Jess "Appendix-free" Jones

So, I started this weekend uber-excited for General Conference. I had plans to attend the Saturday sessions at the Conference Center, then come back and enjoy Sunday sessions in the comfort of my home from the apartment LoveSac. But, of course, the Philippines Olongapo Mission reunion came first. I went up to Salt Lake on Friday excited to see both of the mission presidents, which was great.

Not to leave out too many distressing details, but I ended the evening in the Intermountain Medical Center talking to a surgeon about appendicitis. You guessed it, I got really sick and had to leave the reunion early only to be driven to a hospital to be prodded and poked and catscanned and, finally, cut open. :)

Luckily, I have some family in Salt Lake that stayed by my side the whole time and nursed me in their home all weeked after I was discharged from the hospital.

So, here I am, on Monday morning, lying on my couch icing my stomach, trying not to let the Lortab control my thought processes.

The procedure was done laparoscopically, meaning they just punched 3 holes in my stomach instead of having a big incision. Then they inflated my stomach with air until I was about as big as a 10 month old pregnant lady. During the procedure, however, they DID grab some excellent pictures of my organs and stuff. So that's cool. Now that I'm appendix-free, my stomach is still really stretched out and although my incisions aren't really sore, the spot in my colon that now houses a couple of staples is pretty sore. I'm having to ice my whole stomach to get the swelling to go away, so that's an adventure. lol.

So, I'm sad that I didn't get to watch General Conference, but I'm excited to read the talks next month in the Ensign.

And the best part is that I know that I'll NEVER have to go through this ever again. I am officially "appendix-free."