I just moved from Indonesia to Australia, and am still in a motel in Perth, or was.

I'm now in a hospital in Darwin.

I flew from Perth to Alice Springs to Darwin to Dili, then caught a chopper for a 90 minute flight to the rig. By noon the next day I was hurting. One more day and I wanted to know where to go to surrender, and the customer ordered a Medivac chopper. A few hours later I'm sitting in a hospital waiting room wishing I was dead, and very close to getting my wish.

They went in about midnight, found it burst and gangrenous, pulled the dead sucker out, started pumping CO2, and cleaned up the puss.

As soon as I woke-up I felt good enough to walk out of the hospital. That feeling passed about 36 hours later. It's been going slow, but I think I'll make it.

So, for those of you, of any age who still have your appendix, here's what I felt.

1. If three or four times you feel your cell phone vibrating on your right hip, over your appendix, and you reach down to answer it, and your not wearing it. Your appendix is calling.

2. If you get indigestion and the pain covers an area about the size of a softball in your solar plexis. It could be the squid you just ate, or not.

3. If in the next twelve hours that pain has disappeared and shifted low on your right side. Your appendix is about to burst or has burst and you need an operation.

Below is a good link for more information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendicitis

Other than that, I've enjoyed my short stay in Australia.

Good thing we only have one appendix. Don't overdo it for a 4 or 5 weeks--the scar tissue needs a while to get tough. Those kind of life&death adventures aren't much fun.

Glad you are OK.

SSGraves155

It's different the way they did mine. They punched three holes; one above the appendix, one at the lower edge of the belly button, and one about 2" below the one by your belly button. The dead appendix is pulled out the belly button hole. The three wounds have internal stitches that dissolve. The skin is pulled together with steri-strips. The strips will fall off in the next day or two. The wounds have pretty well heeled. The surgeons do agree in one way. They said I won't feel like myself for a month.

I'm walking short distances, very slowly; so maybe I'm improving my stalking skills.

Don't they usually cut out the gall bladder too when doing the appendectomy? They did on my father. He lived to be 94.

I've still got my gall bladder.

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
I've still got my gall bladder.

That gives them something to get the next time......

Glad you're recovering. Give thanks to the drug companies for modern anti-biotics, otherwise you'd almost certainly be viewing daisies from the wrong side by now.

The most severe pain I have ever experienced was when mine burst.

I doan remember much about the chopper ride ...

but I do remember layin neked while 3 attractive nurses ordered me to pee or they would come in and get it. I didn't and they did.

After the operation I remember the doc tellin me, 'if you'd been 20yrs earlier, you'd be in the cooler by now.'

My life shifted gears during that time.

Gato

I agree.

The timing could have been worse. I was thinking last night what would have been the liklihood of a positive outcome if this had ocurred while hunting in Zimbabwe last September. It made me think maybe some of the med-i-vac insurance might not be a bad idea. As it is I have that service through my company, but didn't bother having a contact number for Zimbabwe/RSA. I think I will have that in my pocket next time I go hunting in Africa.

Kensco:

I've read a few times over the years of such people as long distance sailors having a prophylactic appendectomy. I don't know what one would cost on a "good" appendix but if it was half way reasonable it really is not that bad of an idea if one is going to be far removed from the availability of medical care. It is one of the relatively few things that can strike a completely healthy individual over which they have no control and is almost invariably fatal without medical intervention. You've had yours now, although I wouldn't call it prophylactic.