UPDATE: Jenny is out of surgery and resting in her room. Everything went great, and she is testing out some graham crackers and Sprite. Despite some soreness and discomfort, overall she feels pretty good and looks forward to a real meal.

==========================================

It’s amazing how quickly your life can change. Tuesday night Jenny and I put Brenden to bed, had a nice dinner, and played some Wii before I went to work. A few hours later, Jenny texts me to report horrible abdominal pain, worse than labor had been a year ago (!). We went to the doctor Wednesday morning after I finished my shift and then to Baylor Irving for a sonogram. Diagnosis: gallstones. Yikes! Apparently pregnancy significantly increases a woman’s chances of gallstones due to changes in hormone levels and digestion. Thursday morning we met with a surgeon and agreed to have Jenny’s gallbladder removed. Right now we’re at Baylor Irving, and Jenny is in the operating room for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or gallbladder removal through tiny incisions in her abdomen. She hasn’t eaten anything but Jello since Tuesday night, so she’s both hungry and lethargic. Lisa came by to check Newbie’s heartrate before surgery, which we greatly enjoyed. Her anesthesiologist is my parents’ next-door neighbor. I’m taking advantage of Baylor’s free Wi-Fi while I wait. Dr. Clifford will meet me back here around 10:45am with an update while Jenny is in recovery. I’ll update you guys later.

A few random thoughts:

• I am SO thankful to live in America, have good medical insurance, and have access to quality health care with so little wait. In less than 2.5 days Jenny went from excruciating pain to the OR in a top-notch hospital with skilled doctors and nurses. Had we lived in another country, we might have been waiting for weeks to reach this point. If we lived in rural Africa or another poorly developed area, she might have to endure the stones permanently.
• Jenny might or might not need to significantly alter her diet without a gallbladder, which helps the body break down fat molecules. Some people need to nearly eliminate fatty foods. Others can keep a pretty normal diet. She’ll have to experiment a bit to see what her body can handle.
• Of all the times during the pregnancy for this problem to pop up, this is ideal since she’s in her second trimester. Surgery during the first trimester is too risky because the baby is developing his major organs. During the third trimester there’s not enough room to perform this surgery safely. The second trimester is the only available time.