Lemory06

I faxed all the receipts to my insurance company. I don't think they will cover any of it but it will go towards my out of pocket deductible. So it isn't a total waste. Also my chase credit card gives me a $300 annual travel credit so some of it was paid for by my credit card. The medical care on the ship cost me $445. That is some expensive pain medicine... BUT I really really needed it. I was in so much pain!

Hello everyone. I cruised Carnival Ecstasy out of Charleston to Nassau, Bahamas from Sept 8-12th. Me and my girlfriends had an absolute BLAST. Couldn't have had more fun!!! Sunday morning was our 2nd fun day at sea as we headed back to Charleston. I started having pain around 10am. Thinking I was having heartburn I took some tums and returned to the pool. Things quickly got worse and I found myself in the medical center around 5:30pm.

I wanted to post because I wanted to give a shout out to the medical center on Carnival. They took excellent care of me. They were able to draw labs and administer IV fluids. Labs showed my WBCs were significantly elevated but there was no other way to know exactly what was wrong. At the time my pain was mid epigastric and not the classic lower right quadrant pain that is so classic for appendicitis. I was given IV pain medicine and oral zofran and zantac. Then nurses were awesome and the doctor was thorough and explained everything so well. I am an ICU nurse so I have medical knowledge.

Carnival sent me back to my cabin and felt I was safe to stay on the boat until docking. I had to return once in the night for more pain relief and they were quick and gave me IM meds so they would last longer. They also prescribed oral pain medicine to get me home.

Carnival was able to make sure I was first off the boat and bussed me to our car. My friend drove me home to Greenville, SC (a 3 hr drive) where I went immediately to the ER. I had a gangrenous appendix with peritonitis and was taken to surgery around 5pm Monday afternoon. (Carnival offered an ambulance to the nearest hospital but I declined)

My recovery has been slow but I am getting better every day. My advice to you is to get the trip insurance. If I had to be life flighted off the boat it would have been very expensive.. Also I am so thankful this happened on the last day instead of the first.

This was my second cruise but my first with Carnival.

I already posted this in the new cruiser forum but thought Carnival people would like to see it to.

I want to update that I am 11 days post op and doing great. I should be going back to work next weekend. I know I risked it to drive from Charleston to Greenville. At the time I felt I was stable enough to make the trip so I could be in my hometown near my family and at the hospital where I know everyone!

Sail on friends!

Ok so what I knew when I left the boat was that I was medically stable. My vital signs were normal. I wasn't tachycardic and I didn't have low blood pressure. At that time we didn't know if it was my appendix. We thought it could be my gallbladder. Yes I wanted to be at the hospital where I knew the physicians and nurses... BUT I also wanted to be close to my family. I also knew we would be driving through Columbia, SC and there are hospitals there if I needed to stop. I didn't have signs of peritonitis at that time (ruptured appendix leading to infection through out entire abdomen). So I made the decision to keep driving.

It paid off.. I'm alive. My mom was able to meet me at the ER and I was able to get my employee discount. I think if I had been any sicker or showing signs of sepsis my friend would have made me go to the ER in Charleston.

I'm healing well and should go back to work next weekend. I do plan to cruise again (with travel insurance next time).

Look into trip insurance. I had a fabulous time on my first carnival cruise until I got appendicitis. My story is in another thread. But trip insurance is relatively cheap. Some credit cards have trip insurance included so check into that as well. Have fun! Bring lots of sunscreen. I second the idea to being a big Tervis or yeti cup. I took mine everywhere. Yetis are great to keep your mixed drink from melting at the pool. The bartenders are used to just pouring it in your cup.

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I didn't have a fever. Never did. I was not tachycardic and didn't have any reapiratory distress. I was medically stable when I left the boat. They offered an ambulance but I declined. I work at the hospital I went to so trying to make it to that hospital for surgery was going to save me thousands of dollars because of how my insurance works.

Yes I probably shouldn't have risked it and I've been fussed at by my parents about that.

Actually what is strange is my surgeon said my appendix was pointing up instead of down. He doesn't know why. Just said it was my anatomy. That is why I didn't have classic appendix type pain. So we still weren't sure that is what was wrong with me.

I'm glad I wasn't air lifted regardless of who would have gotten me.

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Hello everyone. I cruised Carnival Ecstasy out of Charleston to Nassau, Bahamas from Sept 8-12th. Me and my girlfriends had an absolute BLAST. Couldn't have had more fun!!! Sunday morning was our 2nd fun day at sea as we headed back to Charleston. I started having pain around 10am. Thinking I was having heartburn I took some tums and returned to the pool. Things quickly got worse and I found myself in the medical center around 5:30pm.

I wanted to post because I wanted to give a shout out to the medical center on Carnival. They took excellent care of me. They were able to draw labs and administer IV fluids. Labs showed my WBCs were significantly elevated but there was no other way to know exactly what was wrong. At the time my pain was mid epigastric and not the classic lower right quadrant pain that is so classic for appendicitis. I was given IV pain medicine and oral zofran and zantac. Then nurses were awesome and the doctor was thorough and explained everything so well. I am an ICU nurse so I have medical knowledge.

Carnival sent me back to my cabin and felt I was safe to stay on the boat until docking. I had to return once in the night for more pain relief and they were quick and gave me IM meds so they would last longer. They also prescribed oral pain medicine to get me home.

Carnival was able to make sure I was first off the boat and bussed me to our car. My friend drove me home to Greenville, SC (a 3 hr drive) where I went immediately to the ER. I had a gangrenous appendix with peritonitis and was taken to surgery around 5pm Monday afternoon.

My recovery has been slow but I am getting better every day. My advice to you is to get the trip insurance. If I had to be life flighted off the boat it would have been very expensive.. Also I am so thankful this happened on the last day instead of the first.

This was my second cruise but my first with Carnival. I am a new user and this is the only place I have was able to post.

Sail on friends!