Holly's Medical Mystery Tour

The last few days have been quite the challenge for us, especially Holly. Before we get into the details, we wish to thank all those who have expressed their love and concern thus far. It is helpful to know that there are lots of people there watching out for us. If anyone would like to help us in any way, please do not hesitate to give Holly or I a call. We welcome any assistance you are willing to provide.

For those of you unfamiliar with the events of the last few days, here's the lowdown:

It all started Friday morning when Holly went to the Provo InstaCare to see if she had a UTI. It was determined that she probably did, so she was given the necessary treatments. I got home from my first shift at about 12:30 and she was fantastic! The best she'd felt in a while. I left for my next shift at 2:30 without a care in the world.

Until, that is, I got home at 6:00.

When I walked in the door, Holly was on the couch, looking the most miserable she had been since the time she went to the ER in April for a kidney infection. All the same symptoms were showing up: fever, chills, numbness in the legs, you name it. A new, scary symptom also emerged: lower right abdomen pain.

We rushed back to the InstaCare, wondering if it may have been an allergic reaction to the meds. After some poking, prodding and twisting, we were shuttled to the ER. My parents made the trek down from Alpine as Holly was wheeled into a room and hooked up to an IV and waited.

And waited...and waited...and waited.

Blood and urine tests were taken. The initial diagnosis of appendicitis was made, but at least one more test was needed to be sure. The doctors preferred a CT scan, but Holly's pregnancy made that an undesirable option: the radiation has significant risk for the baby. The doctors settled for an ultrasound, but noted that finding an appendix in that way was more difficult due to the air-filled intestines nearby. If the ultrasound was insufficient, the CT scan was mandatory.

As I followed nervously, Holly was carted to the ultrasound room. I sat and watched as the tech silently interpreted what he saw, occasionally conversing with the radiologist. As the apparatus inched towards her lower right quadrant, Holly grimaced in pain. Somehow, the tech saw something which looked like the appendix and phoned the radiologist.

No CT scan necessary. They found it.

Relieved, we made our way back to our initial room and played Waiting Game 2.0. This time, we were told we were waiting for the surgeon.

Wait, what? Surgeon? Sure enough, it was certain that Holly was going under the knife that night. There was a risk to the baby, but it was quite low. The question of when would be answered as soon as a surgery already in progress was finished. Finally, sometime around 11:00 PM or so, Holly was carted off into the O.R. as my parents and I waited some more.

About an hour and a half later Dr. Hill, the surgeon, informed us that the appendix had been removed without incident; the pregnancy was fine, and Holly was about to be transferred to a room on the 6th floor.

Finally, about 1 AM, Holly settled into room E661 and made it through the night.

She was discharged at about 3:30 PM Saturday afternoon and spent the weekend recuperating at my parents' home in Alpine. She could have gone back to work Monday, but elected to wait one more day. Last night, I brought Holly home.

Little did we know we weren't done yet.

Many of the same symptoms returned as Holly lay in bed. We took her fever throughout the night as we made calls to the pharmacy, the on-call physician, and the rest. When things didn't significantly improve when morning came, we were invited to go to Dr. Hill's office.

In Payson.

As such, Holly and I made our first ever sojourn to Payson at about 9:30 or so this morning. There was speculation a blood clot may have formed, but Dr. Hill was skeptical. Still, he recommended we return to the ER in Provo and have more tests run, which we did.

After more urine and blood removal and yet another ultrasound, an ovarian cyst was found. This is fairly common during pregnancy, but this particular cyst may have been leaking, which would surely cause pain. We aren't entirely sure, but that's the story we're sticking to so far. We've been given the meds we need to combat things for now.

We are now back in our apartment, which my parents graciously cleaned for us. Again, we know there are so many people who are pulling for us in many ways, and we sincerely appreciate it.

Despite all of this, there is a silver lining: we have now heard the heartbeat of our baby twice, thanks to the ultrasounds. Although it did not occur in exactly the way we would have imagined, we are so thrilled to know that little Austin/Lily is still growing and progressing.

Graciously, it is a miracle within the madness.