran the inaugural Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, Mississippi for my first one. This was in January of 2008, and I finished around 4 hours and 30 minutes.

This marathon is nice because it’s not super crowded. Also, there is blues music along the way. The only negative is that there are potholes on lots of the Jackson streets, so you need to watch the road closely while you run.

Rock N Roll Marathon in San Diego–my destination marathon

For the second marathon that you do, I suggest choosing a fun destination. This serves as an added motivation for you. This is important because now that you know what completed a marathon is like, you may need a little more motivation to do it again.

I’ve heard it said, “No one runs a marathon because it’s fun.” This is certainly true in most ways.

I chose the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon for my second and destination marathon. My husband ran this one with me around May 30 or 31, 2009. I didn’t train as hard for this one and finished a little slower; however, I can’t remember the exact time.

My aunt and uncle lived out there, so we enjoyed seeing them while we there.

May Gray/June Gloom

The only drawback to going there at that time was what the locals call May Gray/June Gloom. It was cloudy the whole time we were there. There should be some disclaimer on their website that yes, the temperatures aren’t bad, but for those who want to enjoy sunny California prior to the race, you can enjoy it while it’s gray outside, and kind of cold.

Incidentally, we found out from our taxi drivers (we didn’t Uber back then) and have since confirmed it through research that during this time of the year, a layer of marine stratus darkens the skies. It’s cloudy most of the day, with occasional hazy afternoon sun. The number of gloomy days varies each year, but from May 1-June 30, the locals expect it. I later researched it and found out there were 23 gloomy days that year during the two month period.

Maybe we were just oblivious, and “everyone” knows about this, but we didn’t. I do think they should make information on this weather phenomenon more visible on their website. We Mississippians were clueless.

My experience

Training to run a full marathon

Since it the one I remember the most, I will focus mainly on my first marathon training. I trained for four months in the fall. I ran my long runs for the most part in my neighborhood and some in another neighborhood close-by. Around Thanksgiving, we traveled to Callaway Gardens in Georgia, so I did my long training run there. It’s gorgeous there running on the trails. The longest that my plan had me ever run was 20 miles. I think that is fairly common. So, basically, the day of the race, you haven’t run over 20 miles but are supposed to run 26.2 that day.

The race

Balloons That A Pacer Uses To Run A Full Marathon

If you have a certain time goal in mind, you can run with someone who is called a pacer. A pacer runs with a sign that states the time that those who run with him or her should finish the race. Some people like to run with the pacer in order to meet their time goal. I, personally, have not used a pacer.

After the race, I realized why most plans don’t have you run more than 20 miles while training. I have no proof of this, but I think it’s because you wouldn’t continue the training or run the race! The last six miles of a marathon are TERRIBLE!

However, I do not advise walking during the last six miles. I tried that briefly and realized that my legs hurt just as bad when I was walking. Running gets you to the finish line faster than walking, so considering the pain is the same, run the last six miles for sure!!! By the end, it felt like needles poking into me every time I put my foot down for the next step.

After the race, the volunteers wrap a silver, foil blanket around you to help regulate your body temperature. Your body temperature will drop quickly because you are no longer working your muscles.

After the race

After the initial runner’s high had worn off, I slept the rest of the afternoon. We went to a friend’s house for dinner that night. I was very sore for the next few days, and going downstairs hurt worse than going upstairs.

Something I do remember from the San Diego race was that we were laid up in the hotel room all afternoon. I took a bath when we got back to the hotel and then slept most of the rest of the day. We were able to hobble to dinner that night. That marathon is actually where I remember going up and down stairs hurting the most.

The future

If this is making you want to run, there are 9 easy ways to become a runner. Although I do like to be in the 0.5 percenter category, I do not have plans to run another one anytime soon. Abbate has some great tips in her article in Runner’s World about marathon training basics. If you are a Goal-Oriented Runner, I highly recommend setting aside four months to train and running a full marathon!  You won’t regret it. 

What are some of your memories of your marathon? Do you have any questions on how to get started with marathon training? Please comment below.

Picture Of Me When I Was In Shape To Run A Full Marathon
Wearing my Rock N Roll San Diego Marathon Shirt after a 5k Race in Leland, MS later that summer of 2009



 

7 Hidden Money Traps for Your College Freshman Son To Avoid–Part 2

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In this two-part series, I will discuss 7 hidden money traps to avoid; they caught my son his freshman year of college. Trust me, your son doesn’t want to go through the same thing. These traps added much stress on his dad, him, and me and can certainly be avoided if there is awareness that they are out there. The traps ate up all of his savings from summer and Christmas jobs. The first two traps can be found by reading Part 1 of the 7 Hidden Money Traps.

money tree for money traps to avoid

3.  Overdraft Fees (the most expensive of the money traps to avoid)

This was a biggie. We had to tweak how to do the bank account over and over. One issue was, we never really knew how much money to give him. The following are the some of the ways that we heard that his friends dealt with money:

  • Some had unlimited funds, i.e. their parents’ credit card
  • Some lived on a cash-only basis
  • Credit cards with small limits
  • Some had an allowance but then some expenses went on their parents’ credit card, etc.
  • Some received money monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly

The bank account was the single biggest headache of the year. First, we gave him money “for the month.” That lasted one month. It’s too much money to manage at one time for someone who has never lived away from home. At least it was for us. Second, he used a bank that does not have a branch in his college town. So, at first, I would put money in his account, and when he had a low balance, it would take two to three days to get into the account. He was literally at school one weekend, during the fall season, without a penny to his name.

Seriously, Western Union?

That weekend, I had to use Western Union because I couldn’t think of another way to get money to him. He went to a CVS and picked up the cash. I felt sleazy having to send him money that way. They charged $6 for me to send him some cash. Luckily, later, somehow we found out that if you use the banking mobile app on the phone as opposed to the laptop, then the transfer is instant.

I wish I had known that from the beginning!

Third, we had had the account set up in high school with an overdraft cushion, and the debit card still worked when there was no money in the account! This was the bank’s default setting, and it was awful. That is when he accrued the most fees. We had him call the President of the bank and ask for some of the fees back with some stipulations that he had to follow, such as checking his balance on his mobile app. We changed it to where the account would not work if there was no money.

There was one glitch.

Don’t use the credit button (one of the money traps to avoid)

We didn’t know that if he pumped gas and pushed the credit button instead of debit, the card worked even with no money in the account. More overdraft fees. We were all shocked by this. More lessons learned. The banker told us this only happens at gas stations, but I don’t know if this is the case.

This issue was finally worked out as when put him on a weekly budget, had him call us when he was filling up with gas and we put that amount in the account, and told him never to push the credit button.

Cash is King

The last thing that has worked well was his idea. He devised a plan to get the cash out of his account each week, and he lives on the cash instead of his debit card. It does worry me that the money will get stolen, but so far, so good. It took a while to see what would work for him, and this topic is still a work in progress.

**Update: If they join a gym or have another reason to have automatic debits come out of their account, they must keep up with what day of the month this occurs. Also, they need to be aware of any hidden fees. My son had to pay another overdraft fee recently because he didn’t know about a yearly fee at the gym, and he had already pulled out his cash for the week.**

The trap is that they are technically still living off of our money, and yes, he has to pay for the “mistakes” with his own money, but there is still no real urgency to avoid this trap at 18 and 19 years old as opposed to how we feel as adults when we spend our money on “mistakes”.  It’s a very costly trap.

4. Cover charges at bars

I went to college at this same University and also went out to the bars and paid cover charges. However, I had NO idea the amount of money that they charge the students today. It is crazy! My son had told us the cover charges were very expensive, but I didn’t believe him until I went myself a few times. Since you can get into most places at the age of 18, they go.

When I visited on football game weekends and parents’ weekends, I quickly saw how easy it is to spend lots of money.

I paid $20-$40 cover charges at different times while visiting there during his freshman year. If you add up the Uber rides, cover charge at one bar, cover charge at sometimes a second destination, and if have a date as well, that is a very expensive night. If it’s a football game weekend or a formal event that requires two nights of this, it is easy to see how quickly the spending adds up.

The lure of this trap is you aren’t going to stay home on a big weekend when everyone else is out. This is one of the money traps that is hard to avoid, so it’s wise to save in other areas to be able to afford this one.

5. Food

Meal plan and fraternity bill

Wait…I thought we paid $1900 first semester for a meal plan (that was required by the University) and $778 second semester for the the Greek Plan. We did.  (The University will let you reduce the amount second semester if you join a fraternity in October during Rush.) He pledged a fraternity in October, so we began paying a fraternity bill which also included food, and then the second semester continued with the fraternity bill which provided three meals a day during the week.

That should have been more than enough food money. I understand that you get sick of the same choices on campus over and over, but something else I learned is that there are over 10 restaurants to choose from in several locations.

Apparently, the food at the fraternity houses isn’t the best. So those two food choices–the University and the fraternity house, although I paid for them, “got old.” I cringed every time I saw a charge at a fast food restaurant on his account prior to his going to his cash plan (I can’t see where he is spending money now because of his cash plan.)

Temptations

It is very hard for them to have self-control and force themselves to eat what has been paid for. Additionally, the University doesn’t give refunds on unused funds. Aggravating!

This trap is the oldest trick in the book. When a teenage boy is hungry, he will eat what he wants, when he wants it. Sure, the University requires a meal plan consisting of non-refundable money, and there is food at the frat house. BUT, the lure of the Cookout drive-thru hamburger trumps any of that every time.

Money spent on food was only in our weekend budget for him, so he was behind on his budget often due to spending money on food and leaving free food on the table.

6. Lock-out fees

Dorm lock-out fees are more understandable to me, and they aren’t super expensive. But, I never thought about them prior to seeing them on the bill.

He had about five lock-out fees which totaled $30. Not bad, but the trap was that the fee “just being $5” per lockout fee trumped any urgency to be really sure you were never locked out. Looking back, I’m actually surprised this amount wasn’t larger, but it’s a fee I didn’t think about.

The lure of this trap is that it only costs $5, so “oh well” if they forget their key. Of all of the money traps to avoid, this one is the least expensive.

7. Dorm move-out fines

The dorm move-out fines sent me over the edge when I saw them on the bill.

He was already home for the summer when they posted this fine on the University account. He did not check out with the resident assistant and left his bulletin board and mirror in the room.

The $10 bulletin board turned into a $40 bulletin board that didn’t come home. The $5 mirror turned into a $35 mirror that didn’t come home.

Then there was the fine for not signing out.

This added up to a total of $187.50 for him and $187.50 for his roommate. Hopefully, the University used this extra money to sanitize the mattresses or upgrade something in the dorm.

The trap was either the lure of getting on the road quickly to come home or simply being completely oblivious to the fact that there were fines. This is one of the money traps that is easy to avoid if he will take the time to follow the directions the R.A. gives them.

What were some of the money traps your son encountered? Please comment below.

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Read Laurie’s story of how her recent life experiences led to the birth of this site, White Cotton. Feel free to send her a message or subscribe to the blog.

 



7 Hidden Money Traps For Your College Freshman Son To Avoid–Part 1

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In this 2-part series, I will let you know of 7 hidden money traps that caught my son during his freshman year of college so that your son doesn’t have to go through the same thing. This article will discuss the first two traps. These traps added much stress to our lives and can certainly be avoided if there is awareness that they are out there. Considering we were paying for every penny of his college, I tried very hard to stay on top of anything money-related. Unfortunately, these traps caught us by surprise.

What is a trap?

According to the Oxford Pocket Dictionary on Google, one definition of a trap is, “a device or enclosure designed to catch and retain animals typically by allowing entry but not exit.”

Over the years, my son has trapped his fair share of critters (animals) as he is an avid outdoorsman. Because of this, we have owned several sizes of traps. Neighbors have even borrowed these traps. He always released the critters that he trapped to another area never causing them harm. The only harm to the animals was the inconvenience of being stuck in a place they didn’t want to be and having to wait on someone to release them. Obviously, sometimes they didn’t know if they would ever be released!

7 Hidden Money Traps In College
A trap can be in the form of an animal trap or a money trap.

One thing my son learned from trapping animals is that once trapped, it is nearly impossible to escape without help.

Back in his days of trapping animals, he would place food items in the trap to lure them. The animal would get close enough to go after something enticing, then BOOM. Once the door to the trap shut, the animal was trapped safely until my son relocated it away from wherever we were trying to prevent it from being.

Money traps

In comparison, there were 7 hidden money traps that my son, my husband, and I weren’t prepared for when my son entered his freshman year of college. True to design, these traps were hidden in some way and had consequences.

7 Hidden Money Traps In College

In fact, even I never saw any of them coming until it was too late.  We did make our son pay us back for all of the traps that he fell into financially, which sadly for him drained his savings account of hard-earned money from summer and Christmas jobs. Yes, these were hard lessons to learn, and it felt like the traps just kept coming and coming.

1. Parking tickets

Welcome to college

The first trap is parking tickets. I am talking about on-campus parking tickets. But, ironically, at summer orientation, the parking ticket nightmare introduced itself to him. And I was with him! Looking back, this foreshadowed the parking ticket issue.

He parallel parked his truck late at night in front of a friend’s condo where we were staying, and he went past the line and into the next parking place in front of him. Being the lone vehicle on that section of the street, and with it being dark outside, we didn’t notice that he had parked imperfectly.

The next morning, we saw a ticket on the windshield. Welcome to college.

On campus

Fast forward, and my son wasn’t able to get a parking decal for his dorm parking lot. There was only a limited number of decals available in the dorm parking lot. He had to purchase a decal in the parking garage about .3 miles away uphill. (I know, I know. Poor spoiled kid.)

The reason he couldn’t purchase a decal for the dorm parking lot was that he was in a summer school class the day that the decals became available online. Also, I was working that morning and couldn’t purchase it for him, either. This was a big, costly mistake. He should have skipped class, or I should have rescheduled my client. The decals were gone by the time he got out of class.

Unfortunately, he ended up making 18 bad decisions in the parking category. This added up to $1255 from August-May.

Sometimes he would illegally park in a spot in the parking lot of the dorm and be away from his truck for less than 10 minutes to run get something out of his room and come back to find a ticket on his windshield. Other times, after parking in the dorm parking lot on the weekends (this was allowed), he would leave his truck there until Monday. (Another ticket on the windshield.)

I’m sure the tickets also included his parking at random places on campus. That’s a big no-no.

It was a trap that he could never seem to get out of. The lure of convenience trumped the sting of having to give up his hard-earned money over and over.

2. Uber

We nipped the Uber trap in the bud after four days of his being on campus.

In high school, he never really used our Uber account even though we allowed him to. “Better to stay safe” was our motto. However, either his friends and he were angels, or they had girls that drove them around. I’m not sure…

So, we had no way of knowing that he didn’t really understand how expensive calling Uber repeatedly could be. We initially gave him his August allowance and also said he could use our Uber account for rides.

The chauffeur

As I said, we withdrew his access to our Uber account after 4 days! 

I guess he confused Uber with having a personal chauffeur.

At first, his being on the account thrilled me because I could see where all he was going. This only thrilled me for one night! After that, I realized I didn’t want to see every move he was making. That WAS NOT the plan for letting him use our Uber app. It was a weird, disturbing feeling to watch him on the app; he had been off of our Find My iPhone app for a couple of years. Ha.

Even though I didn’t want to see where all he was all hours of the night, the big issue was that he racked up $140 charges in four days. Umm, no. The trap was the enticement of having a chauffeur several times a night, as opposed to having to find parking places, especially when it comes out of your parents’ account.

On his own

So, we nipped it in the bud, and he linked his Uber account to his debit card for the rest of the year; somehow, he got by. Who knows!

Further reading

These were 2 of the 7 hidden money traps to avoid during your son’s college freshman year. Read the next 5 traps to avoid. 

Read Laurie’s story of how her recent life experiences led to the birth of this site, White Cotton.

 



43 Essential Dorm Room Ideas for Guys

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Overview

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Cap And Gown Prior To Purchasing The Essentials For Your Son's Dorm Room

Although you haven’t thought much about the essential dorm room ideas for guys, it’s time. Your son has worn the cap and gown, gone on the Senior trip, completed summer school classes at the local community college, and/or worked. In June, you realize that it’s really going to happen. In a few short weeks, he is leaving the nest.

You attend orientation with him, and then it really sinks in that you must plan for, purchase, and eventually install the essentials for your son’s dorm room, items that he will be utilizing for the next nine months. This article lists everything I bought for his room and where I bought them.

My goal was to spend as little as possible on these items, without his being too scarred for life. Also, we did not opt for a corner room (bigger) since that would just be more space for clutter.

For you, the experience needs to be stress-free. After all, he is a boy. He doesn’t care what you buy…I promise.

Now, there are some guidelines that you need to follow in order for him not care what you buy. If you make purchases that are too matchy-matchy, he will be furious. To read these guidelines, click on 7 tips for decorating your son’s dorm room.

Although this will vary from dorm to dorm and University to University, his room came with two chests of drawers and two desks.

Sketch For The Essentials For Your Son's Dorm Room

Essentials for your son’s dorm room

1. Carpet

I purchased the carpet with the mindset that it would be thrown away at the end of the year. Because my son’s dorm room was 10 x 14 feet, we purchased a 10 x 12 gray carpet from the University. Thankfully, it was delivered straight to the dorm room, and it served them well. Anything you can purchase through the University, I recommend doing because the prices are good, and it’s easy.

2-13. Bedding

Protectors

There are some imperatives for the bed. You want the actual mattress to be as far away from your son’s body as possible. I tried not to think about the cleanliness of the mattress too much and hoped the previous dwellers had also bought the imperatives. We received information from the University to get items with extra-long sizing for the twin bed.

We put the plastic zippered mattress cover protector around the mattress, then the egg crate mattress, then the cloth mattress pad cover, then the two fitted sheets, one flat sheet, and the comforter.

 Decor

We also bought all of the bedding through the University including the egg crate mattress. It was called the Value Pack, and we upgraded the egg crate mattress.

Included in the Value Pack

  • Reversible gray/black comforter
  • Black fleece blanket
  • Pillowcases, gray and black
  • Two sets of fitted and folded sheets, gray and black (I put both sets of fitted sheets on his bed and told him to take off the top one around October. I have no idea if he did this.)
  • Egg crate mattress (we upgraded this item)
  • Two towels, black
  • Bedside caddy that installs on the side of the bed (it was a waste but came with it)
  • Two laundry bags

14. Futon

The name is deceiving. I remembered from college a futon being an ugly light wood heavy piece of furniture with cloth cushions. When you made it into a bed, I remember wooden slats, then the cushion.

This futon is probably cheaper than those were, and it is pretty good-looking. We approached it as having the roommates split the price, knowing after they sat on it as a couch for nine months and guests slept on it when folded down, we would be throwing it away at the end of the year.

Much to my surprise, they didn’t put sheets on it when guests stayed. Gross! I know this because when I suggested bringing an extra set of sheets for the futon, my son looked at me very oddly. He said he didn’t put sheets on the futon when he visited people in the dorm the year before.

I bought the Best Choice Modern Faux Leather Convertable Futon Sofa Bed Recliner Couch With Metal Legs and 2 Cup Holders Black from Amazon. I chuckle every time I read the description.

It comes in a large skinny rectangular box, and we put that in our truck and put it together in the dorm room. Luckily, it’s a very easy installation, but the box is heavy.

One of the silver legs came home in my son’s items. However, I didn’t ask if the futon lasted the whole year. Considering one leg came home, I assume the futon went to the dumpster as predicted.

15. TV

His roommate provided the TV. It was a nice, large flat screen that fit on one of the desks.

16. Refrigerator

My son’s roommate already had one. It fit under the bed. It became unusable within the first couple of months since they didn’t clean it out. They threw it in the dumpster after Christmas. The one I would have purchased is on Amazon. I couldn’t find an affordable 5-star review refrigerator, so for the money, this 4.5-star review is my choice.

17. Microwave

You might want to put this on the list that you agree to purchase and keep because miraculously it survived. Apparently, it was tougher than the refrigerator. I bought the microwave, and it came home in one piece and surprisingly not too dirty. It was the Mainstays Microwave 0.7 cu Stainless Steel from Amazon.

18. Coffee maker

I opted for the cheap route, and it worked fine and survived the year! I bought the Mainstays Single Serve K-Cup and Brew Coffee Maker, Black from Wal-Mart. Spending the money on a Keruig didn’t make sense to me. I bought him some paper coffee cups with lids and set this coffee station up on the dresser by his bed. I don’t think they make that one anymore. Another good option is from Amazon, the Chefman Instabrew Single Serve Maker Brewer for K-Cup Pod. 

19. Closet organizer

He hung this in this closet to serve as shelving. They have the Household Essentials Natural Blended Canvas 10-Pocket Wide Hanging Organizer with Plastic Shelves at Amazon.

20. Closet organizer with pockets

This is made for over the door, but since there is no closet door, we hung it on the pole in the closet. They have the Wall Door Closet 18 Pockets Hanging Storage Bag Case Organizer Gray at Amazon.

21. Curtain to cover the closet doorway

His roommate’s mom purchased the curtains from World Market. This was a sheer curtain. This curtain and splitting the window curtains with blackout cost $40 per person.

22. Curtains to go on windows

See above. There are blinds on the windows. Looking back, maybe getting blackout on the curtains wasn’t such a great idea. $40 per person including closet door curtain. The curtains and any other item that goes on a wall must be hung by using Command Strips. No holes can be put in the walls.

23. Oscillating tower fan

I bought the Lasko 32-Inch 3 Speed Oscillating Tower Fan with Remote Control in Black from Bed Bath & Beyond with a $10 off $30 purchase.

22. Surge protector for large electronics

I bought these last minute the day we moved in from Ace Hardware. I purposely waited to purchase in order to see what all we needed once we installed everything.

23. Surge protectors for phone charging

These also came from Ace Hardware the day we moved in.

24. Steamer

Right before we moved him in, I purchased a hand-held steamer for myself. I never ironed or steamed prior to this. My son said, “That would have come in handy these past 18 years,” after he saw that his t-shirts had no more wrinkles! So, he decided he wanted one for his dorm room. He claims he actually used it.

Rowenta X-Cel Steam+ from Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I used a 20 percent off coupon.

25. 3 drawer wide cart roller

I bought the Sterilite 3 Drawer Wide Cart Roller. It fit under his bed.

26. Clothing rod for car/truck

He used this every time he came home. High Road Car Bar Hanger. Reasonable and durable to use for the next few years!

27. Thin coat hangers

We used free, thin wire hangers that you get from the cleaners, due to lack of space in the closet

28. Lamp for between the beds

I let him use a lamp that I got as a wedding present that I don’t use anymore. This went on the chest of drawers in between their beds. Miraculously, it came back in one piece.

31. Shower caddy

My son opted for the dorm that has a community bathroom. I never got a straight answer as to how he actually transported his toiletries to and from the community bathroom. I would have thought a plastic rectangle with a wire handle would have been handy. Maybe he just carried the items.

32. Shower shoes

He wore some Nike flipflops he already had.

33. Two door stoppers

The door automatically locks, so I bought these to place under the door while showering (remember he is in the dorm with a community bathroom) so he wouldn’t get locked out or so his roommate wouldn’t have to get up and open the door for him every time when just going down the hall. I have no idea if they used them. Purchased from Wal-Mart.

34. Metal mesh wastebasket with little garbage bags already in the bottom

I purchased this from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $6.99. They also sell the garbage bags.

35. Umbrella

I bought a cheap, black one umbrella Amazon. No clue if he ever used this.

36. First Aid Kit

I put the items in a large Tupperware, and he kept it on the shelf in his closet. I purchased generic items at CVS with coupons I had collected all summer. The items ranged from Advil, to stomach meds, to Mucinex, to band-aids and Neosporin, etc. I also sent a thermometer.

37. A few cleaning supplies and paper towels

I sent very few cleaning supplies, like a bottle of countertop cleaner, paper towels and some Clorox wipes. Consequently, I didn’t send a broom or mini-vacuum.

38. Floor lamp by futon  

We opted against this last minute but probably would have been a good thing to have. Amazon has a good one. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

39. Ottoman

We also opted against this. Purposely, I waited to see the room with everything in it before deciding to purchase this item. Had I bought one, I had seen a small black faux leather rectangular one that would serve as a coffee table, footrest and storage bin. It would have been good to have, but we never got it.

40. Lint Roller

Scotch Brite brand, no idea if he ever used it.

41. Odor Eliminator

I put an Arm and Hammer Odor Eliminator box in his closet.

42. Bulletin Board

I have no idea if he used this. Unfortunately, I do know he left it in the room upon move out and got fined for that. He left this in the room upon moveout, and the $10 bulletin board from Wal-Mart, coupled with the fine, turned into a $40 item which didn’t come home.

43. Mirror to go on the back of the door

This was another item that he left in the room upon move out, and he got fined. Unfortunately, A $5.00 mirror turned into a $30 mirror and didn’t come home. He thought it came with the room.

Checklist For The Essentials For Your Son's Dorm Room

Hopefully, this will be an easy guide for you to follow and just point and click to make your purchases for the essential dorm room ideas for guys. For an overview of the experience of decorating the dorm room, you can read 7 tips for decorating your son’s dorm room.

What items did you purchase that I didn’t? Any other suggestions? What are your dorm room ideas for guys?

To learn more about the freshman year, you can read 7 Hidden Money Traps For Your College Freshman Son To Avoid–Part 1.



7 Tips for Decorating Your Son’s Dorm Room

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The harsh reality

What to Expect When Decorating Your Son's Dorm Room

This is the reality of what most dorm rooms look like after the first day. Although much time is spent planning what to buy and envisioning how great the room will look, the reality is, most dorm rooms only look good on the day that everything is installed.  Knowing these 7 tips for decorating your son’s dorm room will help alleviate the stress of the unknown!

How is it really time for decorating your son’s dorm room?

Sketch Helpful for Decorating Your Son's Dorm Room

At some point during the summer before your son’s leaves for college, it happens. Reality hits you in the face, and you realize it is time for decorating your son’s dorm room. The task is to make a 10 x 14-foot shoebox of a room into a comfortable space for him to live in for the next nine months, while not making it over-the-top. And there won’t be just one person living in the shoebox, but two 18-19-year-old boys.

Then, you realize you have to plan and purchase the items. I never saw the shell of the room prior to moving in although I did have the measurements. Also, I lived in its sister dorm 30 years ago, so I remembered what my room looked like and figured it couldn’t be too different.

It is odd, however, purchasing items for a room, sight unseen. You can see exactly what I purchased for my son’s dorm room in an article called 43 Essential Dorm Room Ideas for Guys 

Once reality sets in, planning and buying items for your son’s dorm room can be a stress-free, fun experience. Think of it this way: at least it’s not for a girl’s dorm room; now, that, would be stressful! But, knowing these 7 tips for decorating your son’s dorm room will help make it fun!

1. He does not care at all about what you purchase for him. 

Packages for Decorating Your Son's Dorm Room Open Package with Peanuts for Decorating Your Son's Dorm Room

Let that sink in. It is true. My son saw all of his items the day we moved in. Throughout the summer when we received a delivery, I tried to show him what I bought from Amazon or Walmart. Mumble mumble, “I will look later,” is all that I ever got out of him. This should take a layer of stress away from all of this because he truly won’t care what you buy, as long as you don’t go too over-the-top.

2. You will only see the dorm room the day you move him in. 

 

This one surprised me. I had visions of my sitting in the room throughout the year catching up on the latest events of his life. Well, not really. But, I certainly thought I would see his room at least a few more times.

3. The refrigerator will become unusable within the first couple of months.

Do not spend lots of money on a nice refrigerator. Try to picture your son actually removing items from the fridge upon expiration. Ok, now picture what reality tells you. Word was that by the second month, the fridge was unusable, and by the second semester, they threw it in a dumpster. I didn’t ask for the details for what caused this.

Thank goodness his roommate already had a refrigerator and brought it, so I didn’t have to purchase it.

4. Rely on advice from friends whose sons are similar to your son.

Ask Like-Minded Moms When Decorating Your Son's Dorm Room

Some boys are more high maintenance than others; some are neater than others. Although I sought advice from several moms, I quickly recognized that for us, minimal would be best. If your son likes a bunch of stuff, then these tips might not be for you.

5. Don’t be too matchy or cutesy when decorating your son’s dorm room.

Geek Alert When Decorating Your Son's Dorm Room Too Matchy

I was mortified when I saw some of the rooms. Boys do not want over-the-top rooms! Keep it simple. Don’t embarrass the poor kid by having everything too perfect. Besides, when you drive away, he will probably chuck a few of the items to prevent embarrassment. Don’t waste money or harm your relationship with him by trying to turn him into a girl!

6. If there are any programs available for your son to get an early move-in date, do it.

Move in Early if Possible When Decorating Your Son's Dorm Room

This would include Jump Start, which is a two-week summer school class, or any type of leadership workshop that the University offers. (Double check on the Jump Start people being able to move in early. Last year, I remember his guy friends could move in early, but I recently talked to a girl mom who didn’t think the girls could.)

We didn’t take advantage of any of this and moved in with the masses.

Even though they stagger the move-in days for students, the parking is bad, and they have the very front and back of the dorm blocked off to vehicles. We had to unload from a parking garage a fourth a mile away uphill from the dorm…in the August heat because the parking lot at the dorm was full. You can read about how much money that parking garage ended up costing me (him) that year in the article about the 7 hidden money traps–part 1.

7. Make a list of the essentials that must come home upon move-out and tape it in a drawer in the room.

We did not do this, and I regret it. By the end of the year, they are “over it”. The sacrifice of being in the “cool dorm” instead of the newer dorms with their own bathrooms admittedly wasn’t worth it by the end of the year. The last thing they want to do is bring all of their stuff up and down the stairs back home since the elevators will be broken the day of move out. Also, they won’t remember who bought what.

This will also prevent being fined for leaving items in the room. My son left the mirror on the back of the door and a bulletin board on the wall because he thought they came with the room. He forgot to check out with the RA, so he was fined for that plus the items he left in there. Aggravate!

In conclusion, have fun decorating your son’s dorm room.

With these 7 tips in mind, remember that you only have one time to do this for this particular son, so make the planning and purchasing for your son’s dorm room a fun experience! Enjoy every minute that you are in the room pulling all of your hard work together because as I said earlier, this may be the only time you see his room all year. Click here for a list of what I purchased.

How was your dorm decorating experience or what questions do you have about decorating his dorm?

Read Laurie’s story of how her recent life experiences led to the birth of this site, White Cotton. Feel free to send her a message. 

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Pt 3 of 3–How Is the Home Recovery From a Ruptured Appendix?

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How long is recovery from surgery for a ruptured appendix?

Emergency Room

In two of my previous posts, I discuss the symptoms I had with appendicitis and my ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery.

Unfortunately, my symptoms were not only somewhat atypical, but also, I didn’t know how to recognize even the normal symptoms. These reasons caused me to wait too long to go to the ER for abdominal pain.

Further complicating matters, I was on a beach trip when my symptoms occurred, and I didn’t want to be inconvenienced.

On the day that we left the beach for home, I had to stop at the ER an hour and a half away from my hometown. By the time I got to the ER, my scans revealed that it was probably more than just “appendicitis.”

We left the ER in Hattiesburg and drove straight to St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, my hometown, an hour and a half away, to have the surgery. After the surgery, the doctor diagnosed me with Gangrenous Appendicitis and confirmed that I had a ruptured appendix.

I spent four nights in the hospital due to the rupture. This is much longer than it would have been had I caught it earlier.

Also, my risk of secondary infection was extremely high. This article discusses my recovery at home after a ruptured appendix. Was I going to be another statistic and have a secondary infection and need surgery again?

Home at last, but am I going to ever be ok?

It was time to leave the hospital. I had not washed my hair or had a formal shower in almost a week. My husband drove me to my friend’s hair salon, and they washed and dried my hair before I began my recovery at home.

We went home, and I saw my dogs for the first time in 10 days. Due to several reasons, I’m sure they thought I was dead.

First of all, we left them with my 19-year-old son for a week while we were at the beach. Second of all, the rest of my family arrived back home from the beach without me. I stayed in the hospital for four nights, after being on a week-long beach trip.

It was good to see my dogs. I had been worried about their jumping up on me in the abdomen area, but it all worked out fine.

My weight~~skinny or swollen? 

When I got home and finished greeting the dogs, I immediately went to my bathroom and shed the clothes I wore home, in order to put on my own pajamas. I had worn a hospital gown for four days. I looked at my body for the first time since my appendicitis.

I had expected to be tiny since I had eaten virtually nothing for four or five days.

That wasn’t the case. I wasn’t tiny.

Gaining eight pounds of water weight in four days manifests itself in an unattractive way. This weight gain had to be caused by all of the IV fluids I received.

There was a puffy part in the small of my back, and there was a straight line from my back to the back of my thigh. I had no defined butt. It took several days for my butt to reappear and for me to lose my water weight.

In summary:

  • I gained eight pounds of water weight in four days, from surgery day to hospital release day.
  • The lowest that I weighed during this process was ten days post surgery. (16 pounds less than my highest weight, and eight pounds less than I did on surgery day)
  • By the next week, around 17 days post surgery, I had gained two pounds back from my lowest weight.
  • I netted a weight loss of six pounds in three weeks, yet the numbers wildly fluctuated.

Lots of rest during the recovery for a ruptured appendix

The master bedroom was my cave for the next two weeks. My surgeon had said to “give him two weeks.” I’m a rule follower and didn’t want any complications. So I gave him two weeks. I stayed horizontal way more than I would have chosen. When I did do a few tasks that first week of the two-week recovery after a ruptured appendix, I got very tired. I napped often.

Since I never really felt bad, I did feel guilty for just lying around. However, I also liked having an excuse to watch Amazon Prime and Netflix as much as I wanted and not to have to drive my younger daughter to cheer practice at 6 a.m. every morning that first week I was home.

Meals

Food for me

The first two nights that I was home, I couldn’t and didn’t want to eat what everyone else could. My surgeon had always said eat what you feel like eating.

My mother-in-law made me some homeade cauliflower soup and chicken noodle soup to eat during the first two days and nights. Also, one of my great friends brought me chicken and dumplings and chicken spaghetti. My friend’s daughter had just had her wisdom teeth out, yet she still brought me some food.

Food for my family

My friends and neighbors cooked the best meals for us for two weeks. They were over-the-top, amazing meals.

By Friday night around 48 hours after coming home, I was able to eat normal food. A friend whom I’ve known since elementary school and was in my wedding brought us breakfast casserole and fruit. It was a brilliant choice, a nice change-up from the other meals. She is a breast cancer survivor, Juice Plus representative, and knows what people need during these times.

My close friends fed us the first week, and the neighbors on my street fed us the second week. Other friends brought happies by the house during that time.

Sweet tooth

My taste buds somehow changed, and I acquired a sweet tooth. My husband got a kick out of my new-found sweet tooth and told lots of people about it.

We received homemade pies, pies from a local bakery called Olivia’s Emporium and pies from Buttermilk Sky. Lemon Iced Boxed or Key Lime Pie became my obsession.

He told people that I had eaten more sweets during these two weeks than I had since we had been married.

It was the truth. In fact, my first time to drive was to the bakery about a week later to get another pie.

Thursday (day one of home recovery after a ruptured appendix)

Just keeping it real, I had started my period the day of my release from the hospital which was the day before. Those who know me know that “Day Two” of my cycle is my day of doom and gloom.

Because my body was “messed up,” my period wasn’t as heavy as usual. So, I somewhat forgot to credit my cycle for the mood I was in that day. It rained all day which added to my doom and gloom.

My 21st wedding anniversary was also this day.

In addition, I was bummed because I was supposed to be returning that day from a trip to the Dominican Republic with a friend of mine who is a travel agent. She sent me the above pics from her trip. 

We were supposed to have gone Monday-Thursday. Ironically, the bad publicity about traveling to the Dominican had just come out the night before my surgery. Then, during my hospital stay, more stories kept surfacing about dangers in the Dominican. I tried to make myself feel better by telling myself I wasn’t supposed to be there because of these bad reports.

As I lay there feeling sorry for myself that day, I couldn’t help but chuckle that the name of the hospital that I had stayed in was St. Dominic.

Although a far cry from my Dominican trip that never was, the similarity in the spelling was something worth noting.

Thursday night

My mood got worse that night. The only time I had cried during the ruptured appendix experience was the day I was heading back from the beach. Due to pain, I had to exit and take a break from driving. I found myself in a random store’s parking lot, talking to my husband on the phone about four hours away from home. I had only cried briefly. My surgery would be later that night unbeknownst to us at the time.

However, when my mother-in-law walked into my bedroom on this night with a bowl of cauliflower soup for me, I burst into tears. I now attribute that to being on day two of my cycle, but at the time I just felt overwhelmed.

She was kind and tried to help me not be as overwhelmed. She understood when I told her that I just felt bitchy, bossing my family around. Since I was supposed to be resting and still couldn’t do much, I needed their help. However, I felt guilty for asking for help and especially when I thought about my needing their help for two more weeks!

I also told her I had some real estate work to do, and I wasn’t in the mood to do it. I’m mad at Eve for eating the apple in the garden of Eden; I despise being on my menstrual cycle.

No guilt Amazon Prime and Netflix

My mother-in-law’s advice was to not worry about any of that and to watch a series that she really liked and thought I would like. It was The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime.  I took her advice and loved it. I finished the two-season series in three days. That was one perk of the home recovery after a ruptured appendix–guilt-free binge watching. My college friends had also recommended the series to me months ago.

Also, one of my college friends on a group text recommended The Crown. I watched and loved it, too. I also watched The Kominsky Method which my tennis partner had recommended to me a while back. It was funny and is only a total of four hours. Those two shows are on Netflix. 

The weekend

I had great friends continuing to bring meals. I got up some to do some tasks for myself, but I still tired easily. My surgeon was right. I needed to listen to my body and only do what I felt like doing. After this experience, I’m learning to listen to my body.

One strange phenomenon had to do with my sense of smell. My husband met some friends each day that weekend to watch Ole Miss baseball. Ole Miss played in a Super Regional, and the winner advanced to the College World Series. When he would come home after drinking a few beers, I could smell the alcohol and whatever he had eaten while he was still standing several feet away from me. It was very distinct. I felt bad bringing it to his attention each day, but it was the weirdest thing. We have been married for 21 years, and this had never happened before! This hasn’t happened again thank goodness!

Progress during my recovery for a ruptured appendix

General updates 

Checklist Recovery for Ruptured Appendix

I was counting down my two-week recovery while the possibility of infection was always in the back of my mind. With each day that passed, I was thankful for no sign of infection. I took Augmentin and Diflucan (Fluconazole) for seven days. They had prescribed a very weak opioid for me called Tramadol for pain. This is not the same as Toradol, the NSAID, that I had received through IV at the hospital. I took Tramadol at night simply because I could.

The first week, I took Dulcolax stool softeners and occasionally Mylanta. The nurses and my friends warned me about the possibility of constipation.

I wasn’t allowed to take a bath or get in a swimming pool until after my post-op appointment for risk of infection, but I could shower. The surgeon had glued my incisions, not stitched them, which is why I could shower.

After my round of antibiotics, I began taking a Probiotic from Pure to introduce good bacteria into my system.  I also had a couple of glasses of wine that second weekend I was home.

I walked every day for 20-45 minutes, sometimes a couple of times a day.

First work outing

Friday at noon, about nine days after coming home from the hospital and almost two weeks post surgery, I had a real estate closing. There was one problem. I was scared to wear anything that buttoned or zipped at the waist. My wardrobe had serious limitations. I did find some pants I could wear, and I drove myself to the closing. After that, I went by a house which I would be listing soon. Then, I went home and napped.

I worked again on Tuesday, and by then, I was able to fit into my jeans. It’s the little things that you normally take for granted that you become thankful for during the recovery for a ruptured appendix.

First dinner outing

The same Friday night as my real estate closing (almost two weeks post-op) was the first time I considered going to dinner anywhere. But, I ended up getting tired, and we didn’t go.

The next day, on Saturday (two weeks post-op), I felt like a new person. I even floated on a raft in our pool, careful not to get my incisions wet. My husband and I went to a very early dinner, came home around 7 p.m., walked the dogs, and watched Netflix in bed. I was getting closer to being myself again.

Missed events due to my recovery after a ruptured appendix

In addition to missing a trip to the Dominican Republic with a friend who is a travel agent, I missed other events due to recovery after a ruptured appendix. I missed a wedding at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee on Saturday night. I cancelled my room and thought, “well, that money can go towards a hospital bill.”

The following weekend, my older daughter’s Varsity cheer squad went to Ole Miss Cheer Camp, and some friends had invited us to stay with them and go to dinner in Oxford Saturday night. The cheerleaders performed Sunday, so we would already be there to watch. Since I couldn’t go, my husband ended up just riding with a family bright and early Sunday morning to watch her.

Yes, by Saturday and Sunday, I felt way better. I could now see that I would be normal again soon. I was looking forward to my post-op appointment on Wednesday and to have all of this behind me.

Post-op appointment with the surgeon

Bar Chart Recovery from a Ruptured Appendix by Sherko Molah karim

My appointment was exactly two weeks from the day I got home from the hospital and 18 days after surgery. I was excited about the appointment. My surgeon didn’t require any blood work because he said he could tell by the way I looked, that I was fine.

He said that any secondary infections or complications would have already occurred, that the signs would have already been there. I would have had fever and pain. He said there is a main line in our bodies, and I would have known about the infections soon after finishing my week of antibiotics.

Also, he said I was very lucky and one of the few without issues post-surgery. He said I had been a prime candidate for secondary infection and complications due to mine being the worst case he had seen this year.

He emphasized that although he was able to do the surgery laparoscopically, it took four times the usual amount of IV fluids to clean me out after removing my appendix. It took him longer to clean me out than to remove the appendix. If he had made any nicks to my colon, the risks for complications would have increased.

He’s a dang good surgeon. As good as laparoscopic surgery can be, it’s scary to think that surgeons are performing it by looking at a screen and remotely moving a robot. Some surgeons are better with their hands than others, and I had one of the best in town operate on me.

He said my appendix, which normally looks like a worm, looked like a sausage link with the tip missing. Disgusting! All of the nastiness that had backed up inside there had leaked into my otherwise sterile abdomen and had formed pus and gangrene in my abdomen.

The future

One person who is a friend and a doctor told me that I may not feel 100 percent for six months to one year. Although this surprises me, I will keep this in the back of my mind.

The surgeon at the first hospital I stopped at had said that he would attempt the surgery laparoscopically, but was almost positive by the looks of the scan, that he would have to “cut me open.” Thank goodness the Jackson surgeon was able to do laparoscopic with no complications. Whew.

Several people have told me that I really don’t understand how serious my condition was. They are probably right.

I do know, however, that I’m one of the lucky ones.

**Update–It has been two months since my surgery. I ran a couple of times three weeks post-surgery. I went back to Orange Theory Fitness a month post-surgery. I took the Probiotic from Pure for 30 days. I’m back to my pre-surgery life and feel great. Unfortunately, I do still crave lemon iced box or key lime pies…**

Previous Posts 

To read about my symptoms, go to How Do You Recognize the Beginning Signs of Appendicitis.  Additionally, to read about my surgery and hospital stay, go to Ruptured Appendix Surgery and Hospital Recovery. To read information written by some top experts, go to Appendicitis–What is it and why is it so dangerous by Appledore Medical Group.

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What types of complications with a ruptured appendix have you heard about? Please comment below.

Read Laurie’s story of how her recent life experiences led to the birth of this site, White Cotton. Feel free to send her a message. 



 

Pt 2 of 3–Ruptured Appendix Surgery and Hospital Recovery

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Background information–my ruptured appendix

Having ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery is expected to be terrible. My symptoms had landed me in the ER at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, an hour and a half from my hometown while driving home from a beach trip. I could not drive another minute. (To read about that experience, click on Recognizing the Symptoms of a Ruptured Appendix.)

The ride to Jackson for surgery 

Infograph Diagram of Appendix osmosis.com

 

After getting the results of my scans, I decided to have surgery in my hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. The nurse wheeled me out of the Forrest General Hattiesburg ER around 6:45 p.m. I had been there since 1:15 p.m.

I totally thought it would be dark outside. Your mind does weird things when life takes you by surprise. I was truly perplexed by the phenomenon that it was still light outside. My husband brought his GMC Silver Sierra truck around to the front of the ER to pick me up, and with help, I carefully and slowly climbed in.

We began our hour and a half drive to Jackson for ruptured appendix surgery. We just felt it best to be in Jackson logistically speaking.

As I rode down the highway, I remember looking at all of the cars and people, and thinking, “How are they healthy and going about their day, and I am not?” Again, your mind does weird things when life takes you by surprise. 

The ride was pleasant. We listened to Ole Miss baseball on the radio. I had had an IV of antibiotics before we left Hattiesburg and an adequate amount of Tordol and Morphine. I felt good but not loopy.

Unfortunately, the ride became unpleasant as we approached the town of Florence, where there is an eight-mile stretch of road work. Bumpy, uneven roads do not mix well with Gangrenous appendicitis and a possibly ruptured appendix. It was excruciating. My husband’s hands gripped the steering wheel with intense concentration as he desperately tried to find the smoothest terrain.

St. Dominic ER in Jackson, Mississippi

Emergency Room for Ruptured Appendix Surgery and Hospital Recovery

We arrived at St. D around 8:30 p.m., and I was in a room by 9:00 p.m. My Jackson surgeon reviewed my scans from Forrest General in Hattiesburg and agreed that it looked bad. He said he was almost positive, though, that he could perform the surgery laparoscopically.

That was a contrast to what the Hattiesburg surgeon had said. He had said he would begin laparoscopically but would more than likely have to “cut me open” if it had ruptured. Yes, I was thankful to be in Jackson for my ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery.

Desert mouth

The hospital was busy that night, and we had to wait a couple of hours for an operating room (O.R.) to open up. They gave me an IV of antibiotics, the same one I had been given in Hattiesburg.

By this point, I was thirsty, like on the brink of death thirsty. My last sip of water was around 12:45 p.m. before walking into the ER in Hattiesburg. Earlier in the day, they told me not to drink anything in case of surgery. Once in Jackson, they let me take a sip of water and swoosh it around my mouth as long as I didn’t swallow it. That was fine with me as I could barely form words with such a dry tongue.

I certainly didn’t want to jeopardize my appendix surgery and hospital recovery from getting started. So, I was thankful for the opportunity to swoosh water around my mouth and spit it out. It was better than nothing.

Big little white lie

I’m generally a huge rule follower, but I was so proud of myself telling a big little white lie to the surgeon. He said that an O.R. had opened up, and if I could get even just a little bit of tee-tee to come out, I would not have to have a catheter. I tried to get a little to come out. Maybe a drop came out. Maybe not. I told him I did get “a little bit” out when he asked. So, no catheter for me! My husband so was proud of me for being a rebel. There was no need to have additional annoying pain during recovery caused by a catheter.

Surgery for a ruptured appendix

operating room ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery

 

It was almost midnight, and I said my goodbyes to my husband, older daughter, and aunt. It was time for the ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery to begin! Away I went. I was wheeled down the hallway lying in my bed. When I got to the O.R., I could not move from my hospital bed to the operating table without the intense fear of inflicting pain upon myself.

No problem! Four people picked up the bed sheet at each corner and transferred me onto the operating table in about one second. This clearly wasn’t their first rodeo. They asked me if I was wearing contact lenses. Oops, yes I was. No problem. They handed me two containers to put them in. Again, this wasn’t their first rodeo.

Next, they put a mask on me much like the one you get at the dentist office for laughing gas, but I believe this one covered my mouth as well. I didn’t like it and moved it around twice, asking permission each time, of course.

They asked me to breathe in and out, that it was oxygen coming into the mask. I remember thinking, “Yeah, right.” Maybe it was. No clue. The last words I remember hearing were, “Pregnancy test?” Then, “It was negative.” Then, “CBC?” A reply, “Yes.”

Then, poof, I was out.

Recovery room

I remember waking up with a female nurse beside me. What a weird job. You sit and wait on people to wake up from surgery to potentially act crazy. No thanks. I remember seeing a man way across the room parallel to where my head was. He seemed waaayyyy across the room, like football field length. I would love to see that room now.

Apparently, I asked the nurse if that was my husband over there reading a book. Umm, no.

I had successfully endured ruptured appendix surgery, and my hospital recovery began.

A good night’s sleep

doctors juggling pinecones during ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery

Back in my hospital room, I have no recollection of this but apparently, I told my husband and the recovery nurse that the doctors in the O.R. were juggling pinecones. Hmm. By this point, it was around 1:15 a.m., and I felt fine. My husband said I acted normal except for the comment about the juggled pinecones.

My recovery nurse left to go deal with more potential crazies, and my third-floor nurse put some massaging compression socks on me to prevent blood clots. I’m sure they loaded me up with Tordol, and I went to bed.

Sunday morning (day one of hospital recovery)

The next morning, I felt fine. I was sore when I moved, of course, but overall, fine.

I received help getting in and out of bed most of this day. My preferred method of help was under the armpit as opposed to grabbing my hand or arm. Fewer ab muscles are used with the armpit method.

The drain

Drain Ruptured Appendix Hospital Recovery

I looked at my stomach and saw a small cut in my belly button that had been glued shut and another cut that had been glued on my lower left abdomen below my bikini line.

To the right, a gauze bandage taped to my lower right side covered the third cut. Out of the gauze bandage, an IV-looking tube snaked around and connected a rubber contraption to my body that looked like a miniature version of the hot water bottles that we used to use when I was little. But it was clear and the size of my fist. It was the drain.

The whole time it was attached to me, there was the paranoia that it would fall out. The nurse attached it to my gown with a safety pin to alleviate some of my apprehension.

It was attached to me until I left the hospital on Wednesday. I was blessed because some people have to go home with it. I was not a fan of the drain.

When the nurse came in and performed a process called “stripping the drain,” she tugged on it. I said, “*%it”. We had a chat about that, and I explained that I needed a heads up for anything that might cause pain. Oddly, this process never hurt again. I’m still not even sure why it hurt that time. I guess new experiences are all part of the process of having ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery.

The purpose of the drain

The drain was basically a suction device with a tube that sucked any remaining harmful juices out of my sterile abdomen and housed them in a rubber container.

Random tidbits

I was still on an ice chip diet at this point which meant I had not had a normal meal since Thursday night dinner. This would be the case until Friday or so of this upcoming week. I can’t imagine now eating only two normal meals in over a week. The mind and body do and can handle weird things in distress.

Another weird thing is I didn’t bathe for a week, but because I had little activity or food intake, I had no body odor, and my hair looked fine. WEIRD!

I was never nauseous, and I stayed on the non-narcotic Tordol at 6 and 12, a.m. and p.m. during my hospital stay.

Sunday afternoon 

Walking for the First Time After Ruptured Appendix Surgery and Hospital Recovery

My children came to see me. My girls helped me on my maiden voyage of walking laps around the third floor. I made sure I walked two to four times a day each day. Oddly, there was only one other man that I ever saw walking, the whole time I was there.

I had some more visitors and worked some crossword puzzles.

Sunday night

Strips and shots

Syringe Ruptured Appendix Hospital Recovery

Around 5:45 p.m. my nurse said she needed to strip the drain again and give me a shot in my stomach. Huh? The shot contained a blood thinner, and I would it receive daily.

I asked her if they had prescribed any stronger meds that I could have prior to these procedures. She said they prescribed one mg of Dilaudid as needed. Dilaudid is seven times stronger than Morphine. I knew the dosage of Morphine that I had in Hattiesburg worked well for me, which was four mg, so I asked the nurse if I could have a half dose of Dilaudid. I wanted to be relaxed but not loopy. She said yes.

The shot in the stomach ended up being nothing. The needle was a couple of centimeters long. But if you have never had a shot in your stomach, you will flinch the first time. I relaxed more and more each time I received the shot.

Walks and workouts

My husband wasn’t back to the hospital yet for the night, so I asked the nurse to walk my laps with me. On our walk, she asked me if I worked out a lot. I said yes and quickly went into a selfish explanation about my workout routines and focused weight loss the past five months. Then, she said she could tell I worked out because of my mobility after surgery.

She said it makes a huge difference in recovery and mobility to already have strong ab muscles. It helps with getting in and out of bed, on and off the toilet, and generally recovering faster. You forget how important having ab muscles are until you have to depend on them.

We finished our walk, and my husband arrived. We watched some Ole Miss baseball, then went to bed.

Monday morning (day two of hospital recovery)

Free advice: Arrange for a friend to make sure your husband brings himself an egg crate mattress, fitted sheet, flat sheet, several blankets, and several pillows to the hospital for optimum sleep. 

People are stubborn. They will complain nicely about no sleep or not complain. But when you have lived with someone for over 20 years, you recognize their sleep patterns. You know when they don’t sleep well.

I begged my husband to bring the right bedding supplies for the rest of the stay. (Unfortunately, he didn’t bring a fitted sheet until the last night and never brought an egg crate mattress or a good blanket. I tried to help…)

My husband’s friend who randomly had the umbrella and chair set up at the beach beside us the week before came to see me. He has one of the Vice-President positions in the finance department at the hospital. Who knew last week on the beach that I would be a patient at his hospital just a few days later.

The new day nurse arrived, and I explained to her that I didn’t do pain very well and asked when we would be stripping the drain and getting the shot. I would need the 1/2 mg of Dilaudid.

Real estate

My mid-morning consisted of catching up on some real estate. Being a realtor, time is of the essence and I can’t pause deals or tasks based on my schedule. So, I delegated two sets of home inspection repairs to my husband who has his real estate license and to my contractor. I basically said to make it work so my sellers’ homes could close. The repair quotes came back high, and I didn’t feel up to breaking the bad news to my clients. So, I begged the contractor to reduce the quotes, and he did. My husband handled the rest.

Monday afternoon

Visit from the surgeon

Around 4 pm, my surgeon came by. I was actually relieved to hear that I would be staying in the hospital until at least Wednesday. Your mind does weird things in these situations, and for me to have no desire to go home was weird. I’ve learned through this to trust your body. If it wants a nap, nap. If it tells you that you are very sick, you may be. This is only if you are generally a positive person. I’m not talking about people who love drama and being ill.

Gangrenous Appendicitis

However, I quickly became nervous after we discussed my diagnosis, possible complications, and risks of secondary infections. I had Acute Appendicitis with Extensive Necrosis (necrosis-death of body tissue according to MedlinePlus) or Gangrenous Appendicitis. (Do they really have to use the word gangrene?) (gangrene-large areas of tissue die to a lack of blood supply, according to MedlinePlus)

He further explained that he was able to operate laparoscopically, but that it took him four times the normal amount of fluid to clean me out. The cleansing process took longer than removing my appendix. Also, there was an extensive amount of infection in my normally sterile abdomen. The drain would help to continue to rid me of the nastiness.

It’s embarrassing that something so gross was in me. He said there was pus “all over” my abdomen. That is truly mortifying! He said they would pump antibiotics through my IV for an extra day to try to prevent any complications. He said my insides were “mad at me.”

The text I sent my adult extended family members

I sent a text to my adult extended family members. It said,

Dr just came in and my counts aren’t getting good as quickly as he wants, my drain is cloudier that he hoped. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t antsy to get out of here. I still don’t feel terrible or anything but my gut feeling no pun intended has been that this is serious. He’s telling me it’s serious and was a terrible rupture for sure. He said there is a risk of secondary infection and especially if I leave the hospital. Also a risk for a more evasive surgery, etc. I’ve been on lots of antibiotics so that’s good. He wants me to walk around as much as I can.

Monday Night

Dilaudid and Pink Martini Radio

IV Pic of Antibiotics Used for Ruptured Appendix Surgery and Hospital Recovery

My husband wasn’t back yet from dealing with the normal world of jobs, kids, and dogs. I was the only other person in the room for the doctor report.

I decided to utilize my half dose of the opioid Dilaudid in order to take my mind off of the doctor report. After receiving my meds, I listened to Pink Martini Radio on Pandora and worked crossword puzzles. I was happy again.

My husband arrived. Later, my nurse put my massagers (compression socks to prevent blot clots) on my legs, and I went to bed.

Tuesday morning (day three of hospital recovery)

The next morning, my surgeon’s physician’s assistant said my goal today was to have a bowel movement. She said coffee and walking would help. She was right! I was successful, and it went fine.

I was still getting myself in and out of bed but was still really sore.

Next, I had my half dose of Dilaudid prior to the stripping of the drain, which didn’t hurt, and the stomach shot, which I was getting used to and not flinching as much.

My older daughter came to visit and mentioned that it was strange having me in town but knowing I couldn’t come home. It was unsettling to her. Immediately, I was thankful that my stay was temporary, and this gave me extreme empathy for those with chronic illnesses.

Then, my son and mom came by and went walking with me.

Tuesday afternoon

I played Pink Martini Radio on Pandora pretty much all day while in the hospital. My mother-in-law had introduced me to it during Spring Break, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. The nurses probably thought I was strange.

A student nurse was shadowing another nurse this day. She was spunky, cute and should be a great nurse one day. After my noon dose of Tordol, she came in for something else and said,  “You are the only one on this floor who doesn’t sleep after pain meds. Everyone sleeps all the time but you.”

I took that as a compliment.

Another doctor report

Later, my sister-in-law and husband were in the room when the doctor came by this time. He said they would draw my blood tomorrow morning, study my white counts, and make a decision about my release. Also, he said my drainage looked much better. He looked at my sister-in-law and husband and said, “This is one tough lady.” (I’m sure my husband thought “mm-hmm”.) It was the worst case of appendicitis he had seen this year.

Tuesday night

That night, I didn’t sleep in the compression socks because they made my legs hot. The nurse said that was fine since I walked often. She didn’t think I was in danger of a blood clot at this point.

Almost asleep, I remember having some deep thoughts: I had only consumed water, Pure energy drink, coffee, Ensure, broth once, and Jello since being in the hospital. I still had no appetite, and I decided hospital food was gross and a waste of money.

Wednesday morning (day four of hospital recovery; final day)

A nurse came in to draw blood early the next morning so that the doctor could read my white counts and possibly release me.

My main nurse for the day was a male, and he had a student nurse shadowing him. By 11:45 a.m., he told me that my white counts were in the normal range, and I would be going home around mid-afternoon. More good news was that I didn’t have to wear the drain home.

However, I did have to have it removed. More Dilaudid would be needed.

I got the full one mg dose this time and hated it. I was loopy for the first time during this whole ordeal. My thought was, “No wonder those people sleep all the time.” Actually, I liked it for the first hour, then hated it.

Wednesday afternoon

Drain removal

Before the nurse removed the drain, he said, “what is that?” He was referring to my music. I laughed and told him my kids ask me the same thing when they hear me listening to Pink Martini Radio on Pandora.

He then explained that I had one stitch holding the drain in. He would clip the stitch, then quickly pull the drain line out. I had thought the drain line inside my abdomen was the same diameter as the IV line that I could see outside my body. It wasn’t. It was thicker and stiffer, like a straw but it isn’t completely hollow.

When he quickly removed the drain line, it felt strange but wasn’t awful.  When the hole healed, there was a two-centimeter line that shouldn’t leave a scar. I was thankful to be leaving the hospital after ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery.

The salon

I said my good-byes to everyone at St. D Hospital. They had been good to me. Unfortunately, I was still loopy from the full dose of Dilaudid, and I was glad that was the only full dose I had taken all week.

My husband drove me straight to my friend’s hair salon, and they washed and dried my hair.  It had been a week since I had washed my hair.

I had also not had a formal shower in almost a week. I had used washcloths to clean several areas a couple of times while in the hospital.

Further reading

According to the Appledore Medical Group in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a ruptured appendix can be a life-threatening condition. Intestinal bacteria multiply in the appendix when there is a blockage. Pressure builds and the wall can break open, spilling the toxins into the otherwise sterile abdominal cavity. This peritonitis can be fatal. The risk of complications increases with a rupture. A drainage tube is worn for several days to drain any excess fluid. There is nothing that prevents appendicitis, but the key is early detection and quick surgery prior to the appendix rupturing.

This post was about my ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery. The symptoms I had leading up to this can be found in the article Recognizing the Symptoms of a Ruptured Appendix. Additionally, my recovery at home can be found in another article Recovering at Home After Surviving a Ruptured Appendix.

Go to the top of this article.

How was your appendix surgery and hospital recovery? Please comment below.

Read Laurie’s story of how her recent life experiences led to the birth of this site, White Cotton. Feel free to send her a message. 



 

Pt 1 of 3–How Do You Recognize the Beginning Signs of Appendicitis?

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(If you are having stomach pain, you may have the beginning signs of Appendicitis and this may eventually lead to a ruptured appendix. Click here to go directly to the Symptoms section of this article. Do not waste time.)

Why is any of this important?

According to the Appledore Medical Group in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a ruptured appendix can be a life-threatening condition. Intestinal bacteria multiply in the appendix when there is a blockage. Pressure builds and the wall can break open, spilling the toxins into the otherwise sterile abdominal cavity. This peritonitis can be fatal. The risk of complications increases with a rupture. A drainage tube is worn for several days to drain any excess fluid. There is nothing that prevents appendicitis, but the key is early detection and quick surgery.

The traditional South

Before I get to the beginning signs of Appendicitis that I had, which led to a ruptured appendix, due to the crazy events of that week, I feel I should give some background information.

I live in Jackson, Mississippi. As you might have heard, the South is full of traditions. For those attending a couple of the area schools, an end of the school year family beach trip is one of these traditions. What does a beach trip have to do with the signs of Appendicitis or a ruptured appendix?

Unfortunately, I know.

After taking a year off, we were headed back on the infamous “First Week” trip as it has been dubbed for years. A friend of mine, who graduated 30 years ago from one of these schools, just moved back to town and laughed when I told her we were heading to the beach this particular week. She said, “Please tell me it is not still called ‘First Week.'” Sorry…it still is.

Because of my son’s senior trip to Mexico and my daughter’s Young Life camp trip the year before (another Jackson tradition for the two schools after sophomore year), we didn’t go on the “First Week” beach trip last year. (My youngest child went with another family that year because you CAN’T miss the traditional “First Week” beach trip.)

“First Week”

Jacksonians (whose kids attend a couple of the area schools in particular and aren’t going on a Senior trip or Young Life trip) pack their bags each year and head to the Watercolor and Seaside area of the Florida Panhandle on Hwy 30A. Ironically, it’s a trip meant as a get-away, to celebrate the beginning of summer. A trip to be enjoyed amidst hundreds of people you see all year at school events, work, and church. Sound like a true get-away yet?

On the beach, the parents relax at their reserved umbrella and chairs, walk on the beach saying hello to familiar faces, and stop at friends’ umbrellas to swap stories from the week and year. The kids, in packs of 10, 20, or more, strategically hang out far away from their parents. At night, the parents either eat dinner with friends or cook in and relax. By nightfall, the kids desperately look for somewhere to congregate.

I have never liked the “First Week” trip….(there are lots of judgment calls to be made on curfews, stresses of whether the kids are behaving or not with little supervision, and punishments to be implemented for lack of compliance, etc) I repeat, I have never liked the “First Week” Trip….EVER…until this year.

The perfect beach trip

This year was different. I attribute this to several factors. First, we didn’t have any teenage boys with us. Second, my girls brought two very low maintenance friends (we had threatened Greyhound bus rides home for any rule breakers). Third, there was a good group of parents there. We missed some that didn’t make the trip this year due to Senior trips and the Young Life trip, but overall it was a very laid back, fun group of parents.

Oh, and the weather was perfect every day.

Because of my usual dislike for the trip, my husband and I had decided we were going to make this year a good trip by focusing on ourselves and what we wanted to do. And that is exactly what we did.

The night before the trip

Grits and the red dress

We had packed lots of food, beverages, and paper products, thinking groceries would be cheaper in Jackson than at Publix in Watercolor. As I was packing up in Jackson, the night before the trip, I took one last look in the pantry. I spied a few packets of instant grits. None of us had eaten instant grits in months. I packed them anyway.

While packing my clothes, a casual red dress hanging in my closet caught my eye. It was Lole brand from Buffalo Peak, a locally-owned outdoor store. I had not been able to fit into it for several years but tried it on since I had been counting calories, cutting my alcohol intake in half, and exercising four to five days a week for five months. I had shed 15 pounds and had never felt better.

The dress is nothing special: it’s old and faded, but comfortable. I was just excited to be able to fit into it again. I thought to myself, “Maybe I will throw it on to go the grocery store or something.” Truthfully, I knew it was doubtful that I would wear it.  I packed it anyway.

The drive

The next morning, it was time to leave for the beach trip. My husband drove my older daughter and her friend, and I drove my younger daughter and her friend. We left at different times, and after six hours, I was the first to arrive at the beach house we had rented for the week in Watercolor.

Daytime at Watercolor

Mornings

On the trip, my mornings consisted of exercising which took the form of either running, run/walking, and/or doing a youtube exercise video.  The youtube video workouts included Kickboxing, Zumba, Barre or whatever I was in the mood for that day.

My husband usually did the Publix grocery errand. Good man.

After exercising, we would eat lunch at the beach house. My husband would eat a sandwich, and I made my usual Pure Genesis 360 Protein Shake with frozen fruit, Mila, and Greens.

We then packed our Yeti cooler for the beach each day with alcoholic beverages, water, and healthy snacks. My drinks of choice since the “dieting” have been vodka soda, tequila soda, and red wine. So, I packed vodka soda, tequila soda, and Le Croix sparkling water in the cooler. My husband packed a few beers for himself, and some Trulys and Rose all Day cans to share with others.

Afternoons

We would then head to the beach for the day. You have to call and reserve the umbrellas and chairs prior to arrival, the earlier the better for the best spots. There are two rows of umbrellas and chairs during this busy holiday week. That said, the lifeguards happened to have set up our beach umbrellas and chairs beside my husband’s good friend and his extended family. Ironically, he is a Vice-President on the finance side of the same hospital that I would soon be spending four nights in.

We relaxed on the beach every afternoon by either visiting with ourselves, visiting with friends or catching up on some reading.

Night Life 

Last supper before the ruptured appendix

Dinners with friends or cooking in

The first night of our trip, we had dinner with good friends at a restaurant in Watercolor called Fish Out of Water. The next two nights, we cooked a shrimp pasta and watched Netflix (We cooked it one night and ate the leftovers the second night). My husband was trying to catch up on Game of Thrones, and I had started the series Dead To Me. Then, I talked him into watching Dead To Me with me (it’s great, and there’s only one season so far).

The following two nights, some friends invited us over to eat.  The husband caught fresh fish from the Gulf of Mexico each day. You can’t beat fresh fish.  He is a great cook, and we had a blast eating his creations and visiting and laughing with their family.

The second night that we ate there, I asked my friend if she had any tweezers that I could borrow. I had left mine at home in Jackson. Being without tweezers for several days is terrible, and Publix had been out of them all week.

She gave me a pair to keep, and you would have thought I had won the lottery. I made a shrine for the tweezers on the chandelier. If you look closely in the above picture, you can see the tweezers hanging on the chandelier. It’s the little things in life that can bring so much happiness.

More tradition; “The White Picture”

One night, we took “The White Picture.” This is another tradition. This year was my older daughter’s turn to participate in “The White Picture.” The upcoming seniors who are at the beach that week gather at 6:30 p.m. on a pre-determined night, dressed in white. They take a group pic, pics with friends, and a couple of family pics. The girls line up in the train pose a few times (seriously, when did this start and how can it end?), and we parents snap away. This year a mom hired a company to build a bonfire in conjunction with “The White Picture” night, and a good time was had by all.

Thursday; Beginning signs of Appendicitis

Morning

Thursday began like any other day.

We had gone for a walk that morning, and I ended my workout with a random upper body video on youtube. An African Zumba video came up in the feed, and I decided I would try that next. I minimized it on my computer and couldn’t wait to do it “tomorrow.” Little did I know, it would be weeks before I could try the African Zumba video.

We ate lunch, loaded up our cooler, and off we went for our second-to-last beach day.

Afternoon

It continued to be a great day. My tennis partner and another good friend of mine walked down the beach and stopped to say hello. We were supposed to have hung out with them at neighboring Seaside the day before. But, our day got away from us, and we had stayed put in Watercolor.

I made my rounds visiting with another group of moms that were set up near us all week. They had some college kids with them. I love visiting with that age. It’s a breath of fresh air as you can see so much potential and excitement for life in each of them.

The beach day was winding down, and we hung out with our fish chef friends and several others. We shared Trulys and Rose All Days with the group because we were all out of our favorite beverages. These beverages would have to do. Also, we were getting hungry.

In conjunction with my theme of being healthy and focusing on consuming more protein than carbs, I whipped out my late afternoon snack, which was a hard-boiled egg. I was so proud of myself because any other year, I would have snacked on Funyuns, Flaming Hot Funyuns, Munchos, or Flaming Hot Cheetos.

However, I thought my fish chef wife friend was going to gag on the spot. She was so disturbed, that she photographed it, and I think she sent it to a friend of hers who also hates hard-boiled eggs. She is still not over it.  (To this day jokingly texts me that it was the egg that contributed to the beginning signs of Appendicitis.)

Night

My husband and I had decided to reel it in some that night by making the teenagers some poppyseed chicken and staying in to finish the Dead to Me season on Netflix. We saw some friends at the boardwalk as we were heading up for the day. When we told them what we were doing that night, one of them said, “Why? You can do that in Jackson.” I thought our night sounded glorious. Sticking to our plan to focus on us, that’s exactly what we did.

I was fairly tired, and we got in bed around 10:30 p.m. My husband watched a Game of Thrones episode on the computer in the bed, and I was asleep by 11 p.m.

I woke up at 2:15 a.m. to use the restroom.

I always use my phone as a flashlight in the middle of the night, and there was a text from my older daughter stating that they were staying at a friend’s house. The mom had also texted, confirming. So, I turned off some lights in the house and went back to bed.

2:45 a.m.; The beginning signs of Appendicitis 

Onset of Symptoms of Gangrenous Appendicitis

A band of pain near my belly button which spanned across my abdomen woke me up at precisely 2:45 a.m. I lay there for a little while but could not get comfortable AT ALL. Normally, I’m a sound sleeper unless I have a headache. That is the only time I EVER have trouble sleeping. (My husband is jealous of this quality.)

I kept wanting to get up and go to the toilet hoping to throw up or worse. However, I could create zero by-products. As the night progressed, I took my pillow in the w.c. with me for comfort. Back and forth from the bed to the w.c. is what my night consisted of but with zero activity once in the w.c.

My mouth watered only once (you know, that nauseated mouthwatering), and I threw up a tiny amount. There were a few poppyseeds present, but not much else. I wasn’t nauseous ever again besides that one tiny incident.

Certainly, having the beginning signs of Appendicitis was not in my thoughts.

In a dilemma

I sweated off and on for 10 hours. The pain was nothing I had felt before but wasn’t terrible. It was bad, but not terrible. It did not cross my mind at this point that it was anything ER worthy, especially not the beginning signs of Appendicitis or a ruptured appendix. I knew it wasn’t a stomach bug or due to any type of hangover. But, I didn’t know what it was.

I just knew what it wasn’t.

Trying to stay quiet all night as not to wake my husband since he is a light sleeper was no easy task. I’m surprised he didn’t wake up simply from my being in and out of the bed all night. A comfortable position did not exist; therefore, I did not sleep.

It’s important to note that information about other people’s common symptoms can be found at Symptoms Mayo Clinic.

Friday

Morning

The next morning, I asked my husband to bring me some Advil. I was able to sleep for several hours after taking the Advil even though I still had pain. And I was still sweating like a fiend. I began to think about getting up around 11:45 a.m. My phone was blowing up from people in a normal world, but a normal world was not my current reality. I began answering texts.

One text I sent a friend said, “I slept in this morning had a stomach ache. Wasn’t hung cuz we didn’t do anything last night but stomach started hurting in middle of night.”

Then after her response, I continued, “I’m bummed about my tummy issue. Hope it’s not the start of diverticulitis or something. It’s like a perpetual ache that came on at 2:45 and only let up around 10 a.m. or so, so I was able to get some sleep finally. Have never had anything like it. Praying it’s just a fluke from drinking too regularly this week. Sweated profusely for 10 hours. Body rebelling for sure.”

My friend who is often a voice of reason said, “Alcohol does not do that…if symptoms flare up again, call TBD.” (TBD are the initials for the nickname of her husband who is a doctor. )

I should have called him. He may have been able to convince me that I had the beginning signs of Appendicitis.

The grits

Because I’m generally healthy, my husband honestly did not take me seriously. I mean, he felt sorry for me and all, but he truly thought it was just gas or indigestion, certainly not the beginning signs of Appendicitis. My usually good health actually should have been the very reason to take this more seriously…BUT, it was our last beach day.

I skipped my exercise. No African Zumba for me. My husband ate and packed the cooler. By this time, I had zero appetite. And the thought of an alcoholic beverage made my skin crawl. I knew this wasn’t a hangover stomach because just keeping it real, on the last day at the beach, most people would have opted for a hair of the dog. And also, we had had a low-key night. This wasn’t a hangover. Again, the thought of alcohol made my skin crawl.

Onset of Symptoms of Gangrenous Appendicitis

STRANGE is the only way to describe how I felt. The pain was still across my abdomen, and I had to walk slowly. I had still ruled out a stomach virus because I never had a headache. The stomach pain was the only symptom.

Upon packing myself a few plain bagel chips in a Ziploc bag for the beach, I spotted the packets of grits. I made a bowl of grits, added a tiny amount of cheese, and ate half of them. I thought to myself, “thank goodness I brought these packets of grits.”

Afternoon 

Beach

I had announced to my husband that I couldn’t lift anything heavy and had to walk slowly to the beach. Thankfully, I did make it to my beach chair. I never left my chair, except for lying on my stomach on my towel for the first time all week. I carved out a little hole in the sand for my now bloated belly and sunned like a teen. It was the weirdest day…ever.

I told my husband to please go hang with the fish chef friends and to tell them I just wanted to be alone. (The hospital administrator friend with the umbrella and chairs next to us had left Wednesday.)

I was able to read my novel. But, I wanted to socialize with no one. I did tell a Jackson family near us, whom I didn’t know very well before the trip, about my symptoms. The husband came over to check on me later, and we also visited about real estate. He’s a developer and builder, and I’m a realtor. Talking about my well-being or my real estate business was fine; I just didn’t want to socialize.

 

Grid of Abdominal Pain Possible Gangrenous Appendicitis
Infographic by Dr. Aneesh possible causes of stomach pain

Fears

Then, I began googling. My stomach was growing. (Did I already have Appendicitis? Were these the beginning signs of Appendicitis or worse? Could I be on my way to having a ruptured appendix?) The information scared me. I had narrowed it to four things it could be.

My aesthetician had died a couple of years ago at the beach from an aortic aneurysm that ruptured, and I became convinced that could be what I had. My abdomen was pulsating, and that is a symptom. The other three possibilities were appendicitis, gall bladder, or diverticulitis. My pain was still completely east and west across my abdomen, so the appendicitis pain that is mainly supposed to be to the right didn’t add up.

Text Messages

My husband, on the other hand, was having a normal beach day with our fish chef friends. After all, it was our last beach day. I texted my husband at 5 p.m., “Hey I’m going to dr. I’m very worried. Don’t tell anyone but I’m going. Abdomen is pulsating and that is a symptom of the thing that my aesthetician died from at the beach. It’s just all too weird. About to research who takes our insurance. I can come back to get you at the beach in a minute.”

(Since this incident, I now know that any ER would have taken our ER co-pay, but if you have to have surgery or a hospital stay, make sure it’s in your network or obviously the bills will be in addition to the ER co-pay.)

I then received a text from my friend, the wife of the fish chef. I’m in a group text with her and my husband. She wrote, “When Bach (her nickname for him) goes to get Kambucha, (sp?) tell him to get gas pills. Like gas-x. I swear it will help. It relieves the painful pressure.”

She meant well.

In my mind, I replied with the orange faced cursing emoji. (I’m pretty sure those meds do not help someone with the beginning signs of Appendicitis.) That was at 5:04 p.m.

Night

I left the beach. I researched which Urgent Care Clinic was open until 8 p.m. and even packed an overnight bag for the hospital. Note: Go directly to the ER with these symptoms, do not go to Urgent Care Clinic first.

My husband responded for me to come pick him up from the beach. When he got in the car, he talked me out of going to get it checked out. I knew he would do that. He said several things like, “This will cost thousands of dollars, I’m getting you Gas-X, you will be fine, you are never sick, etc.”

So, we went back to our beach house. I put my packed bag near my bed and climbed in it, thinking he was probably right. It was probably nothing. (Certainly not what was now past the beginning signs of Appendicitis and an eventually ruptured appendix.)

sick in bed from symptoms of gangrenous appendicitis

No dinner for me; thanks anyway

I had implemented a successful sleep plan by that point. If I lay on my left side or my back, I could get comfortable enough to sleep. I took a nap around 6 p.m.

My husband came in to check on me and asked if I wanted to go to a new pizza place in Rosemary Beach with friends. (About 30 minutes away) (He clearly wasn’t understanding how I felt.) Umm, no thanks. He came in later and said they were going to The Wine Bar in Watercolor instead and asked if I wanted any take-out. Again, umm, no thanks.

This was so outside my normal mode of operation. I’m usually up for anything.

He left, and I slept. I got up around 9 pm and read some more of my novel. Then I took a bath. I thought about washing my hair but felt like lifting my arms to dry my hair would hurt my stomach, so I didn’t.

I packed a few items since we were leaving the next day and wondered how I would get the house packed up and get home via the six-hour drive.

Middle of the night

I slept pretty well with my new way to sleep. I got up to go to the bathroom at 12:45 a.m. and checked my phone. My extended family was texting about the College Regionals baseball game they had just attended. Ole Miss had just won, so they were still up and excited. I responded, “Congrats,” and then told them the only reason I was up was “bc I think I have appendicitis or some crazy something. Started hurting 2:45 am last night. Can’t get comfortable to sleep. Hopefully it’s nothing. I’m trying to get back to Jackson before I have ruptured appendix. Who knows. Good night.”

The Nurse Practitioner and the Roach

Infographic With Causes of Abdominal Pain findatopdoc.comInfograph Diagram of Possible Gangrenous Appendicitis osmosis.org

While I was still looking at my phone, it began to ring immediately. It was on silent, so I’m thankful I was still looking at it.  One of my sister and brother-in-law’s best friends was at their house in the Mississippi Delta watching the baseball game. She is a nurse practitioner, and I had become friends with her too, over the years, through their friendship with her.

I quietly snuck into the bathroom to talk, as not to wake my husband. She asked me lots of questions about my issues.

I screamed.

It wasn’t from the abdominal pain, but due to a large roach running across the bathroom counter. I woke up my husband and begged him to kill the roach.

He did.

What else could go wrong at the end of this perfect beach trip?

So, the nurse practitioner and I continued to talk. She said I certainly could be having the beginning signs of Appendicitis and warned me of the dangers of a ruptured appendix. She had me jump up and down, poke in, let off, does that hurt? Lots of questions. She absolutely encouraged me to go to ER if I got any worse during the night as to avoid the possibility of a ruptured appendix.

I stayed the same or got a little better. I slept pretty well as long as I didn’t try to sleep on the right side. My pain at that point was hard to describe or pinpoint exactly where. I felt stupid for not being able to adequately describe the pain. I still had zero nausea.

Saturday

Morning

Time to drive home despite having the signs of Appendicitis

on the road while having symptoms of gangrenous appendicitis

I awoke early Saturday morning because instinctually, I knew I was on borrowed time. I needed to get in the car and get on the phone to devise a medical plan for when I got back to Jackson.

Grits and the red dress

Only Dress I Could Wear with a Ruptured Appendix

The pain was still there, and it was still weird. I’m never sick. This was unacceptable. I packed as much as I could, but my husband did most of it. Of course, I reminded him that I couldn’t lift anything very heavy, in case these were the signs of Appendicitis or an aortic aneurysm.

I ate another half a bowl of grits (yay for bringing the grits), and then it hit me.

What was I going to wear home? My stomach was very bloated by this point. And very painful to the touch. The pain had somewhat migrated to the right side; again, I knew I was on borrowed time. But it still wasn’t excruciating. Certainly still not the pain that I read about that associated with Appendicitis or a ruptured appendix. The migration to the right side did speak more to Appendicitis, but I expected more excruciating pain. (I was past the beginning signs of Appendicitis.)

What was I going to wear home? The only thing I brought which didn’t button or have elastic around the waist was the old and faded, but comfortable red dress. Even though I looked pregnant in it due to the bloating, I was thrilled that I had brought the red dress as it was my only option for the six-hour car ride home.

The Hiding Place

I was reminded of a part in the novel The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom when she is thankful for the fleas. She and her sister had been imprisoned by the Nazis for hiding Jews in their home. They were placed in a room infested with fleas, and she became thankful for the fleas because she could conduct Bible studies in there without being bothered by the supervisors. The fleas kept the supervisors out. It was the little things that she was thankful for in a bad situation.

The grits weren’t appetizing, and the old, faded red dress wasn’t pretty. But, they were my fleas. I was oddly thankful for both of them in a way that no one else would understand.

The first hour of the drive home

My husband offered for my daughter to drive me, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to relax. Plus, she and her friend needed to get to a 3 p.m. lifeguarding shift, and I was moving a little more slowly than he because of my symptoms of Appendicitis.  So, he drove the two older girls, and I was feeling “better” and drove the two 14-year-olds. I felt good enough not to insist that we follow each other.

That was stupid.

They left about 30-45 minutes before we did. I called my mom when I got on the road and updated her about my health. I felt pretty good, certainly not bad enough to have Appendicitis or a ruptured appendix. Next, I called a friend of mine to get a plan for what to do about this stomach issue.

I am medically illiterate and have high deductible insurance since my husband and I are both self-employed, so I had no idea how to tackle it on a Saturday. My friend talked to her source, and we decided I would go to the ER in Jackson at 3:30 p.m. as soon as I got into town.

I thought it was a little overkill, but yes, I had been hurting for a while.

Pensacola, Florida

Woman Worried She Has a Ruptured Appendix

Signs of Appendicitis worsen

My friend’s source, a doctor friend of mine, called me while I had been on the road for about an hour and a half, almost to Pensacola. I began feeling awful and told him I was going to have to exit and take a break driving. Pulling into a not-so-great establishment was my only option, and immediately I felt trapped.

Looking back, I think this is when my appendix ruptured. I was officially wayyy past the beginning signs of Appendicitis.

I stepped out of the car to continue our conversation away from the girls. I then told him I would have to call him back because my pain was worse. The pain had also radiated to my pubic bone.

I got back in the car and called my husband. I asked the girls to step outside the car, so I could talk to him without scaring them. By this point, I was crying some and explaining that I might have to stop at a hospital in one of the upcoming towns. Could this be the signs of Appendicitis? Or worse, a ruptured appendix? We hung up, I pulled myself together, and the girls got back in the car.

Desperate thoughts

I put a pillow between my car door and my left side, hoping to feel some comfort.

Thoughts flooded my mind. I was responsible for two teens in my car and myself. Do I go to the hospital here, four hours from home? I almost called my tennis partner whom I had seen on the beach since she is originally from Pensacola. Another option that entered my mind was to stop at a hotel and ask if I could hang out on the couch for a bit.

But I knew I was on borrowed time. I decided to keep driving.

Mobile, Alabama

The girls in my car were still fairly clueless at this point. They had their headphones in their ears, oblivious. Almost to Mobile, I talked with my husband again. Could this be the signs of Appendicitis or a ruptured appendix? I then called a friend from college who lives about 20 minutes from Mobile in Daphne, Alabama, and asked her for the name of a good hospital in Mobile. I was whispering some by this point. It hurt to talk. She was getting on a boat in Orange Beach, Alabama, about an hour away but offered to come to me if I did stop. She was worried.

It was a weird phenomenon that everyone I talked to throughout the day seemed more worried about me than I was about myself. Your body and mind do weird things in these situations. I had to get off the phone with her in order to follow Google Maps. Feeling bloated and helpless but wanting to be closer to home, I decided to keep driving.

Afternoon

Decisions, Decisions

It was becoming increasingly clear, that I was not going to make it all the way to Jackson. As much as I wanted to be home, my will power and body were both giving out.

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

At some point between Mobile and 40 miles outside of Hattiesburg, I decided I would stop at the ER at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg. It was an hour and a half from Jackson, and I knew that I shouldn’t be driving at this point.

Stopping at hotel lobbies still entered my mind, but my gut feeling of being on borrowed time trumped that desire.

By this point, I had another new symptom. I was extremely fidgety. I kept rubbing my face, arms, and legs. I kept moving around in my seat. Did I have a ruptured appendix? The radio had been silent for hours. I began the trip with soothing jazz on low volume but changed it to silence as the pain progressed.

The next phone call was to my mom; I told her I was stopping in Hattiesburg. Pretty much only whispering by now, I had asked her to call my husband and tell him that I was going to stop. Then, I changed my mind and told her that I would call him.

I forgot to call him.

My phone was positioned sideways in my radio console with Google Maps counting down the miles. I began watching it count down the miles to Forrest General Hospital starting with 40, then 39, 38, 37 and so on. I was obsessed with counting down the miles. Now, fidgeting constantly, my brain was foggy.

Once in Hattiesburg, I told the girls that we were stopping at the ER, that I couldn’t drive any further. They seemed unfazed.

Forrest General ER

emergency room with symptoms of gangrenous appendicitis

We pulled into Forrest General Hospital at 1:15 p.m. I had to rest on the side of the car before walking into the hospital. I took a few steps and then asked the girls to help me walk. A security guard saw us and got me a wheelchair.

At check-in, I couldn’t help but notice a mom bringing in her toddler, who had a “fever”. She was nonchalant as if they were checking into a pediatric clinic, and I was thinking, “Omg, please tell me I will get to go first.” I thought, “Lady, I may have a ruptured appendix.” I had forgotten that some people use the ER like a doctor’s office.

I was immediately taken to a room. The girls were in the room with me. I told the ER doctor my symptoms, and they immediately put me on an IV of Tordol, a non-narcotic. It was great, and I felt better.

A nice surprise

The door to my room opened, and to my surprise, a college sorority pledge sister of mine from Hattiesburg came in. I hadn’t seen her in years, like maybe even since we graduated 25  years ago. She had heard that I was at Forrest General through a friend of a friend. She was an angel and a life saver. It was a surreal moment, and she stayed for hours thank goodness.

Remember, there were two 14-year-olds stuck in Hattiesburg with me. She not only helped with the girls but helped me communicate with the doctors and nurses until my husband could drop the older girls off in Jackson and get back to Hattiesburg.

Later, I would find out that several years ago, my pledge sister’s father died five days after surgery from complications due to Appendicitis and a ruptured appendix. She had a vested interest in making sure I was ok.

“Dad, I think Mom is in the hospital”

Meanwhile, my daughter who was with me had sent my older daughter, who was riding with my husband, a random snap chat. My older daughter said, “Dad, I think Mom is in the hospital.” He said, “What?” She said, “Yeah, the snap chat looks like it’s from a hospital.”

He immediately called my phone, but it was in my purse on silent. He did get in touch with my daughter, and she confirmed that we were in the hospital.

Remember, I forgot to call him.

Blessing

the girls in the room while I had symptoms of gangrenous appendicitis

Besides having my pledge sister show up, another blessing was that behind the scenes, several friends were trying to get the girls a ride home. One friend knew that another family had left the beach much later than we did and arranged for them to stop by Forrest General to give the 14-year-olds a ride and have their teenage driver drive my car to Jackson. They arrived around 5 p.m.

After the 14-year-olds had stayed in the hospital for four hours with me and had ridden in the car for four and a half hours prior to that, they were finally on their way home to Jackson. My pledge sister helped coordinate all of that once the family arrived, and I needed some items out of my car as well.

CT Scan

ct scan which diagnosed gangrenous appendicitis

Around 3:15 p.m., I went in for a CT scan prior to getting any Morphine. I only knew I was getting Morphine because an hour earlier, the nurse had said she would be right back with some.

Let’s just say the ER was busy that day. I didn’t get my Morphine prior to my scan. Considering it hurt to move at all, getting onto the scanner wasn’t fun. I had to lie flat with my arms straight, up by my ears, past my head.

The scan didn’t take long, though.

I was finally given 4 mg of Morphine when I got back to my room. It was not a strong dose. It was just perfect. I wasn’t loopy. Around 4:25 p.m., I sent a text to my extended family saying I had had scans but no results.

Results

IV pic of antibiotics

Remember I’m medically clueless. My pledge sister noticed on my IV screen that an antibiotic had been ordered for me. I thought that meant that I had not had symptoms of Appendicitis, and they had called in something to CVS Pharmacy. I thought I would be well on my way out the door in a few minutes. Looking back, I could tell my friend knew otherwise.

She and I then met with the doctors.

At 4:41 p.m. I sent a text to my husband and my extended family saying, “appendix out tonight in Jackson” and another at 4:50 p.m., “on an IV of antibiotics in case it ruptures or has somewhat.” That was the antibiotic that had been ordered for me. There would be no trip to CVS Pharmacy.

My husband was almost back to Hattiesburg by this point.  He had dropped the older girls at the lifeguarding shift and headed back to Hattiesburg.

The doctors agreed that the scan looked bad and that in their professional opinion, I had appendicitis which would later be called Gangrenous Appendicitis, and that my appendix had already either perforated or ruptured.

There was also “thickening in the bowels” which is another tell-tale sign of a bad case. They said they wouldn’t know for sure how bad, until surgery.

I guess I truly had tried to ignore my symptoms of Appendicitis for 35 hours.

I mentioned having the surgery in Jackson and said, “so like when do I need to do this if I have it in Jackson.” They said, “in a couple of hours.”

Options

My husband arrived. The general surgeon said if I stayed and had the surgery there, he would try it laparoscopically but was almost positive that he would have to then cut me open because of the possible ruptured appendix. That would be a 5-7 day hospital stay.

I really wanted to have the surgery in Jackson for logistical reasons. The general surgeon and ER doctor differed in their opinions as to whether it was safe for my husband to drive me to Jackson to have the surgery. It’s an hour and a half drive.

The general surgeon was fine with our leaving. The ER doctor was against my leaving, and if I left, he wanted to transport me in an ambulance. I said, “I don’t have 70 thousand dollars for that; my husband can drive me.” He laughed and told me that it wouldn’t cost 70 thousand dollars but if I insisted on being driven, I could at my own risk.

We went back and forth and back and forth with the decision of where to have the surgery. We decided on Jackson and were discharged from Forrest General around 6:45 p.m. after being there five and a half hours.

My symptoms of Gangrenous Appendicitis summarized

My symptoms, some of which are different than most people’s:

  • Pain that came out of nowhere and spanned across the abdomen
  • The pain, although I had never had it before, wasn’t excruciating
  • Pain that later moved toward the right lower quadrant of the abdomen (For me, this occurred about 20+ hours later.
  • Pulsating abdomen (on and off the whole time)
  • Pain that moved to the pubic bone. It wasn’t constant. (For me, this occurred about 32+ hours later. My opinion is that by this point, it had ruptured or perforated.)
  • Profuse sweating the first 10 hours
  • Painful to walk or talk. (For me this occurred about 32+ hours later.)
  • No nausea. (Most have nausea.)
  • No bowel issues. (Most have some by-product although constipation can be a symptom.)
  • No appetite (From onset to well after surgery)
  • Fidgeting (For me, this occurred during hours 33-35 and before any Tordol or Morphine at the ER)

Go to the top of this article

To read about common symptoms (some of which I never had)  of Gangrenous Appendicitis and a ruptured appendix, go to Symptoms Mayo Clinic.

Surgery and Hospital Recovery

This article is about recognizing the beginning signs of Gangrenous Appendicitis in order to prevent a ruptured appendix. You can read about My Surgery and Hospital Recovery After a Ruptured Appendix in another post. My home recovery can be found by reading Recovery at Home for a Ruptured Appendix.

 

 

Read Laurie’s story of how her recent life experiences led to the birth of this site, White Cotton. Feel free to send her a message.