We slept at a rest stop that night and went to the bathrooms in the morning. While we were there Jordan had almost instantaneous severe pain in his lower right abdomen that brought him to the ground. I honestly didn't think much of it at first (I am a bad wife). But he really was moaning a lot and sort of screaming/yelling out obscenities. That also embarrassed me (again, bad wife) because there were a few people around. I had Jordan come outside so he could lay down on a bench and so he would sound a little quieter. The pain kept getting worse so I called 911 to ask what we should do. They sent an officer over and when the officer got there he called an ambulance. We were about 50 miles from Idaho Falls and Jordan and the officer thought he was showing signs of appendicitis. I couldn't drive the RV as fast as the ambulance and we thought we needed to get their quick in case his appendix ruptured.
I sat up front for the ride while the ambulance driver talked to me (probably to calm me down). I think I handled myself pretty well but I was still a bit emotional. Jordan was in the back still moaning and writhing. I felt so helpless and so bad for him! He started to feel less pain when we were close to Idaho Falls.
We got checked in and because his pain had mostly gone away they said it was not appendicitis but more likely a kidney stone. They ran some tests and confirmed that's what it was. I think Jordan felt a little embarrassed about it all. But also relieved. I was glad he wouldn't need surgery. Also, we found out Jordan's health insurance had lapsed so he wasn't covered anymore. So we were extra grateful that he didn't need surgery. I think the whole ordeal beginning to end took about three hours.
A few things that went through my mind while all of this was happening:
1 - I really wanted to take a picture of the ambulance, but felt like that would solidify my status as a bad wife. But really, how often do you get to ride in an ambulance? So I still got pictures, just after I knew he wasn't in so much pain.
2 - I also wanted to grab my laptop before we went to Idaho Falls. I mean, if he went in to surgery I would have been there all day with nothing to do (bad wife).
3 - Make sure your health insurance is up to date! Jordan has had insurance for years without having to use it. And now, when we did need it we didn't have it.
4 - I really was embarrassed by all of Jordan's yelling and now I feel bad about it. A little family with kids came to the rest stop while much of the moaning was going on and while many of the obscenities were being yelled. I'm sure Jordan and I looked like crazy people. Their faces sure looked like we were crazy people.
5 - Everyone at the Idaho Falls hospital was so so nice! They sent in a social worker to talk to us after Jordan was discharged to discuss our payment options since we didn't have insurance and he also helped us find a ride back to the RV.
I am glad its all over. Jordan is okay. We are all okay. The doctor said he will most likely have more kidney stones, but now we will know what to look for. In retrospect, the only thing the hospital was able to do for us was tell us what was going on. Even though that was expensive few hours, we are still glad we called the ambulance because we thought his appendix was going to burst in the middle of Nowhere Idaho.
Glad he's doing ok!
ReplyDeleteOh man! That just sounds painful and scary. And then all those people came to your aid, what a relief. You and Jordan will be in my thoughts and prayers.
ReplyDelete