The Rockies: The Ending

Okay, I’ve put it off long enough. I’ve managed to prolong our vacation through these photo posts, but now I’ve come to the end. Not that there won’t be more photo posts about the Rockies, but they can wait.

So during that first day in Yellowstone, when we saw bison, elk, wolves, a bear, and mud volcanoes and sulfur pots, I was pushing cheerios on B, because I thought that by now his stomach was hurting from not having had anything in it for two days. It still hurt, and when we insisted he come out of the RV to see something awesome, he came, he saw, and he went right back onto the couch.

That evening I made him some rice, and he complained that it was boring. I told him that was a good sign. Maybe tomorrow he’d be ready for some real food.

However, the next morning he still had a belly ache. It could no longer be a stomach flu or something he ate, or an empty stomach working on nothing, so we took him to the clinic. The doctor there said he didn’t have the typical symptoms of appendicitis (Which is why we never thought he had appendicitis), but that we should have it checked out, at either Jackson Hole or Cody.

Cody was closer, so we drove there; B had a CT scan and blood tests and the whole rigmarole, and we learned that his appendix had ruptured. He went straight to surgery. His appendix was in pieces, all over the place, and the pieces were necrotic. It had probably ruptured more than a day ago.

So we felt badly about that, but what you have to understand about B is that he’s very introvert. So he had just been complaining that his belly hurt. How bad is it? we would ask. It hurts pretty bad, he’d reply. Everyone we’ve talked to since has had stories of appendicitis and being bent double, or crying in pain, etc. B was never bent double or crying. Now we know that he’s not only an introvert; he’s also pretty darn tough.

Of course, that was the end of our vacation. After the operation he was in the hospital for four days, and T and I took turns sleeping there with B and sleeping in the RV with R.

During the day one of us went out with R and saw some sights, but our hearts weren’t in it. Still, Cody is a cool little town that promotes itself as the center of the wild west. There’s a museum of the Plains Indians, and an outdoor museum with buildings of historic interest, like Jeremiah Johnson’s log cabin, and the Sundance Kid’s grave. T saw those with R.

R and I saw a reenacted shootout in front of Buffalo Bill Cody’s hotel, and I can tell you it’s not worth your time. The acting and blocking are so bad that it will disappoint any teen or adult, and younger children are scared of the loud bangs from the guns. It’s carried out by what seems to be the local biker crowd, for charity, and that’s nice, but I expected something more professional. I drank moose drool, though, so at least I can say that. Okay, it’s actually a beer, but it’s still cool. Moose Drool.

B was discharged on the Sunday morning that was supposed to be our last vacation day (we had planned to have two more days in Yellowstone, one day in Cody, and two days for driving back home), and we all stayed in a hotel room that night. On Monday B and I flew back home and T and R drove the RV back. They had a blowout on Tuesday, and another on Wednesday, but they made it home on Thursday, late at night.

We were so glad to all be together again! T, R and I spent Friday morning emptying out the RV and returning it to the rental place, and T and I went out that night. On Saturday night we went to a play, all four of us, finally doing something fun all together. And B had been pain-free since Tuesday.

On Sunday B complained of cramps in his sides, so we went to the emergency room, and he has been in the hospital again ever since. He had surgery on Monday morning (abcessed fecaliths from the appendix) and is slowly recovering. So the same thing all over again, only this time recovery is slower (B is in more pain) because they had to root around more and deeper than before.

In the meantime school has started, so again, T and I take turns staying in the hospital at night while the other goes home with R and takes her to school the next morning.

 I promised that all would be revealed, and this was it, the reason for the long silence halfway the Rockies posts. It sucks. I think I’ll do another Rockies post tomorrow, just to escape some more. And after that I will have plenty to write about the hospital experience.