When 3-year-old
Wyatt Steinman, of
Dorchester, started having
fu-like symptoms and
developed a mild fever,
his mom, Karin, didn’t
think it was serious.
“Eventually he
began vomiting
and saying his belly
hurt, which my
husband [Jeremy]
and I attributed to
the vomiting,” Karin
recalls.
Not until two days
later did anything
appear clearly wrong.
“Tursday morning,
our little 6-pound wiener dog
happened to jump up next to Wyatt
in his chair while he was watching
cartoons,” Karin says. “As she sat down,
she bumped him and he just screamed
in pain. Tat’s when I fgured it had to be
something more than the fu.”
A trip to Memorial Health Center’s
emergency department in Medford
and a consultation with general surgeon
Lori Lee, DO, revealed that Wyatt had
appendicitis. Tis condition occurs when
the appendix, a small organ attached to the
large intestine, becomes swollen or infected.
Te main symptomof appendicitis is pain
around your belly button that may start
of mild, but becomes increasingly sharp
and severe. Often the pain travels to the
lower right area of your abdomen. Youmight
also experience diarrhea or constipation, a
low fever, vomiting and a loss of appetite.
Te appendix isn’t important to your
health, but if it ruptures, it can be a life-
threatening medical emergency.
A quick surgery
“Te emergency department staf checked
Wyatt over as soon as we arrived,” Karin
says. “Right away they thought it was his
Speedy, professional care treats
youngster’s appendicitis
appendix and called
Dr. Lee to take a look.
It was very quick.”
“Dr. Lee
immediately made
room in her schedule
for him,” Jeremy
recalls. “Within two
to three hours, he
was in surgery.”
Dr. Lee removed
Wyatt’s appendix in a surgery known as
an appendectomy.
“Te surgery itself only lasted a half
hour to 45 minutes from the time they
took him in to the time he was wheeled
out,” Karin says. “Dr. Lee and all the
surgery staf did a tremendous job getting
Wyatt in and out of surgery so quickly.”
Care and attention, family-style
Recovery time after an appendectomy is
typically short. Most patients leave the
hospital within a day or two. Wyatt spent two
nights healing fromhis surgery onMemorial
Health Center’s Medical/Surgical Unit.
“The staff treated him so excellently,”
Karin says. “They really pampered him,
which he got used to. When he got back
home, he wanted everyone here to pamper
him too. Te hospital cook was even willing
to cook him chicken strips, macaroni and
cheese, and whatever else he wanted.”
“Wyatt was a really popular patient,”
Jeremy laughs. “Everyone paid him such
wonderful attention.”
During his stay, Wyatt received visits
from the people who treated him, such as
the anesthetists who put him to sleep for
his surgery and his surgical nurses.
“We really appreciate that they made
time in their schedules to check in on
him,” Karin
says. “Everyone was so caring
and helpful, keeping us well-informed
throughout our entire stay. It made a
very nerve-racking situation much easier
to deal with. We couldn’t
have asked for
anything better anywhere.”
No more
tummy trouble
Lori Lee, DO
Wyatt Steinman,
of Dorchester
8
Memorial Health Center
•
Well
aware