PAIN On Independence Day Weekend!
On Friday, July 4th, our family went to watch fireworks at Hampton Park. We had a great time together. After we got home and put the kids to bed, I noticed an unusual pain in my lower left side. As it began to quickly increase in intensity, I knew what it was - a kidney stone! Although it's been about 8 years since my last one, the pain is unmistakable and unforgettable.
By the time Shelley got the kids out of bed so she could take me to the emergency room (which was only about 5 minutes), the pain was so intense that I was on my knees and feeling extremely nauseous. It was difficult to even walk to the car, but I made it. 8 years ago when I battled my first kidney stone, a female nurse at the hospital said the following words to me, "I've given birth to both kids and kidney stones, and the kidney stones were the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life." Since I'll never be able to make that comparison, I'll just take her word for it! It was certainly the most physically painful thing I've ever faced.
Anyway, I arrived at the hospital around midnight on July 4th (what a way to end a holiday!). The doctors then confirmed what I already knew to be the case - I had a kidney stone. Once they got the pain under control, they released me to go home around 3am with some additional pain medication to take if necessary. The doctor told me to return to the hospital if the pain got out of control again. Well, around 8am the pain got out of control again, so I returned to the hospital for another 5 hours. They had to give me stronger medication that the nurse referred to as "the big guns," in order to lower the intensity of the pain that I was experiencing. It was the only thing that seemed to work.
With the change of medication and a different strategy on taking the medication, it's been under better control since they released me this last time. Based on the location and size of the stone from the CT scan, here's what the doctors suggested: keep the pain under control through proper medication and allow the stone to pass out of the body in a natural manner. What fun! Therefore, I've pretty much been in bed since Saturday.
P.S. My mom told my wife (because I haven't been well enough to talk on the phone) that my dad had a kidney stone on July 4, 2004. Very interesting. LIke father, like son? Sooooo, did you have fun on Independence Day? LOL.