Raining Petals

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Might as Well Be a Master Card Commercial

Waking up in the middle of the night to horrible stomach pains...6 hours missed sleep
Doctors drawing blood and running labs...$500.00
Surgeon Removing an angry appendix...$4000.00(give or take)
1 night in ER & 3 nights in the hospital...5000.00(give or take)
Having NO health insurance...10,000.00(aaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!)

Getting to see my mom after 8 months and falling in love with my husband all over again...

Priceless.

So I am trying not to freak out about how much this little tissy fit my appendix threw is going to cost me. You see...the company we work for is fairly new and even though we get paid a full-time salary we are actually only part-time employees which is fabulous in its own right...until one of your body parts decides to suceed from the union....then you start to contemplate sending out resumes just to get a job with benefits. ah well...thus is life and I am not going to let it get to me. I didn't need any of that money anyway...blah.

I didn't want you anyway Appendix...you did nothing for me!

Now despite all the drama/trauma this has caused...I am actually thankful for many of the moments that have occurred over the span of this ordeal.

It was confirmed to me that I indeed have people in this world who would drop everything for me. Knowing this just makes my heart swell. My mom did just that. She is a teacher...so it isn't easy to just leave for a whole week...but she did and I couldn't be more grateful! She made what could have been an incredibly stressful and tough situation bearable. I will never be able to repay my mom for all she has done for and continues to do for me. I love you so much Mom. It was hard to see her go but I take comfort in knowing she will be back in March...woohoo!! Can't wait!

But in this Valentine's Weekend I am really thankful for the moments I had with my husband. I fell in love all over again as he took such good care of me and was by my side whenever I needed him. It was actually fun to have him in the hospital with me and just hanging out and talking and laughing...it felt like the early days of dating or just being married...when it was just the two of us. It was so nice. Of course we LOVE our son but having these moments together as best friends, husband and wife are wonderful and so needed.

Josh stayed the night in the hospital with me every night. He got up with me in the middle of the night to follow my white bum hanging out my hospital gown to help me pee, pushing my IV pump wherever I went, washing my hair for me when I couldn't get in the shower due to the dressing on my incision, encouraging my recovery and taking me on walks and telling me I was doing such a good job, fluffing my pillows and helping me get comfy in bed, putting my slippers on my feet and strapping me in the boots and hooking me up each time I returned to the bed(in the hospital they strap your legs in "boots" that are hooked up to a machine that squeeze your legs to keep you from getting blood clots...I actually LOVED these things and they felt so good massaging my legs) then scratching my legs for me after the boots dried out my skin and made me itch(seriously...the best scratching ever...I felt like a dog getting its stomach scratched) cheering for me when I was finally able to pass gas(so that may be gross...but seriously it was a big deal...I have never felt pain worse than that...it put the flaming appendix to shame;)

Josh is just my best friend plain and simple. He will do anything for me. Him seeing me at my worst, hardly able to walk, needing help in the bathroom, greasy hair, tired eyes, and he took such gentle care of me and hugged me and kissed me and gently rubbed my head. Every single request I made he fulfilled. I love you so much Josh. Knowing I have someone who loves me more than anything is just amazing. I couldn't ask for anything...anything at all because I already have you.

I know there are other people that if I called and said, "I need you here now" they would do everything in their power to come. That is wonderful to know.

With-in just hours of being admitted to the hospital I had the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I have ever been given to me sitting in my room from my sister and Cody...it really made my day. They were sooo pretty...I took a picture and need to post it. Casey called often to make sure I was doing okay. Thank you Casey!! Love you and can't wait to see you!

Katie made me a home-made card and sent it priority mail...it was just totally "Katie" and I LOVED it...thank you Katie!! It is a card I will keep forever.

Thank you to everyone who commented on my blog and sent up prayers in my favor. I really do appreciate all the friends I have and the people who take an interest in me and my well-being. I really am thankful for each and everyone of you.

I still have staples in my incision...seriously it is like the biggest incision ever made for an appendix removal. The doc said my appendix was lying in a different direction than normal so that is why I had to be cut wide open. Ugh. It is about 7-8 inches long..going long ways and right where I bend and have a nice fat roll...so it has been just lovely. I had somewhere around 20 staples. The doc took out half of them last Monday and I should get the rest out this coming Monday...but right now I am starting to be able to bend more and finally able to sleep on my side (I hate back sleeping). I still can't lift or do any heavy duty stuff. So I am taking it easy and hoping this incision just hurries and closes up and I can get on with it. No doubt I will always have a fantastic scar. My dreams of being a stomach model have been thrown out with the appendix. I was so close...so close.

So sorry so long...but you know I have to document every little thing...I even erased a few paragraphs! And I know some people don't like sentimental, gushiness, but that is me...I am that...no apologies:)

So...if anyone wants to hold a benefit concert or blog auction to raise oh say...10,000 dollars I would totally be up for that! (totally not taking away or making light of situations where this is happening...because I am totally serious...my appendix robbed me)

Thank you again to everyone who cares about me...even just a little;)

15 comments:

Kristin said...

Everyone cares about you a lot..not just a little. I would Love to make the first donation....serious. Send me your address. You never know what you are gonna get but hey it will be a suprise. Could be a donut pillow, a new car, or a couple penny's...who knows. I don't even know yet. But it will give you something to look forward too..right? on second thought I already have your address. Maybe I put the wrong one on your birthday present. I must have if you still haven't gotten it :) I am glad that you are feeling better. And so glad that Josh takes good care of you! You deserve it! You are the best and I am so happy that you are doing better! You know how I feel when someone get's hurt...

Amy S said...

I am glad to hear that everything went well and that you are feeling better. What a crappy deal. You have such a good attitude about it all. I hope that you continue to feel better. Way to go Josh, what a good guy you have. Get better soon!

Us Bailey's said...

I'm glad your doing a little better and that you have such a loving family! You are a very lucky girl! Good luck with the hospital bills as well-- Mike went to the emergency room one day before his student insurance expired- so we got extemely lucky (only they didn't ever find anything out other than his gallbladder hurt - which Mike could have told them!) Hope you feel better-- and about the stomach model -- I think I gave that up as soon as I got pregnant -- its just never been the same- Joel stretched it out way to far and I don't think it will ever go back. So I will simpathize!

Katie said...

Glad you're feeling better! Moms are the best. Have a great Valentine's weekend with your super sweet husband. He's a keeper.

Katie said...

And to give you encouragement, we did have insurance when our preemie twins were born (lots of it) and we still ended up paying over $20,000 out of pocket. We were able to slowly pay it down, and then we sold our house and finished it off. So it will work out for you...even if it is $75 a month until Carter leaves for college. :)

Shelby said...

Ugh, I hate hospital bills without insurance...definitely not fun! I'm glad that you're feeling a little better!

Happy Thought, Indeed! said...

What you wrote about Josh is so sweet. What a good man you have! And he's lucky to have you, too. I'm glad that you are recovering.

Bradbury Bunch said...

So happy to hear you're feeling better Laura, you've been MISSED SO MUCH!! Your posts make my day, and I've missed them! I cried when I read what you said about Josh, he is so sweet, and I love him for loving you and taking such great care of you 24-7! You're a sweetheart Josh! Continue feeling better Laurita, and I'm so excited you get to see your amazing family in 28 days! I'm sorry about the hospital bill, which also reminded me about the time of Carter's popcorn kernal...whatever happened with that? Anyway, maybe we should change the website dollars for diapers to dollars for Hospital bills just temporarily!LOVE YOU!

Unknown said...

Oh I'm so glad Mom was there for you. And I got all teary eyed reading about Josh. I already knew he was great but that's so sweet.
I'm glad you liked the flowers too. :)
I'm so excited to come visit. I woke up this morning and got to read about a commercial airline crashing a mile away from the landing strip.

Cheri said...

That makes me ill, just thinking about how much out of pocket it's going to cost! You now, the same thing happened to Emma. Her daughter had to have her appendix removed emergency, and then Emma had some serious stuff happen to her and it all cost a lot more than what your stuff did, no insurance. I would just freak out if I didn't have insurance, but I'm so glad everything is all right, especially concidering certain things we've talked about in certain blessing we've received! Remember? Scared me to death. Anyway, I love you!

Shane and Amy Jo said...

So happy to hear from you! I've been thinking about you...wondering how things are going for you! I'm glad to hear that you are still alive & kickin'! Sorry to hear about the $$$ side of things. I absolutely hate $$$. I know you'll be taken care of. Happy Valentine's Day...sounds like you have one special valentine in your sweet hubby Josh!!!

Liz said...

We care about you lots! I'm so glad to hear you're doing so well, all things considered.
I really needed to read your post today. I've been feeling down the last couple days and needed a "gratitude"-type post to lift my spirits a little...so I'm glad you were mushy and long and all that stuff. I needed it. :-)
Aren't our husbands amazing? I had the same experience after our car accident in 2006. Mark literally saw the good, the bad and the ugly...poor kid. I think the defining moment was when, since I couldn't lift my arm with a broken collarbone, my love shaved my armpits for me. Yeah. I am one lucky girl.
Keep us posted on how it's going, and remember how much we all care for you!

Brandi said...

Goodness, I am so glad your feeling better. I am also so glad Josh took great care of you. I think you should set up little jars in the grocery stores with your story (totally kidding) but hey its a thought.

Dixie & Markus said...

Oh my goodness! Laura! I hope you are feeling much better. Don't worry about the $$$.I'm sure there are ways to fix this situation. I consider myself a patriotic person, but the American health care system SUCKS!! Over here in England you would have paid $0.00 for that operation. Thank you national health care system.
Anyway, I hope you're all better and I'm glad to hear that some positives came out of all this.

Annie & Jake said...

So glad you're getting better! Things will work out, don't worry!