The twist, turns, and details of that fateful night in August.

Anyone who knows me know that I love my husband dearly and that he's one of the most important people in my life. He's my eternal love, my business partner, my rock. However, like all marriages, mine is far from perfect. The night of my appendix problem, we had an argument and were working through our way to a resolution. This time, it was more than a little problem and we weren't having an easy time reaching a compromise or agreement. We went to bed that way, knowing that we both needed to sleep on it.

Around one o'clock in the morning, I woke up with a sharp pain in my right abdomen. I pressed a pillow on it and went back to sleep. The pain woke me up again shortly, and I tried to go back to sleep again. I fought it until I couldn't anymore. I got up at around 2am, had a glass of water, and looked for my heat bag.

For the rare times when I have aches or pains, I like to sooth it with a nice, warm heat bag.

I found the heat bag and went to the kitchen to heat it up in the microwave. I punched in 2.5 minutes and pressed start. Nothing happened. I pressed cancel and tried again. Still nothing. Our microwave has never not worked before. It always worked! What the... So, I lay in pain, trying to tough it out and pressed a pillow against my abdomen. And threw up. It was agonizing.

At around 3'oclock I couldn't take it anymore. I went to tell my husband of the pain I was having. He was still awake, obviously still very upset from our argument.

We talked, we googled, we finally called a nurse line. We told the nurse that I was having very sharp pains on the right abdomen, and that I was late and we think I may be having an ectopic pregnancy. The nurse urged us to drive to the nearest emergency room right away. Fortunately my overseas in-laws were visiting and there was someone to stay in the house with our still-asleep-children.

We arrived at the ER shortly before 5am. I begged for a heat bag, an ice bag, some pain killers, anything! But nothing. Understandably, to adhere to procedure, the nurses and doctors needed to figure out what was wrong with me before they would proceed with anything. Find the problem, then treat it. Very easy to accept, but when you're having literally nonstop sharp pains, it's not so easy.

By 7am, the medical team established that I was indeed pregnant. 9am rolls around and still clueless on the pain, but, I finally got some pain medication that's pregnancy-friendly. Since I couldn't have a CT scan, several ultrasounds were performed to determine the source of the pain. The doctor came by an hour later with the big news: the baby is fine, but my appendix is not fine at all and they need to take it out immediately.

The doctor gave the usual lowdown of the procedure. There would be risks involved in having general anesthesia, an increased chance of miscarriage, and the recovery would be tougher. He also explained that I was extremely lucky - if I would have actually used the heat bag to sooth the pain, the appendix would most likely burst and would cause many many complications. More risks to the baby, chances of infection, week-long hospital stay, etc.

The microwave saved me. That broken microwave is the silver lining in all of this mess. Some would say that an angel was watching over me.

Surgery commenced shortly after 11am.
To be continued...

It's over, but far from over.

The Jingle Bells for Jennic auction is well over now. It was a great success!!!

Thank you to everyone who donated, participated, and or put in endless hours of help to make it happen. Nearly 14% of the total bill was raised! That's an awesome number! I'm very appreciative of everyone's love and compassion.

It's far from over though. The donate button will stay functional. I will continue my negotiation with the hospital and make whatever payment I can until it's all paid. Thank you again making it easier for me and my family, and for all that you've done. I love you all.

Auction "Jingle Bells for Jennic" is on!

The Jingle Bells for Jennic auction is on! It ends on December 7th at midnight. There are lots of goodies at great prices! All things will be shipped in time for Christmas.

Good luck and have fun bidding!

If you have item(s) you would like to donate for the auction, please contact Sara or Jennic with details. The item(s) does not have to be kid-related.

Who. What. Why.

My name is Jennic. I'm 34 years old and I live in Des Moines, Iowa with my family.

I am the wife of a caring and wonderful man, the mother of two beautiful and intelligent young children (5 & 7 yo), and a friend of many amazing friends.

I was born in China but have lived in Iowa most of my life. I am a proud cancer survivor and an entrepreneur / business owner. I used to be an engineer, however, I gave up that career path to be in the business of making people happy; I started KangarooBoo, a toy store in Valley Junction (in West Des Moines, Iowa) three years ago.

Very recently I had an emergency appendectomy. Because of the cancer I had (and beat!) from 10 years ago, I am uninsurable. This page has been set up to help raise money for my appendectomy medical bills - nearly $27,000 total.

And I desperately need your help.

Please consider making a donation - simply click here and follow the steps. It's secure and easy. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your kindness and generosity.

Also, please share this website with anyone and everyone via email, facebook and or twitter. I appreciate your compassion and thoughtfulness.

If you or your business have item(s) that you would like to donate for the Jingle Bells for Jennic auction, please contact Sara or Jennic with details.

Appendectomy:
   -- n, pl -mies
   surgical removal of any appendage, esp the vermiform appendix

Ten days after the appendectomy surgery, while still recovering and on bedrest, I lost my pregnancy. There are no words.