We had a pretty eventful weekend. My mom went into the hospital on Saturday afternoon because she was in pain from what she initially thought was heartburn…. but after some tests, the pain was actually gallstones. The doctor/nurse said she had enough liver enzymes to admit her that same night and that the doctor would be in on Sunday for surgery to remove her gallbladder.

When I got home that night, I decided to look up what gallstones were and what your gallbladder does. As if I shouldn’t trust the doctor or the nurses, lol. According to WebMd.com, the gallbladder is a small sac found just under the liver, and it stores bile made by the liver (bile helps you digest fats). Gallstones are made from cholesterol and other things found in the bile. They can be smaller than a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball, but most gallstones don’t cause problems… but if they block a duct, they usually need treatment. It says that people who are overweight or who are trying to lose weight quickly are more likely to get gallstones. What’s interesting is that your body will work fine without a gallbladder because bile will flow straight from the liver to the intestine. WebMd.com says that there may be small changes in how you digest food, but you probably will not notice them.

It’s good to know that our body contains extra organs that we don’t necessarily need, but the most important thing I learned over the weekend are the symptoms of having gallstones! Other than that, my mom’s doing fine and supposed to be discharged today.