About 10 days ago, I woke up at 4am feeling a little indigestion. I have had food poisoning, so I knew it wasn't that. I figured I ate something that didn't agree with me, but I could wait it out. I mean, doesn't everyone need to take Tums every now and then?
Well, I waited...and I waited...and I waited. After about four hours, I wasn't feeling any better, so I looked up appendicitis symptoms, you know, as you do. I had only one of the common symptoms and all of the uncommon ones. I texted my good friend who is a doctor, just in case. I told her, though, "I don't think it's appendicitis, because I don't have any of the normal symptoms."
She was working, so I texted someone else and said that if I don't get better, can she go with me to the doctor? Apparently, this was the person to talk to because she'd been through this before. By that, I mean she had taken two people to the hospital for appendicitis in the last couple of years. All the symptoms she had witnessed were the symptoms I had.
It's at this point that I let it sink in. I've been in pain before, but this was the most pain I've ever experienced. It started off slowly, but it would not stop. After gentle coaxing on her part, I decided not to wait any longer. It had been five hours at this point. I grabbed my most comfortable clothes, put on a headscarf because my vanity wouldn't let me have an emergency with bad hair, and slowly walked down my street.
The doctor was a 15-minute walk away on a good day, and that morning, I would have been lucky to have made it there in an hour. Fortunately, a friend and neighbor saw me clutching my side and moving like cold molasses, and gave me the money for a tuk-tuk. They charge you Q5 (our local currency) and I only had Q100 (the most common denomination from a bank). The drivers don't usually have change in the morning. I probably would not have made it without her.
At the doctor, I had pulled up google translate and typed in what I thought was wrong. Typically, I read it or just use it to refresh my memory and explained myself, but I was in so much pain I just held up the phone. After 20 minutes that felt like hours, the doctor came and examined me. It was appendicitis, and I would need to go to the hospital in the next town over, about 30 minutes away.
To fast forward, the surgery went well, I was pumped with antibiotics and fluids to keep me hydrated, and given one night in the hospital to recover. When I got home, everything was difficult. I honestly expected it to be easier. I'm young(ish), fit, and healthy after all.
While the boredom has honestly been the worst part, the healing has been a roller coaster. On day 1, I could barely move. By day four, I felt almost normal, so I tried to do some normal things and crashed hard. Day 6, once again, I was feeling better, and made the mistake of walking too much. It's the end of day 8 back from the hospital, and I feel really good. Only, I didn't do much today. In fact, I look like this:
Men's sweater, messy hair, no makeup and a cup of tea.
My big takeaway from all this is: I believe in wellness and the ability of the body to take care of itself when it is given what it needs. I also believe that if I had not had surgery, things very likely could have ended badly.
I work with chakras to heal myself, both physically and spiritually. However, I believe that traditional medicine is more important, especially in these cases.
I've recovered from a sore throat from working with my Vishuddha chakra. I can probably help my indigestion by doing work with my Manipura. I cannot heal appendicitis through meditation and healthy eating. Maybe I can recover more quickly, but I don't know. At this point, my body is tired from working so hard to heal itself that I can't tell if all the clean meals I've been eating are making a difference.
Appendicitis is common, but it IS surgery.
I also really need to say, that everyone I know has been extremely supportive and kind. I am very glad that I found a strong community here.
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