I have been asked by many people “What Happened”, so I am going to be writing about that in the next couple of days. Just as information, there is a lot of “TMI” in these posts but it is necessary to the story.

I think I had been sick since about October, but when I went to the doctor in December, she put me on a round of cipro and flagyl. I took them, but never really felt quite right since then. I had several bouts of constipation, but was still able to “go”.  I was taking a dose of Miralax every morning with breakfast, and I was at least feeling better, if not good.

Then, in April, we started on our trip from Georgia to Arizona. It is difficult to stay on a regular schedule for meals, and even more difficult to stay on a regular schedule for taking medications when you travel, especially something like Miralax that needs to be mixed with water. I really tried to stay on schedule with it, but got off that schedule.

After we arrived at the Grand Canyon on April 19, I had nothing to do until time to go to work on May 8. I got somewhat back on my daily schedule, but then, around May 1, I got where I couldn’t “go”. I couldn’t have a bowel movement. This continued for over a week.

I went to work on the first day of work, but was in so much pain I could barely sit still. My abdomen was distended and tight, and felt sore. I couldn’t button my pants. And no matter what I tried, I couldn’t do the deed.

On May 9, I told Fabgrandpa that he needed to take me to the doctor in Kanab, Utah, 85 miles away. We went down to the medical clinic there. The doctor there told me to take magnesium citrate, a powerful laxative, for two days in a row, and said that should take care of the problem. I went home and took the first bottle of that stuff, and four hours later I was throwing up but there was no bowel movement at all.

I couldn’t even think about getting the second bottle of magnesium citrate to my lips to drink it the next day, so I called the doctor in Kanab to ask what else we could do. By this time, I was in a lot of pain, and my abdomen was even more distended. He left orders for me to come in as an outpatient at the emergency room for an enema.

We went back down to Kanab, and I submitted myself for the enema. The nurse filled me up with that enema bag five times, and nothing passed. I did throw up again, but no bowel movement. I was in so much pain. I begged the nurse there at Kane County Medical Center to do something else, but she told me I had come in as an Outpatient, and there was nothing more she could do other than the orders the doctor had left for me.

I told her I was through being an outpatient, and was now checking in as an emergency room patient, but they refused to see me! The told me there was nothing they could do for me, and sent me home! I was so upset that they could do that. Anyway, Fabgrandpa took me the 85 miles home, where I tossed and turned and didn’t sleep much. Somewhere around daylight, I woke him up and told him he was going to have to take me to the emergency room in Flagstaff, 200 miles away.

Fabgrandpa wasn’t keen on the idea of driving to Flagstaff, but I told him if we didn’t go I would die. I firmly believe that if we had not gone to Flagstaff Medical Center I would have died. It had now been about a week and a half since I had been able to have a bowel movement.

Tomorrow: The Flagstaff Medical Center Emergency Room