Illness & The Emergency Room

Last week, Satori, posted that I was ill. First, I appreciate her posting. I also appreciate the support I received. I realized today, I’d not explained!

As it turned out, I had a kidney stone. To be more specific, I passed a kidney stone. I had to go to the emergency room to manage this!

Part of the reason this was an emergency was that I’d never had a kidney stone. I had no clue what was happening and I did the worst possible thing in the situation; I deliberately dehydrated myself!  Sounds nuts, I know. But it made sense at the time.

Eventually, I wound up on the floor, in so much pain, I realized I was not willing to even try to crawl to a phone.  I have never been afraid to die, so I just waited.

Luckily for me, pain from a kidney stone comes in waves. I was surprised when the pain subsided. I still didn’t know what was wrong.  Up off the floor, I called my neighbor who took me to the hospital.

It was a bad day to go to the emergency room.  Well, on the upside, my nurse knew what was wrong, right away. She said she’d passed six kidney stones and recognized the signs.  But another emergency came in right after I did.

This is a small emergency room in a small town. I was dying (in pain) but this other person was dying (dead) and they were trying desperately reverse the situation because they knew the man, who was just forty-one years old.  They also knew his family, who had gathered in the waiting room, clinging to hope.

I clearly hear the goings on. They gave him an hour from the time of the event but the man was dead and that was it.  The doctor called it and within two minutes, I watched an older woman, arms huddled around a boy about thirteen years old, walk by my bed, to be shown the body.

“Now’s he’s not been cleaned up,” one of the nurses, warned. It was more of a reminder. They knew what they were going to see.  So all of this was sobering.

A few minutes later, a woman was brought in and put in the bed next to me. She was elderly, having a heart attack, though she didn’t know it.

In the middle of this, I passed the stone, I think. I prefer childbirth!  But anyway… I was discharged, with drugs, and told the stone should pass within 12 hours.  I also learned that I have a second stone, non-obstructing at this point, but 50% larger than the stone that landed me there.

Anyway, this was the drama that slowed things down. I’m now know what it’s like to pass a kidney stone. I am now drinking water all the time.

The cat scan revealed another problem, I don’t want to go into at the moment.  It’s a bad thing but good, because you can’t treat a problem that you don’t know exists.

Bottom line, crisis has passed and I’m not dying.

Thanks again.

 

22 thoughts on “Illness & The Emergency Room”

  1. Good news for your health. I hope the rest will be OK too.

    And a trip to ER can really put things in perspective. Thank you for sharing it all.

  2. ER’s can get a bit crazy at times. One time I thought I was going to have to shield Shiny Taurus because the guy next to him was blackout drunk and waking up. The guy got belligerent and screamed at his parents for bringing him there. Security had to come over and walk him around the hallways. The ER is not the most relaxing place to heal!

    Glad to hear you’re on the mend, Elsa. ?

  3. You never forget your first kidney stone! I also went to the Emergency Room, had no idea what was happening but the pain was hideous. This was one of those times I was truly grateful to be living in a time with modern medicine – and drugs! The ER doc told me he’s seen big burly rough and tumble men curled up in a ball weeping while passing one. And my nurse said she’d had stones and given birth, and would choose childbirth in a heartbeat! :0

    Glad you’re better and I hope the other one passes without too much issue. Lemon juice and coconut water are supposed to help break them up…

  4. Elsa glad you are feeling better and now know what it going on. There is nothing more frightening then experiencing searing pain and not knowing what is causing it. Keep drinking water! I sound like a mom, but have lots of cancer in my chart!

  5. Avatar
    Warren C Windham

    Its extremely painful passing a kidney stone. My boss was in our ER all day last week passing one. Im sorry to hear that

  6. I’ve had a kidney stone. It’s definitely much worse than giving birth! I literally thought I’d faint from the pain. Glad you’re better.

  7. I’m glad you were able to pass it and are feeling better, Elsa. I’ve never had one but people always describe them as excruciatingly painful.

  8. Thanks for sharing the experience, so sorry to hear you went through this. It’s sounds excruciating! I am glad it was resolved fairly quickly and who knows, God works in mysterious ways, if it helps with another, previously unknown health issue, then we’ll call this a blessing. ❤️

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