A New Bellybutton

Well, I no longer have a gallbladder.

A few weeks ago I was kept awake one night by persistant pain right below my ribcage. I couldn't get comfortable. Ibuprofen didn't fix anything. I fell asleep briefly on a heating pad, but I got very little sleep. I had this pain a few times before during the night, but it has always gone away by morning. That morning came around and the pain was still there. Andy was working, so it was just Hallee and I at home. A few hours before Andy was supposed to get off of work, he called and told me he had hurt his elbow at work and they were sending him to the ER for x-rays. He came home a while later with a diagnosis of a bone contusion and a prescription for pain pills.

Meanwhile, I was still having belly pain. I called my folks, who were headed to town for an unrelated event, and asked them to come watch Hallee instead, while Andy and I headed to the ER. I was put in a room two doors down from the room Andy had just checked out of. An ultrasound showed that my gallbladder was "full of stones" and would need to be removed. It wasn't infected so, after my pain was controlled, I was allowed to go home and schedule surgery for the next afternoon. Andy didn't even get to take any of his pain pills as one of us had to drive home and take care of Hallee after my parents left. He's such a nice guy!

So on Monday afternoon, I checked in for a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. It was quick and (fairly) painless. I was home by suppertime the same day. The worst part was the lift restriction of 10 pounds for a week (which inclued Hallee.) Luckly, Andy was able to take some time off of work and do the heavy lifting around our house. I didn't realize how often I lift Hallee (into her highchair, into her crib, onto her changing table, into the bathtub, etc.)

Now, 10 days post-op, I'm feeling much more like my old self. Minus one gallbladder. As long as I'm careful with Hallee's knee when I lift her to my hip, things are good.