Thanksgiving and Why I Hate the Gall Bladder

So, Thanksgiving went great.

L's lingering pain - particularly when tired and in the car - forced us to stay home rather than travel to Indiana to be with L's family. Fortunately, my family had not made any concrete plans and I was able to volunteer for my traditional job as Thanksgiving cook.

We managed to get our cooking disaster out of the way early this year with only about a quart of brine covering the bottom of my fridge and pantry floor. Adjustments were made and brining continued. So, when the day arrived everything was ready.

The traditional seafood brunch (Medvick Manor Thanksgiving features 2 major meals to allow an attendee to leave for another side of his / her family as needed) was this year featuring and array of tuna, big shrimp, and sea scallops with a side of spinach risotto.

L confirmed that she still does not like seared tuna, but loves scallops and shrimp. J1 enjoyed his ham and bacon as he watched jealously (silly allergies - he loves tuna but it tries to kill him). J2 politely tried one of each and, while acknowledging that none was actually poisonous, saw no need to take a second of anything.

Following brunch, I pulled the turkey from the brine and got it into the oven. Having smashed the potatoes earlier (yay, potato ricer!) and with Mom bringing the salads, all was ready. After just a few hours, the family was rewarded with a juicy, golden brown bird filled with flavor. Dinner came and went with laughter and chat.

After dessert of pie and cheesecake (provided by Mom/Sister/Niece and J1's girlfriend) we settled in and played games and watched "Up".

Long about 12:30, my night took a dramatic turn. L's gall bladder, a heretofore insignificant aspect of my life decided it had been ignored long enough. I had always assumed that L had a gall bladder; I had simply never concerned myself with it. I had never before had to notice its existence, a fact that it was now correcting with alarming force.

I have been blessed to see L give birth naturally twice, and while those moments were special, they featured a remarkable amount of pain. This was so much worse. L went from just quietly cooling down with me and prepping for bed to screaming in agony in no more than 30 seconds. A minute or so later, I was dialing 911 and the squad was on the way. No more than 10 minutes later, she was on her way to the ER. Because gallstones and heart attacks present in almost identical (outward) symptons, the paramedics wasted no time in having Laurie on a stretcher and out the door. I cannot praise the fine work of Richfield's EMS crew enough. Throughout my life, they have always come in and made things better quickly and professionally.

Gathering a few items togehter, I left the house to follow the ambulence. I got in to see Laurie just in time to watch them push morphine and pepcid through her central line and while it lessened the pain she still hurt. They came in and took an EKG and then I sat down and checked out. I had a tiny amount of sleep the night before as I prepped dinner and the house, so by 2 am the next night, I was done. I fell asleep on one those wheeled doctor's stools with head on a counter. Laurie's pain finally eased around 4 and we got home around 5.

I have now done enough research to develop an appreciation for the gall bladder, but also an absolute hatred for it. I am starting a campaign to evolve something better. It turns out that gallstones are basically going to happen, they are a pretty natural side effect of the whole bile concentration thing that is the reason we have a gall bladder. Not that everyone is going to end up screaming in pain, but the possibility is pretty clearly there.

Also, I am again amazed again that the best solution developed so far is the heavy handed "take it out" solution. Granted, it's effective, but the concentrated bile form the gall bladder is much more efficient than the bile directly from the liver. It seems to me that there should be a way to remove the problem without removing the organ. If the gallstones recur, then take it out, why start with this as the solution? I get why L will do it, but why is there no better way being devised?