Anyone Want A Stone?

A few days after I got back from Utah, I ended up in the ER. I had felt fine all day until about 7pm. My back started hurting a little bit. Within a couple hours, I was in so much pain that I knew I couldn't make it through the night. Unfortunately, it was late enough that Urgent Care was already closed...my only choice was the ER (ugh!).

I didn't know what the problem was, I just knew I was in a ton of pain and it was getting worse. After three hours in the ER waiting room (and many thoughts of pretending to pass out just to get seen quicker), the nurse took pity on me and found me a corner that they could put me in and start an IV (with pain meds included - ah, relief!).

The doctor's first thought was a kidney stone, so a CT scan was ordered to verify it. After the scan, I asked the tech when the doctor would have results. He laughed as he replied that he'd sent the scan to be read by the radiologist, but there are just some things that you don't need any training to see.

The doctor came in and confirmed that it was a kidney stone, a rather large one at that. They added more pain medication to my IV (plus a Rx for more pain medication) and gave me instructions to call my doctor in the morning (by this time it was nearing 3am).

The next morning, I called the doctor and they got me in right away. I loved paying that copay...just for the doctor to confirm that it was in fact a kidney stone and then order an x-ray and ultrasound and refer me to a specialist. Two days later the results were in (does two days sound like a long time to anyone else?)... The stone was almost completely blocking my left kidney.

So, I was sent to a specialist. He told me that the stone was too big to pass on it's own, so we'd have to have it blasted. Bad news was that they couldn't do it for a week and a half. So, I was sent home with a pre-op appointment and orders for several labs, an EKG, and another x-ray.

Luckily for me, I didn't experience anymore pain - just felt like someone was pressing on my kidney (more annoying than anything). And I felt decent enough to get through a very busy week with the kids (Fire camp, karate, painting class...).

Yesterday, I went in for the procedure and everything went well. The doctor even game a memento...a picture of the stone before he blasted it.

Gabe was a little concerned that my body could "grow" stones and was wary of getting my germs in case it was contagious. Will just wanted my stone for his rock garden...