You're turning Violet, Violet!

If we were to look at the human body in a textbook, we would get the impression that our organs were all neatly spaced apart and brightly colored to help identify them. In real life, they tend to be all squished together, requiring a trained eye to pick them out. With laproscopic surgery, the team uses carbon dioxide gas to gently inflate the area they are working on, in order to have room to work. After they are done, they try to pump as much of the gas out as possible. Unfortunately for the patient, some of the gas naturally migrates to little nooks and crannies of our interiors. Once we are sewn up and made airtight, this gas can cause some serious discomfort before it exits through burping or ....well, don't make me say it.

One problem I experienced on Friday was great pain in my shoulder area anytime I sat down with my back against the chair. I was told that this was normal, and that walking would help remove the gas. So, we did laps around the hospital floor. Nothing seemed to help until the evening, when the gas started coming out. What a relief! My belly looked like I was pregnant, and I felt like I had just given birth....