The story of a Cholelithiasis patient
In my disease class we have been learning about things such as pathology, etiology, epidemiology, topography, and anatomy of disease. We have created presentations and discussed various diaereses and informed ourselves. For our final project we were asked to interview a person we know who has or had a disease and make a sort of medical report on it. So I interviewed my person and created a story like writing piece on how they dealt with their disease.
Patient Y
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Disease: Cholelithiasis
Story: (told from patients perspective)
“Pre-surgery”At first it only seemed like a mild stomach ache, nothing too grave, so I didn't pay much attention to it, I kept eating normally and doing my normal daily things. Eventually, after a week,the pain in my abdomen was still insisting this time a bit more stronger as it felt there was someone punching me very strongly in my abdomen followed by strong nausea. I finally decided to go down to the doctor to get to the bottom of my problem. As soon as I got to the doctors office, I told my doctor my symptoms and so he ran a few tests and then sat me down . As I sat down on the leathery, black chair,I could feel my heart racing; was I going to die? No, I was too young! Who would take care of my puppy who cries anytime he feels hungry or lonely? Who would eat the leftovers my sisters always left behind? As the doctor got settled in his own, much more comfortable chair, he looked at the papers for a while before . “Oh doctor, tell me what is it that's wrong with me?!!” Finally, he explained how I had something called cholelothiasis meaning I had some gallstones in my gallbladder. The gallbladder is located right under the liver and gallstones are formed due to undissolved cholesterol. Symptoms include nausea, vomit, severe abdomen and back pain, and indigestion. Then he added that it was a very common disease and affected about 3 million people a year in the US and was easily fixed with the removal of the gallbladder, which I most likely would have to get. He finally added since my mother had the same medical condition, it was most likely passed on genetically, meaning there was little I could have done to avoid it. Little did I know, unfortunately, this disease came with very strict dietary restrictions. I would no longer be able to eat spicy foods, greasy foods, crunchy foods, heavy foods, pretty much all the good foods. I would only be able to eat white meats and vegetable soup. So I went home and tried to follow this diet. Unfortunately there was a day where the pain was so bad I had no choice but to go to the ER.
The very next day, I entered the ER. I went through the gall bladder removal surgery. Afterwards, I felt small pains around my abdomen , I had almost no strength, and I had no desire to eat anything. After I came home from the hospital , I became a certified couch potato due to my lack of strength. I had to switch to a simple diet of simple salads and fruits as it was what my body could handle to digest. After about 2 weeks I could walk slowly and with a bit of help. After a month,I was able to walk and move normally and could eat almost everything except super greasy foods. In the end, since this disease was genetic, there was nothing I could've done to prevent it completely and my journey was pretty hard. Now I am fully recovered and have gotten back into my normal daily life.
Patient Y
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Disease: Cholelithiasis
Story: (told from patients perspective)
“Pre-surgery”At first it only seemed like a mild stomach ache, nothing too grave, so I didn't pay much attention to it, I kept eating normally and doing my normal daily things. Eventually, after a week,the pain in my abdomen was still insisting this time a bit more stronger as it felt there was someone punching me very strongly in my abdomen followed by strong nausea. I finally decided to go down to the doctor to get to the bottom of my problem. As soon as I got to the doctors office, I told my doctor my symptoms and so he ran a few tests and then sat me down . As I sat down on the leathery, black chair,I could feel my heart racing; was I going to die? No, I was too young! Who would take care of my puppy who cries anytime he feels hungry or lonely? Who would eat the leftovers my sisters always left behind? As the doctor got settled in his own, much more comfortable chair, he looked at the papers for a while before . “Oh doctor, tell me what is it that's wrong with me?!!” Finally, he explained how I had something called cholelothiasis meaning I had some gallstones in my gallbladder. The gallbladder is located right under the liver and gallstones are formed due to undissolved cholesterol. Symptoms include nausea, vomit, severe abdomen and back pain, and indigestion. Then he added that it was a very common disease and affected about 3 million people a year in the US and was easily fixed with the removal of the gallbladder, which I most likely would have to get. He finally added since my mother had the same medical condition, it was most likely passed on genetically, meaning there was little I could have done to avoid it. Little did I know, unfortunately, this disease came with very strict dietary restrictions. I would no longer be able to eat spicy foods, greasy foods, crunchy foods, heavy foods, pretty much all the good foods. I would only be able to eat white meats and vegetable soup. So I went home and tried to follow this diet. Unfortunately there was a day where the pain was so bad I had no choice but to go to the ER.
The very next day, I entered the ER. I went through the gall bladder removal surgery. Afterwards, I felt small pains around my abdomen , I had almost no strength, and I had no desire to eat anything. After I came home from the hospital , I became a certified couch potato due to my lack of strength. I had to switch to a simple diet of simple salads and fruits as it was what my body could handle to digest. After about 2 weeks I could walk slowly and with a bit of help. After a month,I was able to walk and move normally and could eat almost everything except super greasy foods. In the end, since this disease was genetic, there was nothing I could've done to prevent it completely and my journey was pretty hard. Now I am fully recovered and have gotten back into my normal daily life.
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