For as long as I can remember, I have been scared of hospitals, needles and doctors. I’ve always dreaded going to the doctor, so having surgery has always been high up on my list of things I hoped would never happen. All of my hopes were for nothing though because a week ago, I had an appendectomy.
I was out with one of my friends on a Friday night when I started having horrible stomach pains. I thought it might be my period since I was a little late, and I usually get really painful menstrual cramps. Unfortunately, I realized it wasn’t my period once I got back to my dorm and threw up. For the rest of the night, I alternated between getting sick and trying to fall asleep. In the morning, I called my mom and asked for her advice. I had never been sick away from home before, and I had never been in so much pain in all my life, so we decided it would be best for me to come home. Before I left, I joked with my roommate on the possibility of it being appendicitis. She reassured me that it was unlikely and that it was probably just food poisoning or the stomach flu. I agreed, but I still had this feeling that it was something more serious.
Once my mom picked me up, she saw how poorly I was doing and decided I needed to go to urgent care. After seeing me, all they did was tell me to go to the emergency room. Urgent care was already stretching it with what I was comfortable with, but I knew in order to find out what was causing me to feel so awful I would have to go the ER. So, I rode to the ER knowing there was a good possibility they would want to do blood tests and replace the fluids I had lost.
The ER was pretty busy when we got there, but eventually they told me exactly what I expected them to—they needed to do blood tests to know more. When I got called in to phlebotomy, I was really nervous, but the nurses were extremely nice and understanding. They were quick and gentle and before I knew it, I was being moved in to a room to be put on an IV. After fluids, a CT scan and hours waiting, the doctor walked in to inform me that my appendix was causing my issues.
The surgery went really well and my recovery has been going even better. If I had gone through this even a year ago, I would have been an absolute wreck. Instead, I impressed myself with how calm I was. Even up until the point of surgery, which happened three hours later, I was staying positive and joking with the doctors. Every person I came into contact with was so sweet and did their best to make sure I felt comfortable with what was happening.
Having an appendectomy is obviously a low-risk surgery, but being someone who usually wants to run from doctors, it was a big deal for me. It’s weird to think of having surgery as a positive experience. However, that’s what it was for me. It showed me how much I’ve grown and matured even just over the past few months. If I can face those fears head on, what can’t I do? Now, I’m not saying everyone should go and have an appendectomy, but try facing something you’re afraid of, and you might be pleasantly surprised by the results.