Traveling after a Laparoscopic Appendectomy

Last Saturday night they performed a Laparoscopic Appendectomy upon me. They found my burst appendix itself disappeared completely with where it should have been a pus pocket that my body had created to isolate the infection to only one location on my body. Then through the use of laparoscopic appendectomy the removed the pus pocket and all surrounding infection and then created a drain with the use of a "genade" which is a plastic device that when compressed creates a slight constant sucking which drains fluids that need to be exited the body. I had a "plastic grenade" doing this for at least 3 days after my surgery.

Then when my doctor and a student LVN wanted to pull my tubing and grenade, I asked to do it myself so I could cause myself less pain than they would. So, I did. The doctor had never seen this done before ever. I told her I also delivered my first two biological children. (What I didn't tell her was that no hospital, doctors or nurses were present at the birth of my son just my wife and I (that's all). However, we had taken a

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before the two of us delivered our son alone then in May of 1974.

However, when I went to drive home I had two problems:

I knew my stomach was very sensitive. I had already thrown up once since leaving the hospital and I was having trouble staying hydrated and staying warm enough as well because of the mountain colds of 26 to 30 degrees at night up there in Mt. Shasta right now.

So, though I knew I would have to eventually take 2 anti-biotics my doctor at Mercy Hospital had given me, I also knew at the same time that if I started those same anti-biotics and tried to travel south the likely outcome would be that I would be re-admitted to the hospital there in Mt. Shasta.

So, I resolved not to take anti-biotics until I reached my home on the far northern California Coast about 7 to 8 hours away by car.

So, this is what I did. It all went much smoother yesterday even than I had anticipated (UNTIL)

I tried to go to bed and found I was in pain in my guts from all the jostling driving south. I had to take my first pain medicine as I laid down to sleep last night to be able to sleep at all. 

And then again the pain was incredible this morning as well now that I'm home on the northern California coast so I just took another pain medication.

However, I didn't have to be put into the hospital up there again, nor did I stop coming home. Instead I'm here taking my full strength anti-biotics (2 of them) especially formulated to simulate the IV Anti-biotics they were giving me in the hospital to prevent infections associated with a burst appendix like I had.