I'd say it's about a 15.

That was my answer to the nurses question of how bad my pain was when I was in triage at the ER yesterday afternoon.

I woke up yesterday morning with some stomach pain, and I thought it was just gas. At about 10:45 am, my pain exploded, much like the fireworks we watched on the 4th of July.

After much debate, we ended up in the ER of Salt Lake Regional Hospital.

I spent 10.5 hours in the ER, at which point, I finally got moved to a room. A window! A bathroom! A TV! If I didn't know better, I could almost believe that I'm on vacation.

Anyway, long story short, I'm doing OK.

I've had an x-ray, an ultrasound, a CT Scan, large doses of antibiotics, and lots of bags of "Lactate Ringer's and 5% Dextrose Injection USP." They've checked my appendix and my gall bladder. They also know it's not kidney stones. They think, that perhaps I have an "omentum infarction" which they say is fairly uncommon, and also uncommon in someone my age.

My white blood cell count was high when I came in, and I started running a fever. They really had no clue as to what was was going on with me.

My white blood cell count has now dropped, but it still high. I am feeling fine, and I recently enjoyed food that requires chewing about two hours ago. If I don't have another episode, I should be going home tomorrow. Whether that is good or not, I don't know.

I mean, obviously, I don't want to be sick, but I'd rather have a definite answer for all my symptoms. Especially because my arms are black and blue due to the inept nurse that was asked to put in my IV. I currently have two IV's in, and they are refusing to take the extra one out for fear that if I need another one, they might not be able to get another one in.

Well, you pretty much know everything that I know. Wish me luck! I think I'd like to go home.