We finally have a matching set, my sister, who is the youngest of us four siblings had her gallbladder removed yesterday, so now the four of us have had our gallbladders removed surgically. I say it a little jokingly and I am really glad we live in a time where gallbladder surgery is more of a nuisance than a life altering event, but I guess it can still be deadly if left untreated.
I wasn't really aware that my sister was going through the pains I went through about ten years ago, but last week she went to the doctor for a test and she found out it was her gallbladder that needed to be removed. My mom then said something about doing it in the summer, I guess when she has time off, but then a few days later, I was told it was scheduled for this week on Wednesday (yesterday). This didn't give us time to really react, I guess if it was more serious we would have gone and stood around, but this type of surgery is so routine that as she said, she went into the operating room at 9:40am and was released from the hospital by noon. There are movies that last longer nowadays. This is also the age of Covid and much like when my mom went to the hospital after a terrible fall last year, the hospital won't even accept visitors, so we stayed in contact with our phones, which have become a great connection more recently. We are all in a group text and about daily we are all posting comments, jokes, opinions and arguments, of course, to keep in contact.
The worst procedure between us was my younger brother who was in the hospital for a week after his gallbladder ruptured and the nasty stuff inside spilled some inside his guts, so he was kept to control the aftermath. I vaguely remember going to the hospital in San Antonio at the time. Wife said mine was taken at about the last minute as the surgeon said it kind of fell apart when it was being removed, but I was still in and out in a couple of hours like my sister. I don't think I have had many complications from the removal of it. If anything, I feel I am better for it, I poop once a day most of the time, which is a great convenience, I think. I used to run to the bathroom 2-3 times a day, not sure if the two are related though.
Wife did have an uncle that passed away a few years ago from a ruptured gallbladder and our small town's inability to handle it at the local hospital, so it can still be deadly. He was a good man with a big loving family, it wasn't a great way to go considering the gallbladder seems like a useless organ, but that is how the body works. I remember suffering with the pain of attacks for about 6 months I would get randomly and it felt like I was dying for a time (about an hour in length), then it would suddenly just go away. I also hear some people don't have these smaller attacks, so some people aren't warned that it needs attention.
Still, all in all, I am glad I talked to my sister last night and she sounded like she was on the mend. She had already gotten out of bed and walked, so that sounds like a good sign. Hopefully, it stops being an issue for her.
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