On Monday Ainsley came home from school not feeling well. She progressively got worse until at 12:30am she was doubled over in pain with a 104 degree fever. I took her in to see her doctor on Tuesday. This was the third episode of pain like this since November, so her doctor decided to do some lab work but stuck with her opinion that Ainsley was developing food allergies. She couldn't explain the fever but felt the stomach pains were food related. After a bunch of lab work and x-rays she sent us home with a diagnosis of acute sinusitis and a gluten sensitivity.
I have been incredibly frustrated over the last three months because Ainsley has not completely been herself, and the gluten sensitivity just didn't make sense to me because the stomach episodes didn't happen each time she ate something that contained gluten. Each time I've taken her to the doctor I've asked if it was possible that she was having problems with her appendix. Each time we were sent home. No one thought it could be appendicitis. I kept having the thought come to my mind that I needed to keep asking about appendicitis. I felt like a broken record or a neurotic mother, but I kept asking.
After being sent home on Tuesday I was feeling more and more uneasy about the diagnosis. I called her doctor and asked once again if she was certain it wasn't appendicitis. Her doctor decided we needed to see a surgeon just to make sure. She immediately sent us to a pediatric surgery center. When we saw the surgeon he was certain it was not appendicitis but decided to do an ultrasound just to see what was going on in her belly. They couldn't find her appendix on the ultrasound. The surgeon was still sure it wasn't appendicitis but wanted to admit her to Dell Children's Hospital because she was dehydrated, and they still weren't sure what was going on.
appendicitis but decided to do an ultrasound just to see what was going on in her belly. They couldn't find her appendix on the ultrasound. The surgeon was still sure it wasn't appendicitis but wanted to admit her to Dell Children's Hospital because she was dehydrated, and they still weren't sure what was going on.
Once we were settled in her room half a dozen doctors came in to try to figure out what should be done. Again I asked about appendicitis, and again they said it wasn't appendicitis. They decided she was probably developing some sort of bowel disease and started doing more lab work on her. That night was miserable. She felt horrible and was begging me to take her home.
The next morning one of the student doctors came in (it's a teaching hospital). I asked him if he and his team could tell me that they knew 100% it was not appendicitis. He said they didn't think that's what it was, but he would talk to his team about my concerns. Shortly after, the surgeon who saw her the previous day came in to see if there was any improvement. Continuing to feel like a broken record I asked him if he could tell me he was 100% sure that it wasn't appendicitis. He said he still didn't think it was, but they were going to go ahead and do a CT scan on her. He wanted to look at her colon and said they'd look at her appendix as well. As soon as the results came back from the scan Ainsley was rushed to surgery. Not only was it appendicitis, but they thought her appendix had already ruptured.
It was strange. Although, Ainsley was being rushed to surgery, I was so relieved that I was almost giddy. I was so happy that it wasn't some GI disorder that would remain with her for the rest of her life (they were talking about Crohn's disease). I was so grateful that even though it took three months to diagnose, I continued to receive promptings to ask about appendicitis. I was beyond relieved that the doctors finally listened to me and did the test which would show for certain that it was or was not appendicitis. I am 100% positive Ainsley has been having trouble with her appendix since November. I think she probably has a strong immune system that kept fighting back but just couldn't fight anymore on Monday night.
When she came out of surgery the surgeon came to me and told me that this experience was very humbling for him. He felt bad that he hadn't diagnosed it the day before. He said he pulled her appendix out in two pieces. Because her appendix ruptured her recovery and hospital stay will be longer. We've been here for four days, and they don't seem in any hurry to send her home. The more I've thought about this, the more I'm having to really try to control how upset I might become over this whole ordeal. It's hard to believe that so many doctors working together couldn't figure out what was wrong, and it took my pestering them over and over again to finally get the right diagnosis.
Instead I'm trying to focus on how grateful I am that she will recover and finally be back to her old spunky self. Instead I'm trying to focus on all the love and concern our family and friends have shown towards us. Instead I'm trying to focus on how grateful I am to have the guidance of the Holy Ghost in my life and how I know that it wasn't just a mother's intuition but Heavenly Father's concern for Ainsley that guided me to continue to question the doctors
This experience has been utterly exhausting, but I know it's just a small amount of time in the grand scheme of things. Sooner or later we'll be back at home fully functioning again, and if Ainsley keeps getting visitors like this to cheer her up I think it will be sooner rather than later.
Update: Ainsley was released from the hospital on Monday the 18th. She's still recovering at home, but she's feeling so much better. Hopefully she'll be on her feet and back at school before too long. She's missing school and her friends like crazy.
