Around 4:00 PM on Monday August 2, 2010, I began to feel a dull pain in my stomach. I shrugged it off as if it was just a normal cramp or a hunger pain. After dinner, the pain got worse. I laid down on my couch to watch television in order to get my mind off of this mysterious pain. Finally, around 8:00 I told my parents that it was getting worse and worse. My dad, the rational one, told me to go to the bathroom because it was probably just gas pains. My mom on the other hand was not convinced. She began to research what this abdominal pain could mean. When I tried to get off of the couch to go to my bedroom, I could not stand up for my stomach hurt so bad. My mom began rattling off various things that could be happening to my body. She eventually came across appendicitis symptoms. Sure enough, I met the criteria. After a phone call to my pediatrician, a sign of a fever, and two hours later, my parents carried me to the car and raced to Golisano Children’s Hospital. The next morning I was taken into surgery and by noon on Tuesday August 3, 2010, I was without an appendix.

Ever since that day, I have wondered how I could live without my appendix. I constantly hear that the appendix is useless. Obviously it isn’t important right now because I have survived without it for five years now. But I have always been curious as to why I am functioning appendix-less. Why did I get appendicitis? If the organ is useless, why did it get infected?

The symptoms of an appendicitis are pretty straight forward. They include:

1.  abdominal pain that moves to the right of the abdomen
2. Nausea and/or vomiting
3. Fever of 99-102 degrees F
4. Pain during urination
5. Excruciating cramps
6. Constipation or diarrhea

Personally, I experienced 1, 3, and 5. Another symptom that was not listed on this site that I experienced is the inability to stand up straight without pain. However, despite the many symptoms, diagnosing an appendicitis proves to be very difficult. There are many other issues that go along with the symptoms listed above that are not appendicitis. Doctors need to run many tests before they can conclude that appendicitis is the case. These tests and procedures include:

1. “Physical exam to assess your pain”
   1. During this examination, doctors “apply gentle pressure on the painful area.” When the pressure is released, the pain should feel worse. This was the case for me. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most painful, I told the doctors I was at a 9 and one point.
2. Blood tests
3. Urine Tests
4. Imaging tests

After the doctors ran 1-3 on me, they took me to get an ultrasound. However, my gallbladder was blocking my appendix so the ultrasound didn’t show anything. They also looked at my ovaries in case I had an ovarian cyst. Since the ultrasound was unsuccessful I was later given a CT scan. Before a CT can be done, there is certain protocol that doctors have to follow. Preparation for the patient includes:

1. No food or drink for a couple of hours before scan
2. Removal of metal objects from the body
3. Ingestion of contrast material
   1. Contrast material is a “special dye” that “highlights the areas of your body being examined.” Every 30 minutes for about a few hours I was forced to drink this disgusting pink liquid. The contrast material “can help emphasize blood vessels, intestines or other structures.”

• Side Note: The CT Scan freaked me out a little bit. I was alone in this machine, with horrible stomach pain, and was so tired. Even though the CT was able to aid the doctors in the making the diagnosis, it was not a pleasant time.

After the results of the CT scan came through, the doctors finally concluded that I had an appendicitis and action needed to be taken as soon as possible. I learned from the doctors that once the appendix is inflamed, within 24-48 the appendix can actually burst, which has the potential to be very deadly. My surgery was originally scheduled for noon on Tuesday August 3. But the doctor had an opening and I was in the Operating Room by 8 AM on Tuesday.

After the surgery, the recovery wasn’t very bad. However, I unfortunately had some type of allergic reaction to the anesthesia. I was sick for about a day after the surgery. Hence why I was not discharged until Wednesday evening.

who are recovering from an appendectomy are advised to not do heavy lifting for three weeks. I have three very small scars on my stomach from the surgery. I have one on my upper right abdomen, one directly above my belly button, and one on my lower left abdomen.

So, it has been five years since the removal of my appendix. My life is the same as it was before my appendix became inflamed. I am physically able and haven’t ben hospitalized since. Since I am functioning fine with this oran, why does it continue to appear in every human?

300,000 people have undergone appendectomies every year, in the United States alone. It is such a common surgery. Plant- eating vertebrates possess larger appendixes that help “digest a largely herbivorous diet.” Now, biologists are beginning to believe that the human appendix is “left behind from a plant-eating ancestor.” Charles Darwin actually suggested that the human body contains several vestigial organs “that were left over from the course of evolution.” The appendix has become one of those left over organs

Why does this useless organ become inflamed and become a serious threat to the body? Appendicitis can happen when the appendix becomes blocked by stool, a “foreign body, or cancer.” The appendix can also become infected and the swelling is a response to the swelling. Personally, I am not sure what exactly caused my appendicitis. It is very hard to tell. It also near impossible to prevent an appendicitis for it can happen to anyone.

I wonder what will happen to my body in 10, 20, 50 years. Will my lack of an appendix finally have an affect? Will the appendix every become functional again? It is so interesting to me that I am living without an organ. How many people can say that?