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Posted on Saturday, June 10, 2017
A Rough May
May started out rough. On Tuesday, May 3rd I woke up about 2 AM with
pain in my abdomen. I could not go back to sleep and couldn't get
comfortable. I soon realized, I had a kidney stone. About 9 AM, I went
to the Cumberland County Hospital ER. Luckily for me, my regular
physician, Dr Rice was working the ER. I told him I thought I had a
kidney stone and it was causing quite a bit of pain. I had to give a
urine sample and have a CT Scan. Both confirmed I had a 7 mm by 8 mm
stone lodged between my kidney and my bladder. Dr Rice said I would not
be able to pass that size of stone and I needed to go to Campbellsville
to have the situation remedied. He had the nurse give me a pain shot and
sent me home.
Linda drove us to Taylor County Hospital in
Cambellsville and I went inside the ER. They were waiting for me to
arrive and quickly added my info to their computers. I was x rayed and
put back in the waiting room. Five minutes later a technician called my
name and took me to a ready room. There I completely undressed and put
on the backless gown. I was asked every possible question about my
medical history, had my vitals taken and then Stacey and Linda were
brought in. Next, the crew came in for consultations, then the
urologist, he was doing 7 surgeries and I was #6. It was going to be
awhile.
Finally they rolled me out of the room, up the elevator and
into the OR. Lights, camera, action...
Next thing I knew I was in
recovery. Then rolled back to the room with Stacey and Linda. According
to the doctor, a stint had been placed and that was all. He had told
Linda I had a urinary tract infection and he wanted it cleared up with
antibiotics before he busted up the stone. Four prescriptions and I was
sent home.
I had to go see my cardiologist to get the OK to be put
under with general anesthesia so that was a trip to Bowling Green. She
wanted to do an echo cardiogram to check the condition of my heart, so
we stayed late to have that done. I had to return to Bowling Green two
days later for her to tell me the results and that I would be OK.
Two
weeks had passed since the first pain had sent me to the hospital.
I
had to go back to Taylor Co Hospital a day before surgery for blood work
and to give the urologist the OK from my cardiologist.
No food, no
drinks after midnight and drive to Taylor Co Hospital. Check in, x ray
to make sure the stone is still there and then undress. Same batch of
questions, dang, didn't they put in my answers just two weeks ago?
Finally, it is time for the OR. They try a spinal block because they're
still worried about my heart, I tell them the doc said it was OK. Five
minutes after the spinal block, no effect. The guy gives me another one
which consists of 4 or 5 small pain shots and then the shot right in the
spinal cord. He remarked he had spinal fluid in his needle which
indicates he was in the right spot. Still no numbing. They bring in
another guy that guarantees he will get it done. When he finishes, I'm
still not numb, but he says to put me on the table anyway. I then tell
the urologist that I can feel everything he's doing. He realizes I'm
telling the truth and he has them put me out using general anesthesia.
Breathe deep, breatheeee....
I woke up in recovery, back hurting,
kidneys not hurting but the rest of the system was on fire, and my
throat sore.
Linda had been informed he had busted a stone in each
kidney and placed two stints. After one hour and urinating, I was
allowed to go home.
Linda drove to Sonic and bought me a butterscotch
shake to soothe my sore throat.
Three days later, Linda pulled the
two stints out using the attached strings.
About ten days later on
June 10th, I passed another kidney stone about the size of a green pea.
A little over a month from start to finish, almost as long as it took to
write this! LoL
Posted on Sunday, June 11, 2017
Boating Begins
I had been getting the boat ready for the upcoming season by connecting
the batteries and charging them, then hooking the trailer to the truck.
Stacey and Linda had been using Pledge on the hull and returning the
life jackets to the storage spots under the rear pads.
We had made
plans with Pauline and Brent while watching Julie and Kyle play their
games at the diamonds in Brownsville. They arrived around 8:30 AM on
Sunday. Brent and I tested the batteries by briefly starting the engine
with the battery switch in each position. We put the road cover on and
tied it down, then aired up the four tires and returned to the house to
fix coolers and etc. We rode in the Mule to the barn with our things and
family. After transferring to the truck we stopped for gas and ice at
the Minit Mart then on to the Dale Hollow State Park.
I drove the
boat off the trailer with everyone but Brent in the boat. Brent parked
the truck and we picked him up at the courtesy dock. It was a little
cool and the water had more than normal debris floating on top. I picked
our way though and cruised to several spots to look for prime locations.
We found a cove near Holly Creek that was peacefule with flat water.
Kyle didn't wait for boat to stop before he was ready to jump in the
water. I wasn't quite so eager, but before the day was over, everyone
was in the lake. The first plunge was breath taking but after about 20
seconds it was nice.
Linda had made sandwiches and it wasn't long
before those were passed around. She made enough to last all day. We had
fun in the water, then let Kyle knee board, then play in the water off
and on till we had enough sun.
Our first time out, we cut it short
to avoid sun burns. We pulled off the lake about 3:45 PM, unloaded our
stuff, tied down the cover and towed home.
Brent took his family
home around 4:30 PM.
