Do you really need your Gallbladder???

Well, the answer to the question is no, but let me start at the beginning...

What a crazy few weeks that we have had. About 5 weeks ago, Wes began complaining of some very painful abdominal pains. Wes has a very high tolerance for pain and I was surprised to see him hardly able to stand it. He thought it would go away, but after a week we decided he should go to the doctor. I had read through our medical guide book and checked out his symptoms on the internet and told him I thought it was his gallbladder. When we couldn't get in to see our doctor (a huge annoyance), I suggested that he go to urgent care. When he agreed right away, I knew the pain was really bad.

Well, the brilliant medical professional at urgent care diagnosed him with a bacterial infection and gave him some pain meds and antibiotics and sent him on his way. Well, the problem never went away, and kept getting worse every time he ate.

Then the jaundice set in. How creepy is that to see. Wes's skin was totally yellow and his eyes pretty much would glow in the dark. Jaundice is another symptom of gallbladder problems. So, the next doctors appt was at the Gastroentinologist, where when given all of the symptoms and made aware of our recent trip to Peru, diagnosed Wes with Hepatitis A which could last for 6-9 months. Eek. Well after a full blood scan, they found no sign of any Hepatitis and with a CT scan they said they could not see anything wrong and that he was a mystery. Not really what we wanted to hear. But then wonderful Dr. Foutch looked at the CT scan and noticed a very large stone blocking his bile duct. Most people come in thinking they are dying with a 3-4 millimeter stone and the one Wes had was measuring over 6 millimeters. They could not believe he was standing. They scheduled him for the next day to take it out and they also wanted the gallbladder that produced the stone removed...ha, I knew it!

So, on Wednesday they did an out patient procedure where the stuck a tube and a camera down his throat, through his stomach and into the duct to remove the offending stone. This is a picture of the actual stone in his bile duct. While there, Dr. Foutch asked Wes when his appointment was to have his gallbladder removed. When Wes told him that he was doing that the next week because he was going on a camping/quad trip with his buddies over the weekend, the doctor gave him a look and said...you are not going anywhere. Wes was very sad, because it was the annual trip with his high school buddies and they had been planning it for a year. Plus he was the driver, and felt responsible to be there. But that was vetoed by the doctor and so he had his gallbladder removed by Dr. Rula that night at 1:00 am. It was a very long day for him and for me. Thank you to Christy for watching my kids all day, to Travis for watching my kids all night and to Travis and Stacy for watching the kids the next night so I could go see Wes.

I brought Wes home on Friday afternoon and he is doing great. He is very sore and will not even look at the five holes in his body, but he is enjoying the good drugs and doing too much already. We are hoping that his recovery is quick so we can be prepared for Case's tonsil and adenoid removal on the 29th. After that, I don't want to see a hospital for a long time...if ever!