Anyway, I've been hovering around 150 for the better part of almost 15 years now (ugh, has it really been almost 15 years since I graduated college?) and I've been able to eat pretty much anything I wanted.. It's a gift you know? It's like I can't control it. (Anyone who's seen The Girl Next Door knows that line). My metabolism, thanks to my grandfather, helped me out with that.. Truth be told, I've always been pretty active, but I've slowed down a bit in recent years.. With a full time job and the Twinado, my nights of playing indoor soccer have disappeared and my days of pick up hoop games with friends have waned into non-existence. Don't get me wrong, chasing the boys around, playing at the park with them or even taking the dog for a walk is good exercise, just not to the level I'm used to.
However I had an epiphany recently, or maybe it was a hallucination from the excruciating pain I was feeling while enduring my third kidney stone in the last 8 years.. I have no idea why God picked me to have these, but oh I am so thankful!! I used to think that you're never given anything you can't handle (see previous blogs), but seriously this isn't even funny. My first one was in 2004 when living in Smallbany, NY. I would write a blog about that, but we weren't even there long enough for anything interesting to happen.. Oh, except for all of our belongings being stolen by the movers, but that's another blog for another day I guess..
It was in the middle of the night and it was pain unlike I had
ever experienced before.. I had never really had any type of pain
experience like that so I wasn't sure what to expect. Of course, Amy
wasn't feeling well that night so she had taken the red devil (NyQuil)
so she could sleep. So there she is in her NyQuil coma and I am
writhing around in pain on the floor thinking something is going to
burst through my side like in Alien (yes, I know, that was his chest but
your kidney's aren't in your chest now are they?)
Thankfully my wailing eventually woke her with
obviously no clue as to what was happening. Not knowing the area too
well, or really what was going on, 911 was the best course of action.
While the ambulance is on its way I thought I could make it to the
door. It is the middle of the night, in February, in Albany so it's not
exactly balmy out. Somehow I have clothes on when the paramedics
arrive. I thought I could crawl the length of the hallway from our
bedroom in the back of the apartment to the front door, which in
retrospect isn't that long, but seemed like one of those never-ending
hallways. Well, I didn't make it.. I collapsed somewhere between the
end of our bedroom and the beginning of the kitchen, which was probably a
total of 5 feet. They had to put me on one of those chairs that keeps
you in a tuck position because the pain of having to straighten my body
was unbearable. Amy followed along in her car while the ambulance drove
to the hospital which was about 5-10 minutes away. I do remember them
hooking me up to the IV and giving me morphine for the pain. I remember
them saying "
OK 5 cc's of morphine" and administering it. Then they ask you, if
you've never been in an ER or ambulance for a pain-related emergency,
"describe the pain from 1-10?" So I said 20! OK, I'll let you in on a
little secret here.. I don't deal with pain well.. I mean, a cut on my
finger, or s stub on the toe, big deal.. but real, actual pain? Nope..
So they gave me another 5 cc's of morphine. After a minute or two, they
asked me again and I think I said 15. So yes, they gave me 5 more cc's
of morphine and then I was floating. I was done. No more pain. No
more anything really.. The relief was the best thing I had ever felt..
Until it wore off at some point in the hospital so they gave me a prescription for Vicodin. While at CVS filling
my prescription for Vicodin, the pharmacist asked me what it was for as
it was heavy medication. I told her it was for a kidney stone and she
said, and I quote" I have had 3 children by vaginal birth and I
have had 1 kidney stone. I would gladly have 3 more children by vaginal
birth than have another kidney stone." Fan-tas-tic. Now make with the
Vicodin before the one I took wears of..
Unfortunately, I did not pass it so I had to sit on
the couch for a few days and in between popping Vicodin drink those 24
oz sport bottles of Poland Spring and pee every 5 minutes into a
strainer to hopefully pass a stone that was about half the size of a
grain of rice, if that.. Tons of fun let me tell you..
The second one, of course in the middle of the night
again was not as bad as before the ambulance even arrived I was already
starting to feel better.. It didn't mean I wasn't in pain and didn't
gladly accept the morphine they were giving me, it just didn't hurt as
much for as long the second time. However, circumstances had changed
because we had 2 very young children and in the middle of the night, it
just wasn't going to be possible to have Amy and the boys follow me. So
after I was released, the ER called me a cab and yes, I took a cab home
from the hospital. Only, I didn't have any money and had to plead with
the guy to take me home explaining my situation. I was praying that we
had some cash at home to give him and thankfully, we had just enough.
Sorry dude, no tip this time.. Maybe next time..
And yes, there was a next time.. For the kidney
stone, not the cab thankfully.. But of course, the middle of the night
(there has to be something to this) and there it is again.. Agony.. After already having had two of them, I knew exactly what the pain was. So we
pack up the boys in the car and drive to the ER. Toridal and Dilaudid
this time around, which did the trick.. We were only there for a few
hours and still was able to get a few more hours sleep on Saturday
morning.. However, we were planning on going with some friends to Davis
Farmland which had already been postponed once for the weather. It was
the boys' birthday weekend and I didn't want to miss it. So I perc'd
up and it was pretty fun actually..
So, the real point of this blog (if you're still reading) is that for the first time in my life, I'm on a diet.Well, it's not really a diet I guess, just trying to cut sodium. You would not believe the sodium content in some things.. I'm not saying that too much sodium will kill you, but there are lots of things that we eat that can have lasting effects on our health I'm not here to preach don't worry. But my point is in addition to the fact I have no want at all to relive the pain of another kidney stone, I do have the want to see my sons grow up. . These last 5 years have totally changed me. But it doesn't have to be just kids. It can be parents, grandparents, siblings, grandchildren, whomever. It doesn't matter who as long as it's someone. I'm not saying don't enjoy life, I'm just saying make sure you make it last a long time. And while I don't want to go too crazy, I will if I have to. Because I think it's worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment