Yesterday
morning, as I was driving to Decatur, IL (central IL) for a pastor’s retreat, I
began to experience some discomfort that quickly turned into a significant
amount of pain. Fortunately, though, after a while the pain passed and,
basically, went away completely.
I
thought, “Well, I don’t know what that was all about but it seems to be over.”
(This
is the kind of brilliant thinking for which I am known far and wide.)
Last
evening after the dinner provided at the retreat, sure enough, the pain
returned and very quickly it became severe. It was a sharp pain in my lower
abdomen and the right side of my lower back. I thought about trying to drive
home but as the pain worsened I realized I would never make the 2 and a half to
3 hour drive home.
There is
a couple at the retreat, Everett and Cindy, who are medical professionals and
after speaking with them, we determined by the nature of the symptoms it was
likely I had a kidney stone.
The
pain became so severe—it was by far the worst pain I have ever experienced—that
I was driven by my friend Eric (on very icy roads) from the back roads of the
retreat center to the Emergency Room of St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur. Everett
came along with us, as well.
At the
hospital blood work was analyzed and a CAT scan was performed. It turns out I
do have a fairly large kidney stone.
(By the
way, if a person tells you kidney stones are incredibly painful, believe it.)
Since
we now had a diagnosis of the problem, the ER doctor came into my room and
said, “You cannot stay at the hospital.”
I said,
“Huh?”
He
said, “We are going to be releasing you.”
“But I
still have the kidney stone,” I said.
He
said, “I know but that’s how it works, these days. We will release you with
some super-duper fun pain meds and you will need to make an appointment with a
urologist to deal with this further. Because of the size of your kidney stone
it is not likely you will be able to pass it without having it broken down into
smaller pieces.”
Sounds
like a blast, huh?
Fortunately
Everett, who is a Physician’s Assistant, was in the room with me and was able
to be my advocate.
So at
approximately 1a.m. I was discharged from the hospital and driven by Eric to a
24 hour Walgreens to get my prescriptions.
This
morning Eric insinuated I may have been a bit loopy on that drive back to the
retreat center. (That probably explains
why I was wearing my underwear over my head when I awoke this morning.)
I was
able to get some pain-free sleep last night. But this particular adventure is
not over yet because I cannot drive due to the super-duper fun pain meds so we
are working on how I will get home. If you know someone who could give me a
lift with a helicopter that would be much appreciated. (My helicopter needs a
new sparkplug.)
What
occurred last night reminded me, again, what a blessing it is to have friends
who will look out for you and help you. God gave me three helpful guardian
angels last night who made my very painful situation much more bearable:
Everett Shaw, Cindy Shaw and Eric Livingston.
I am grateful, to put it mildly, for their kindness and love.
