If you have any of these symptoms, don’t be stupid like me and hope that they will go away. Do the right thing and call your doctor.
Day 1
Why do men fight the truth? Why do men ignore the inevitable? Why are men so reluctant to get help when it is obviously needed?
I’m writing this from a hospital bed. I’ve been here for over 12 hours and I’m not sure when I’m going home. I’m here because I’ve been fighting the truth, ignoring the inevitable, and I refused to ask for help.
My stomach cramps turned out to be acute diverticulitis. I discovered this the hard way. Don’t let this happen to you.
It started about a week ago. I was experiencing painful stomach cramps and I was waking up several times each night for four nights to make painful trips to the bathroom.
I was taking all sorts of over the counter medications for my symptoms but I was not getting better.
Finally my wife Margee, my Angel of Mercy, had had enough and calmly demanded that we visit the local hospital emergency room.
We checked in and a nurse checked my vitals and drew a few blood samples. We were told it would be a while before the results came back so Margee left to run a few errands.
An hour later a young resident showed up to tell me that my white blood cell count was low--an indication that I had an infection. He said they needed to perform a CAT scan to get more data.
I was starting to get a little afraid.
After the CAT scan, the doctor told me they were keeping me in the hospital because I had acute diverticulitis and an abdominal abscess.
“Surgery,” he said, “is required to make things right.”
