A week ago, last night my son, Alex, called me crying in pain.  Just thirty minutes earlier he and I were kibitzing on the phone.  Initially he was incoherent, and I had to just listen and soothingly ask him to slow down.  He described his pain that suddenly hit him as the worst GAS pain he ever had.  I tried using my coaching skills to help him through this.  Unfortunately, he had nothing at home to take for GAS pain!

I suggested he call EMS.  I may be “doctor-mom” at home, but I’m not a doctor.  He suffered for 12 hours before he called EMS.  Once in the ER they aggressively attempted to identify the pain source and quickly ruled out any heart issues despite the pain across his chest.  However, the ultrasound pointed to his gallbladder, and yet they continued to run tests to confirm it was gallbladder, and they finally gave him morphine to mask the pain.  The surgeon came in around 6 pm (21 hours after this pain started) and discussed removing his gallbladder.

My husband and I searched for airline tickets to take us from Cleveland to Dallas so we could be there with Alex.  Leaving Cleveland at 7 am we got to Dallas by 10:30 and went directly to the hospital to find Alex waiting for surgery.  They finally took him into surgery at 1:30 pm, and the plan was to do a robotic gall bladder removal that would be less invasive.  However, the doctor found his gallbladder to be 2 to 3 times its size filled with stones, the gallbladder was ripe to burst and if it had it could have been fatal!  So, a one-hour procedure turned into 3 hours.

Alex’s dad left for home on Tuesday morning, and I am here in Fort Worth until Sunday morning.  Each day he shows signs of healing and taking less pain medication as well.

I’ve had this great opportunity to spend time with my son in his home which has limited furnishings which has tested my ability to get comfortable on an air bed and sitting on a patio type chair.  But all is good, and I enjoy his company when he is not sleeping, tweeting, or playing a video game.

Today we took a UBER to his office so he could organize his arrangements to work from home for at least the next week. At his office today not one person, but everyone I met shared their love for Alex.  Until today, the staff only knew he was sick but would be OK, his boss and HR knew the extent of it. So, as he shared his story of what has transpired in the last week, they were all so glad to know he really would be OK, and pleased to see that I was around to help him through this week.

When Alex left our home in December to drive the 1000 miles to Texas I cried like a baby, and thought my heart was broken forever.  However, as any parent knows when your child leaves to follow their dreams, time will prove that your heart will heal.  My heart began the healing process with each phone call hearing his voice and sharing his experiences.

However, the night of Wednesday, April 5^th brought me the emotional pain Alex was suffering physically.  Although I insisted, he call EMS he was choosing to suffer rather than go to the hospital and as he said, spend money… All I could 1000 miles away was attempt to comfort him as he asked me to stay on the phone with him, hoping the pain would subside.  Tonight, I feel such relief that my son is healing and prospering.  He is where he should be, creating his career path and living life on his own.  Now I realize his father and I taught him well, and I am proud of the man he is, even without a gallbladder!