Lori Radmacher and her daughter, Mariah, share a close bond.
They both love volleyball, for one. Lori played growing up and continues to play in a recreational league in Jefferson City, while Mariah played outside hitter throughout high school and college.
Lori and Mariah both work in health care, too, after Mariah finished her nursing degree in May of 2024. Those were just two of the many reasons Lori knew that she would make the trip to Iowa for her daughter’s graduation and athletics pinning ceremonies in May of 2024, no matter what.
“Being there for my daughter to celebrate one of the biggest things she's accomplished was so important to me,” Lori said. “I really have never missed anything. I knew I couldn’t miss this.”
But the night before she and her parents were supposed to drive to Iowa for the ceremonies, Lori didn’t feel well. So much so that she stayed home from her rec volleyball game that night, a decision that she didn’t take lightly.
The next morning, Lori and Mariah talked over a video call, and Lori described what she was feeling to her daughter: Lower right abdomen pain, as well as alternating between chills and overheating.
“I told Mariah my symptoms and she said, ‘I hope it’s not your appendix,’” Lori said. “She talked me into texting my nurse at the Family Medicine Clinic, who said I needed to come in. I got an ultrasound and found out I was positive for appendicitis.”
It was not welcome news to Lori. The whole time she was going through her diagnosis, she kept checking the time, mentally counting down how much time she had before the athletics ceremony Friday evening while also worrying about her own health and whether she would miss Saturday’s graduation.
She was supposed to make the drive with her parents, who refused to leave without her. As Lori drove to MU Health Care’s Capital Region Medical Center, her head was crowded with emotions.
Waiting for her in the outpatient surgery center was general surgeon Bryce Bond, DO, and his surgery team.
“The first thing he said to me was that he was going to get me to Iowa that night,” Lori said. “When he said that, I just exhaled. I didn’t know how, but I trusted him. It made my day.”
Appendicitis is a serious condition that has been well-studied and is far less fatal than 100 years ago. It’s caused by a blockage in an unused pouch of the large intestine which becomes inflamed and infected.
Once it becomes blocked and infected, an appendix will usually rupture within 36-48 hours and cause sepsis, which is a medical emergency. Surgeons like Dr. Bond are trained to act quickly, and surgery is successful in most cases.
“Thankfully, because Lori came to us quickly, her appendix had not ruptured, or perforated,” Bond said. “In the patients I treat with nonperforated appendicitis it’s standard that they return home within a few hours of surgery.”
Lori’s situation was a little different, because she was getting on the road. She’d be sitting in a car seat, not in a comfy chair at home. But Lori and Dr. Bond talked through all the potential risks and side effects. She took baby aspirin and stopped every hour during her drive to reduce the chance of developing blood clots.
Lori had a CT scan to confirm her diagnosis just after noon on that Friday, and was out of surgery and in recovery at 3 p.m. She left with Dr. Bond’s phone number so that he could check in on her over the weekend.
“Appendicitis, and Lori’s case, is a good example of why having general and acute care surgeons available in Jefferson City at Capital Region Medical Center 24/7 is such a win,” Bond said. “It’s a simple procedure for us, but it makes such a profound change on someone’s life. You can’t place any value on being there for your child’s graduation.”
Lori was in good spirits and good healthy for Saturday’s graduation ceremony. Dr. Bond’s first check-in phone call came during the event, and Lori called him back after to let him know she was feeling fine.
“I apologized for not picking up because it was during the ceremony, and he said, ‘Oh gosh, I’m sorry to interrupt,’” Lori said. “I told him he had nothing to be sorry for, because he was the one who got me here. I wouldn’t have been there if not for him. I had such a fantastic experience with everyone there, starting with him.”