Reality Check

We arrived back home on a Thursday evening. We’d both taken that Friday off to recoup from the travel, and we decided to have an easy, relaxing day at home… or so we thought. 

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Late Friday morning, Nick started feeling pretty crummy. His abdomen was in a lot of pain. There were no signs of Montezuma’s Revenge, so we didn’t think he picked something up in Mexico, but we weren’t sure. (On the bright side, thank God we were back stateside when this happened…)

By early afternoon, Nick’s condition was worsening. We had urgent care come to the house, but they were limited on what they could diagnose and how they could help. They gave him lidocaine to drink–I didn’t know that was a thing–to see if numbing his stomach lessened the pain.

If it did, that was a sign Nick was dealing with some form of gastroenteritis. They also gave him a large dose of extra-strength Tylenol. Before they left, they said if his condition didn’t improve in an hour, he should go to urgent care for more diagnostic testing. 

After an hour, Nick had two pains, in quick succession, where the pain shifted from the upper abdomen to the lower-left abdomen. After that, he started to improve. 

He decided he wanted to try and eat dinner, so I went and picked something up. By the time I got back home, Nick was curled up in the fetal position on the basement floor. It was time to go to urgent care. 

I scarfed down some food and fed the dogs while Nick changed into warmer clothes, and then we headed to the nearest Kaiser urgent care–40 minutes away. It was one of the longest car rides ever. Nick was moaning in pain and fighting nausea, and I was trying to drive quickly but safely. 

We finally arrived, and they took us back fairly quickly. They started giving Nick IV fluids and pain meds to make him more comfortable, and then they took him for a CT scan. 

The doctor came back about 20 minutes after the scan was done, and we had a diagnosis–Nick had pancreatitis. The urgent care center was about to close, so he recommended we go to the ER at St. Joseph’s in Denver so we could then be admitted to the hospital. Nick needed to be under observation for at least a couple of days. 

While this car ride was much less painful for Nick, his pain meds started wearing off right as we arrived at the ER. They did the intake process as quickly as they could, got us back to a room, and then we waited a few minutes until the doc came in. By this time, Nick was in a serious amount of pain again. 

I was unaware of this, but many of the doctors and nurses shared that pancreatitis is one of the most painful conditions. There’s not much they can do to treat it either; they can only provide IV fluids to support the body and pain meds to manage the pain. The body has to fight off the inflammation on its own.

In particular, our main ER doc said one of his professors in med school described the ailment this way… “Don’t f**k with the pancreas.” (Duly noted, sir!)

They finally got him back on fluids and pain meds, and not long after, we were transferred to a hospital room. We were there for the next five days. 

That first night, I had hoped to go home and get my contact solution and glasses, but I was told I wouldn’t be allowed back in since visiting hours ended at 8 p.m. I could stay the night, but I wouldn’t be able to leave and come back. 

The night nurse (shout out to Darlene!), was kind enough to get me a sterile cup filled with saline solution. I might not be able to see anything without my glasses, but at least I could take them out before I slept.

Fortunately, our room was equipped with a small couch that doubled as a twin bed. It honestly wasn’t too bad, so I stayed with Nick the whole time he was admitted.

I reached out to some friends to see if they could check on the pups and feed them the next morning, and then I did my best to get some sleep. (Thank you, Carrie and Stephen!) It was a rough night for Nick though. He’d wake up every couple of hours in pain, and the nurses did their best to keep him comfortable. 

Fortunately, the next day, I was able to go home and pack a bag for us both so we could shower and have clean clothes. It was nice to go home in the afternoons during Nick’s hospital stay. If for no other reason than to give the dogs some love. Poor Aurora and Harvey were just so confused as to why we’d left again immediately after coming home. 

Though the pups were on their own at night over the weekend, I had some great friends and neighbors who stopped by the house to give them some love (thank you, Stephen, Carrie, Jami, Dan, and Lorelei!).

Once we realized we’d be in the hospital past the weekend, I reached out to our friend and dogsitter, who’d stayed with them while we were in Mexico, and he agreed to come back and hang out with the dogs a couple more days until we came home. (Thank you, Brian!)

On Wednesday morning, we were finally able to go home. Nick was still in a little bit of pain, but we were able to manage it with a heating pad and some pain meds. He took the rest of the week off to recoup and continued to improve. 

Though it was an unpleasant experience, it did spur some major weight loss for Nick. He’s been pretty excited that he dropped 40 lbs. and has maintained it since recovering. The next time he wants to drop some weight, I’ll remind him that diet and exercise are the preferred methods…

I know I gave individual shout-outs throughout the post, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t once again thank all of my friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family who helped with the doggos, offered help, and sent us positive thoughts, vibes, and prayers during this time. It truly does take a village, and I’m so grateful to our village!