Got 2 gallstones removed from my bile duct by ERCP procedure - one 7mm, one 2mm. Most likely the blockage of the duct was the cause of years of gastroenterology problems for me - acid reflux, heartburn, abdominal pain. Right after the removal of stones, my liver function improved and abdominal pain disappeared. Then yesterday I underwent a surgery that removed the gallbladder entirely, to prevent further complications caused by gallstones. Those stones could walk to different organs, such as the pancreas, and cause severe complications.
During my 3-day stay in the hospital, I learned:
1.
Gallbladder is such a culprit for many people. All of my on-site doctors and surgeon told me the same story: people had pain somewhere - shoulder, chest, back, even went for shoulder replacement surgery, but only after removing gallbladder, the pain finally stopped. GI issues could be highly related to gallbladder, as in my case. Operation Room prep nurse told me every day there are multiple cases of gallbladder removal surgery in the hospital I'm staying and other hospitals she worked for was the same. People came from both(all) genders and all ages, young and old.
Doctor told me the "4F theory" - Female, Forty+, Fertile (who had babies), Fat. It's a combination for gallbladder issue high probability, very common among people who fit multiple factors of the "4F".
2.
Raj is such a sweetheart. He insisted and forced me through this: booked multiple appointments with PCP, GI specialist, went with me to the early appointments; took me to ED when pain persisted; kept calling PCP and GI so they contacted the hospital during our 2nd trip to ED so I got a room as I walked in, did multiple tests right away hence was admitted into the hospital within hours. The thing is, even with multiple ultrasounds, nobody can tell what was really wrong, only after admission into the hospital I was given MRI test and the stone was confirmed. Raj believes in America you have to push through to get proper medical attention and treatments, seemed so true.
I used to always blame my heartburn on him, but he's the one who juggled home, hospital and work to take care of children and me; constantly in conversations with all doctors, nurses and surgeon for clarity, questions and follow ups; washed my poopy underwear, wiped my butt, changed my gown, cleaned my bed and massaged my body; ordered and fed me food, made me urinate successfully, and cared for me when I was highly sedated and unresponsive for 14 hours after the gallbladder removal surgery.
3.
I owe my life to medical caregivers, all of us owe our lives to medical caregivers. They are the true angels walking on earth. Due to the number of tests and procedures I underwent in a short few days, I encountered at least 70, 80 different caregivers. All of them are genuinely sweet and gentle, very happy and open people too. They cared for me intensively, they sincerely answered all of our concerns, and of course, because of their esteemed expertise, I could finally get back my health, and that is everything to me - without health, there's no happiness and prosperity.
I noticed in America, at least in California, the healthcare industry is built by immigrants; 95% of the nurses, doctors, and surgeons are first or second-generation immigrants. When I was in alert but not sedated mode, I loved to chat with all of them. "Where you originally from? What's the stories back in your home country?" My curiosity always put a wide smile and laughters on their faces as they told me the stories of their lives. I also never missed a chance to show my deepest gratitude to all of them, even when I was in the long after-effect of general anesthesia.
When I was lying on the operating table in the completely lit operation theater that's filled with machines, arms and scary giant lights. I told the doctors and nurses who were prepping me, "I've never done this before (body being cut open)". Then two men, one my anesthesia doctor, one Operation Room nurse came into my sight, looked into my eyes and assured me: "Don't worry, we will be here the entire time for you! I'm going to watch each of your breath/ heartbeat!" I replied a relaxed "Thank you so much" then passed out (for the next 14 hours).
4.
Women can tolerate a lot of pain. We started experiencing regular menstrual pain at 10, 12 years old; women's pleasure from penetrating intercourse is always mixed with pain; and we are conditioned by a male-dominated society to keep the pain to ourselves and not complain. In this patriarchal world, the majority of medical resources are used to study men's bodies and men's diseases; there is, by nature, way less awareness and resources on women's health. Therefore, more women are suffering in silence, we are used to popping painkillers, and ignoring and wishing away the pain, and often minor pain eventually develops into incurable diseases.
Even though I am a single child growing up, China is a highly patriarchal society, self-sacrifice is "one of the good traits of a good girl/woman", I am also used to suffering physical pain in silence, and wish not to bring upon too much attention by complaining, especially after I became a mother. Thus, you can imagine how I suffered years of GI problems with my gallstone being 7mm big, stuck in my duct. Luckily, the stones were in my duct but not in other organs, which could cause severe complications, even cancer.
Right before I went to ED for the second time, it was a Wednesday morning, and I taught my TK kids musical storytime for one hour, in severe pain. Merely 24 hours after my gallbladder removal surgery, I was almost off painkillers, but only 200mg Ibruprofen for whenever I needed, once or twice a day tops.
Is it right? How to change this problem? This is my question to you.
5.
Men who are calm, gentle, and soft are the most attractive to me. I've been realizing this factor about myself for a while now. This time my main nurse who took care of me for three days straight is a man like this. He is from Guangdong, China, when there was nobody around, we chatted in Mandarin. He is calm, soft spoken, very gentle with his hands and movements, and gave me a lot of additional information and reminders, which made me understand the reasons behind and be aware of certain medical choices.
He always walked in very quiet steps, knocked, opened and closed the door lightly; he would never turn on the light coming into my room, he worked with whatever light was originally in the room; he would take his time explaining his next moves on me, either listening my chest or checking my feet; he would discuss with me in advance what are the options for different types of painkillers, anti-nausea meds and food/liquid.
Overall, I'm having a great stay during this hospital trip!
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