My First Medical Emergency - Strong Memorial Was There

For quite some time I have been suffering from occasional sever upper abdominal pains that lasted anywhere from a hour to several hours. The pain was excruciating and nothing eased it, except for a shot of painkiller at the emergency room. When I first experienced this pain in Boston I was diagnosed with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) for which I was given medication to take, probably for the rest of my life. The medication didn't exactly work perfectly, as I still had occasional attacks. I had a few attacks while living in Malaysia, which brought me to the ER, where I was given a shot of morphine and a diagnosis of gastritis. Last month I had an extremely bad attack one Thursday afternoon, which I tolerated until the next morning when Kevin brought me to URMC (University of Rochester Medical Center)-Strong West Emergency Room nearby in Brockport. Within minutes I was told that I had pancreatitis and very high levels on my liver function tests. Since they do not have inpatient beds there I was transferred by ambulance to URMC-Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

A short time later I had an ultrasound which showed I had an inflamed gall bladder full of gallstones, to go along with the inflamed pancreas. I was put on antibiotics and waited for the inflammation to subside before anything else was done. For 2 days I had nothing but IVs and pain killer. The third days I had water and jello, which tasted wonderful. On Sunday evening I was taken to the OR and had my gall bladder removed. The next evening I returned home, a bit sore, but minus my troublesome gallbladder.

I have to say that the doctors, surgeons and nurses at both Strong West Emergency Room and also Strong Memorial Hospital were fabulous. Everyone from my surgeon to the people who cleaned my room were kind, friendly and attentive. I can't thank them enough for making a bad situation a lot more bearable and even pleasant.I feel very secure now that I know we have such wonderful medical facilities so close to us.