Carrie Ann Inaba will be out of commission for at least a month following emergency surgery last week, and she couldn’t be happier.
The Dancing With the Stars judge took to Instagram on Friday to tell her friends and followers that she is grateful to be alive and experiencing anything after suffering from stomach pain that should have prompted her to seek medical attention much sooner.
Inaba was admitted to Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for four days, revealed her diagnosis—acute gangrenous appendicitis—and urged people not to ignore the warning symptoms.
“Special thanks to the amazing physicians, nurses, and aides at @cedarssinai for taking such good care of me,” Inaba said in the post, which featured a video shot from her hospital bed.
“I had an emergency appendectomy last week, and while it’s been excruciatingly painful, I realize it’s a blessing to even be in agony. After discussing with my doctor, I realized things might have been far worse.”
As Inaba said in her message, Appendicitis can strike suddenly and “apparently out of nowhere.”
“Because when you’re in that much pain, the last thing you want to do is go somewhere,” said the 55-year-old, who also suffers from Sjögren’s Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and fibromyalgia.
“And when you have an autoimmune illness, you frequently experience unusual health occurrences that no one can understand or help you with, so you sometimes attempt to wait it out, as I did.”
“I was incorrect,” she said.
Inaba had several appendicitis symptoms listed on Cedar-website, Sinai’s, including stomach distress and “violent” vomiting. When experiencing symptoms, the medical facility recommends contacting a healthcare provider or going to the “nearest emergency department.”
But, the Dancing With the Stars judge stated that she was hesitant.
“I should have gone when I couldn’t stand without tremendous agony… but I honestly didn’t want to leave my babies, and I’m so used to pain — thought I should let it play out,” she explained.
Inaba urged others not to do the same, “Please have it checked out since it could be hazardous.”
She ended her tweet by thanking the medical team that cared for her, saying, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone at @cedarssinai for the amazing treatment. I would come back to you if I had to do it again. Luckily, my appendix will no longer trouble me. “#sayonaraappendix #appendicitis #health #autoimmunedisease”
The comments on her post, whether from fans or fellow DWTS contestants like Derek Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro, all reiterated the same sentiment: “Get well soon!”
