It hurt in a way I’d never felt before. It was a sharp, narrow pain that started inside, at the belly button, and traveled up internally to behind the sternum. I had all sorts of stories going on through my head. The loudest of which was, “I tore a hole in my intestine.” The other old, overused tale was, “I’m being a wimp. Just tough it out and go to work tomorrow.” I even put myself to bed, only to struggle to find a position that didn’t just relieve the pain but kept it from intensifying. By 12:30 AM, I resigned to the fact I had utterly failed.

I came downstairs and informed Tina I needed to go to the ER. The drive to the hospital was an intimate introduction to every little seam, crack, and bump in the road. Though I had been empathetic when Tina experienced the same thing when her back was acting up, I now also understood her experience. Let’s just say I experienced an AFGE (Another Fucking Growth Experience). But, seriously, Existence, did it have to be about physical pain? Couldn’t I have gained growth from a less painful experience?

Sigh.

Obviously not.

Anyway, arriving at the ER, my emotional weather swinging about like a rope ladder in a storm, I awaited the CAT Scan that would inform me of the appendicitis I was experiencing. Because I didn’t act out the overused tale of going to work the next day, I managed not to have a ruptured or perforated appendix. However, catching appendicitis early meant not needing to be rushed into emergency surgery, resulting in a 10-hour wait until a surgery team and surgery room were available. Thankfully, the antibiotics worked a miracle; with the Torodal and Tylenol, I no longer experienced discomfort.

After the surgery, I only requested an opiate once, right after coming out of the surgery, because that was when I felt extreme discomfort. Otherwise, the blockers they gave me before the surgery did their job, and I only needed Tylenol. And by the time the blockers wore off, the pain had naturally subsided. The surgery occurred on Thursday, and I could return to work by Monday the following week. The surgeon told me I could resume running by Monday. But I decided to wait for the two-week follow-up call from the surgery department to see how I was doing.

The reason I finally decided to go to the ER was due to the pain approaching migraine levels of extreme discomfort.