And thus concludes a 12-year mystery

Way back when, when Carl and I had just begun dating at Lake Forest College, Carl had an "episode" one summer day. It involved severe abdominal cramping/chest pains accompanied by vomiting that eventually led us to the hospital. Many tests later, no answers were found regarding the source of the pain. A second visit, years later, to the ER for the same symptoms resulted in the removal of a perfectly fine appendix. The symptoms have popped up probably close to 10 times in 12 years and resulted in about 5 trips to the ER.

Our latest episode occurred at about 2 am this morning. I've just returned from the hospital where Carl was admitted and finally we have the answer: a completely obstructed, non-functioning, stoned-filled gall bladder which has now been removed and to which we can forever say good riddens. It is such a relief to finally have an answer to this problem that plagued us for so long. In hindsight, it may seem like a simple answer, but the symptoms mimicked cardiac problems and with a family history of cardiac issues, this was often a front-runner in diagnoses. Carl is now recovering from the surgery, and besides some uncomfortable after-effects, he seems to be doing just fine. All I can hope is that this begins a new chapter for Carl, one in which no more parts of his body have to be removed!