I finally did it.

Shortly after having Breckon I started noticing a dull pain below my sternum which seemed to come out of nowhere and would hang around for hours. At the time we were having trouble financially and weren't sure if we would get to keep our house, etc., so for the most part I wrote it off as stress and tried to dismiss it. The pain continued.

Well, fast forward a few months - the pain started coming on more and more and I thought it would do me some good to go talk with Dr. Thompson about it. So I made an appointment, he ordered some tests to be done and the conclusion was it could be this or that or something entirely different. Since he wasn't certain what the cause was, once again, I tried to put in the back of my mind and move on with life. I could deal with a little bit of pain, right? And I didn't think that it was really happening all that much to worry a whole lot about either. Besides, whats the harm in a little bit of pain - that was my thinking.

In July it gradually got worse. It was keeping me up about three to four times a week until 4 o'clock in the morning and then I would be just about worthless the next day from lack of sleep and fighting kids was the last thing I wanted to deal with after being up all night. I started keeping a food journal to see if I could pinpoint any real cause and nothing was panning out.

So the first of August I made yet another appointment with Dr. Thompson who ordered more tests and blood work. He called me at home one night and said 'you've got to definitely have surgery - it's for sure your gallbladder - talk to your dad and figure out who you would like to use and let me know if there is anything else I can help you with in the mean time'. What? Surgery? Me? Are you sure? Surgery was the last thing I wanted to have happen.

That night I talked with my dad and made an appointment with Dr. Wintch the next day. Well, long story short, they got me in sooner than I originally planned. And after talking with him and my dad again we decided to play it safe and have my gallbladder removed - before it caused any more problems.

So here I sit, one organ short, hoping that my 'recovery' phase will come sooner than later that I might still participate in the elk hunt later on this year with Kyle.