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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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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.
