by Clark Wolf, Director of Bioethics, Iowa State University

She felt terrible, with a horrible pain in her gut that cut like a knife, and nausea and fever to match. Usually stoic in the face of pain, my daughter was doubled over and gasping.

When we took her to the hospital, the doctor took one look at her and immediately ordered a scan. Within hours she was in the operating room to have her ruptured appendix removed.  After the operation, the surgeon showed us pictures of the process, including a glossy photo of the inflamed appendix and the staple he had used to close off the end from which it had been removed.  Almost immediately after surgery, my daughter’s fever diminished. Her post-surgical pain was minimal compared to the searing pain that brought us to the hospital in the first place. As I write this, she is still in the hospital where she will remain for a few more days. But the crisis is over and there is improvement by the hour. By the time you read this, she will probably be home again in her own bed.

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