I’m writing this from the waiting room at the local ER. I woke up this today with some pretty bad back and groin pain. By lunch time today I was urinating blood. What fun! I’m guessing it’s another kidney stone but I’ve been waiting since 1:15 for them to take me back and run their tests. It’s 2:45 right now. I’m still waiting.
As I sit here I get to watch the ebb and flow of other Philadelphians who find themselves landed here. It’s like playing a weird game of “guess-the-illness.” Most people don’t have anything outwardly wrong with them. No one is bleeding from the eyes or missing a limb. I would assume that should I walk in with, say, a metal pole piercing my chest I might get taken immediately. We’re all just docked here with the enigmatic promise of being seen by a doctor “soon.” We are the walking wounded, marginally lame and innocuously ill.
For the last two hours now I have had the rare privilege of listening to one afternoon soap opera after another being broadcast from the plasma screen above my head. I have not noticed a single person direct their attention to the screen in the whole time I’ve been sitting here. I’d change the channel but there is a menacing sign written in pen on a piece of notebook paper that says “Do Not Touch” and implies “Or We’ll Make Sure That You Never Get Seen.” Besides, even if no one is watching the soap operas I’m sure I’m the only one who wants to watch Cartoon Network.
*******
Five hours, sever tubes of blood and two prescriptions later and I’m back home again…looks like it was “just” a kidney stone. They checked everything (and I mean everything) and in the end there’s nothing much more that they can do. I have to drink lots of fluids and wait until I pass what appears to be a “pretty big stone.” I guess that’s one of those medical terms that only doctors understand.
6 comments:
Oh boy, what a day. Why do you keep getting kidney stones?
I feel so bad that you are in so much pain.
Take care of yourself!
Love,
A Worried Mom
Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that Joe. Will it leave you soon? Get better soon man.
I heard that if you drink too much of one beverage (like mountain dew or WaWa iced tea) they can cause them. I don't know if that applies to you but just thought to share :-)
But good to hear you're ok too! :-)
I would suggest playing "circle of death" with water to help pass it - as you had done once before - but I'm concerned that drinking too much water will mess up your sodium and potassium levels and create something worse. Good Luck.
ps - At least me throwing a tennis ball at a balloon is not the cause of your pain :0)
I think you can have your "stone" analized (once it passes) to find out why you keep getting them. Could be soft drinks, caffine, dairy, etc. Hope you are feeling better. :)
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