.call.me.madeline.

(This is a long story…but hopefully worth the read!)

Growing up my cousin Sarah and I would watch the Madeline movie almost every time we played.

We would play with her Madeline dolls and the Madeline house. Sarah's Madeline doll even had her appendix scar on her tummy. When I was a little girl…I always wanted a Madeline appendix scar. Well… I am now 22 years old and that childhood dream became a reality for me. Here is the story.

Monday night, I go to bed feeling great and ready for my CPSE 462 midterm the next day. 

Tuesday morning, my head shot up from my pillow and I was drenched in sweat. I looked at my clock and it read 6:30 AM. I ran to the bathroom and began to miserably vomit. It didn't look like there was an end in sight. I thought to myself, "This is just another flu and it will pass." Went back to bed and 30 minutes later I was back in the bathroom having a miserable time. I decided to take a tub hoping that it would help relax my poor tummy. I got back into bed to work on some homework and study for my midterm that I was to take in 2 hours. I kept drinking water to stay hydrated, but unfortunately, my stomach wasn't going to keep even a little H2o down. I was able to get my shift covered for the evening and I knew that going to class wasn't going to be a possibility. (Thank goodness for amazing and understanding professors.) I called Trent and he came down around 6:00 to sit with me and make sure I was doing okay.

We were sitting there and I was actually starting to feel fine again. Trent then said, "Ann, let's get you to the Instacare."…"Trent I think I'm good. I don't really want to go."…"No Annie…I really feel like we need to take you to Instacare." 

Clearly, Trent had a prompting and next thing you know, I was in his car and we were on our way. We get to the Instacare. They took my vitals, asked a few questions and next thing you knew, the nurse had this look of panic on her face. My heart rate was at 150 and I had really low blood pressure. The next thing she said put me in tears. "We need to get you to the ER and fast." I was so confused because I thought I had the flu and all I needed was some Zofran for the nausea. Trent helped me to the car and we were on our way. I called my parents but couldn't get a hold of them. I got a hold of my sister, Jessica, and she, being a new mom and a mother figure to me, began to worry and told me that she would get a hold of my parents.

We got to the ER and checked in. More vitals were taken and a 45 minutes wait later I was in a gown with an IV in my arm. (getting the IV put in was far from pleasant.) I had an intern, nurse AND doctor checking my vitals, poking around and asking all sorts of questions. I am so glad Trent was there because inside, I was freaking out and had no idea what to expect. The doctor told me that he would be giving me morphin and zofran. I knew why I needed to Zofran but Morphin?? I didn't complain but I also didn't realize I needed it. 

They took me down to get an ultrasound to look at my gallbladder and appendix. By the time I got back into my room my wonderful brother, Hugh, had shown up. A few minutes later, my sweet parents were there. What felt like an eternity, about 45 minutes later, the doctor came in to tell me that my gallbladder was perfectly fine but that they needed to do a CT scan on my appendix. I was taken down to the CT scan room and then back to my family.

ANOTHER 45 minutes later…(EVERYTHING was 45 minutes) the doctor came in to tell me that there was some inflammation around my appendix and that they might be removing it the next day. Everything else looked fine (or so they thought) but they needed to keep me over night. 

My dad, Hugh and Trent gave me a beautiful blessing to calm my worried heart. It was such a blessing to be surrounded by 3 worthy priesthood holders who are such a big part of my life. I was then transported to my room for the night and around 1:00 I was asleep. They told me that if I were to get surgery that it would be around 10 in the morning. Well after a night of being woken up every 30 minutes to have vitals checked on, 6:00 AM rolled around and I was told that surgery was happened right NOW. 

A phone call was made to my parents, brother and Trent and I was on my way. Although I was exhausted and ready to go, I couldn't help but relate each doctor/nurse that came my way to a Grey's Anatomy character. Seriously though…being a huge Grey's Anatomy fan made this whole experience really interesting. Unfortunately, none of them were as handsome as Dr. McDreamy/Steamy and none were as sassy as the lovely Christina Yang. They FINALLY rolled me in the OR, put an oxygen mask on me and boom…I was out. 

I woke up in an unknown room and all I could think about was wanting a glass of water for my sore throat. It felt like I was in that room for hours. They rolled me down the hall and into my room where Trent and my mom were waiting for me. I was super out of it, so I don't remember most of that afternoon. I do remember throwing up a few times and being in a lot of pain. 

I was told that the lymph nodes around my appendix were about the size of a golf ball due to a virus. They still took out my appendix. There was also a cyst on my ovary and some old blood in some areas where it shouldn't have been. So I got a little more than I bargained for. 

After throwing up some more and getting as much rest as I could, I was able to get discharged and sent home. I came home to my loving family, Trent and creamies. Sleep felt impossible that night but it did feel good to be home.

It is now Thursday and it feels like yesterday I was enjoying a fun evening at FHE Monday night. This whole week has been a blur for me but I am so blessed. The surgeon told me that if I had waited another day or two, something could have burst and it would have been worse. I am so incredibly grateful for Trent for receiving that prompting to get me to the Instacare. I am also so grateful for my loving family who were right by my side the entire time. I am grateful for amazing friends who have stopped by to visit and bring me honey suckles. 

God is real and He is good. The priesthood is a beautiful thing and I am so grateful to be surrounded by it. 

So now you can all call me Madeline because I have a Madeline scar and I am pretty stoked about it!

This was taken at the beginning of this weird experience.