It happened in October
That in-between month when the air is cool and golden. I’d been feeling sick for days coming off Thanksgiving, with a pain growing in my belly that didn’t feel right. I went to my doctor, urgent care, more waiting rooms than I can count… I was sent home over and over. My appendix burst in the ER after 7 hours of gripping my wheelchair in pain. (This is healthcare in Alberta).
The rupture was severe, and the days that followed were honestly hell. Six days in a freezing hospital bed under layers of thin blankets, hooked up to IVs and downing antibiotics that made me so, so sick. I thought I’d feel better once I got home, that healing would be straight forward from there. It remained painful for months, and it’s never quite been the same since.
It’s strange how something like that changes you — and not just physically. My digestion is delicate now. Sometimes a twinge of that old pain returns and I feel the fear, the memory of what I experienced. Even now, a year later, I have to be careful about what I eat. Waiting isn’t easy, especially when it’s your own body that you’re waiting for.
So if you are in the midst of healing, know that you’re proof of what it means to keep going. Always advocate for your own health. Be kind to yourself. I hope you get to look back on it one day and feel peace that it’s over now.