Ethan Tubbe

First post: Sep 29, 2016 Latest post: Oct 6, 2016
This is an overprotective, over-reactive mothers accounting of her only child's exploding appendix. 
On Sept 5th I took Ethan to the Allenmore emergency room because he had had what he thought was food poisoning for over a week that was getting worse. He began having symptoms on Saturday August 27th. He had eaten a pizza and immediately became ill with diarrhea and vomiting. His dad asked him all of the questions we know to ask as parents, like, where are the stomach cramps, are you able to keep anything down, how do you feel generally? Ethan did not have any specific pain, it was just a generally achy tummy. On the 29th I was supposed to pick him up from his dads but he texted me saying that he had food poisoning and wouldn't make it the whole drive home without vomiting, and then again Tuesday and Wednesday was the same. On Thursday he said he was feeling better and I could come get him. When I picked him, he was slightly pale but didn't look very sick. And other than what he said were residual stomach cramps, said he was finally able to keep down bland foods and water. So we loaded up on soup and gatorades on the way home and I figured he was on the mend. Through the weekend he was eating and drinking and looking better...until sunday. He said his stomach cramps were getting worse, starting to focalize in the lower right quadrant, but he didn't have a fever. He told me he was probably just constipated because he hadn't hardly taken in any fluids that day. Then the next day he said the pain was infinitely worse, up all night in pain worse (of course he doesn't wake me up and tell me this) so I asked where the pain was, completely focalized in the lower right, I took his temp, 102.8. And we were on our way to the emergency room at 10pm on Labor Day. 
The ER doctors took blood, placed an IV catheter, did an ultrasound and confirmed appendicitis. To me this was bad enough because Ethan had never had any illness other than minor colds and seasonal allergies. So surgery was a very scary prospect to me! Ethan wasn't worried of course, he was just glad that they had figured out what was wrong and it was an easy fix. So they transferred us to Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital just down the road where they did a CT scan and guess what?? His appendix had actually ruptured 3-4 days before and he had a large pus filled mass in his belly. Our time has basically been spent here 24/7. His dad and I have traded off spending every minute with him through all the ups and downs. 
His doctor had hoped to put surgery off for another 3-4 weeks but his body wasn't tolerating that at all, so she pulled the trigger and decided to take it out.
Apparently Ethan decided go big or go home! 

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