Day 77 - September 15, 2011

Mike called me in the middle of my workout today around 6:45.  I could barely understand him through all the moaning and panting (ew that sounds dirty), but I finally got the gist of the message.  Pick me up and take me to the emergency room.  Mike isn't one to exaggerate.  He will barely even take medication for pain.  He just sucks it up and deals with it.  If he says he needs to go to the doctor or the hospital, by George he needs to go.  I threw some clothes on over my sweaty body, grabbed a banana and ran out the door. By the time I reached him, a long drive through rush hour traffic, he was lying in the dirt outside his car, trying to relax through all the puking.  On our way we went, slowly back through rush hour traffic.

Mike assumed it was a kidney stone, so I was going to just take him to the urgent care.  But we passed the hospital on the way and he really couldn't handle any more driving.  I don't think I could handle any more moaning and uncontrollable shaking.  We got him admitted immediately and it was pretty dead, probably because it was so early in the morning.  By the time the admitting nurse finished grilling him about insurance, religious preference, favorite color (not really but practically), another nurse finally came over and gave him an IV and narcotics for the pain.

Once the pain dropped from a 12 to a 4, the doctor arrived to check him out, draw his blood, and take him to get a CAT scan.  At this point I was just grateful I already had a sub and sub plans all written out.  I was missing reading testing and taking my coworker out to lunch for her birthday, but that was all pushed to the back of my mind.  

After all the tests were complete and the kidney stone was confirmed (along with others in his kidneys), the doctor told us he was calling in a urologist to take a look at him, based on blood work and other questions I guess.  We just sat around in the ER, trying to be patient, listening to the recovering heroin addict next to us get her blood drawn to diagnose her stomach problems.  After a round of "I am afraid of needles.  I know that's weird for a recovering heroin addict" and "Yeah, he's great.  He is so helpful.  He really helps me out with my kids even though I am still married.  He is just the best boyfriend" we were greeted by some scrubbed nurses.  "We are going to take you to same day surgery now.  It will be much more comfortable than sitting here in the ER."  Mike and I look at each other.  Huh?  "What are you talking about?"
"Hasn't the doctor talked to you?"
"Yeah, no.  Surgery?  What is going on?  Are you sure you have the right people?"
"Let's just move you to make you more comfortable and the doctor will be in to talk to you."

Three hours later the nurse arrives to take Mike to surgery..  Three hours of waiting for the doctor, trying to find a comfortable position, keep warm in the freezing cold hospital, and find me some decent hospital food.  No doctor yet.  We still didn't know what is going on.  Hopefully we would find out before Mike went under anesthesia!  While Mike is being prepped for surgery, the urologist finally arrives to talk us through the surgery.  The short version is that there was an infection following the kidney stone and if it traveled out on its own the infection would follow.  They needed to surgically remove the stone to prevent further infection.  They needed to travel up the urethra and physically remove the stone.  Sounds fun, huh?  The surgery was short, just under an hour.  I still managed to find time to make a super quick run to Target to buy Mike a present, read a little, and fall asleep on the most uncomfortable couch in the world.  The surgery went well, and I was brought into the room to wait for him to come out of the anesthesia.

 And wait for him to pee.  In fact, we weren't allowed to leave the hospital until he peed.  I was fine until I finished the book I had brought, and started from page 1, there at the hospital.  By that time, 6:45, I was pretty antsy.  I just refilled his drink as often as possible, bothering the nurse every ten minutes for more water or juice.  Mike was truly ready to go home as well.  The final triumphant moment arrived and Mike was ushered into a wheelchair for the drive home.

Let me just tell you, construction traffic at 7:30 at night and a patient that just had kidney related surgery and was pumped full of fluids don't go well together.  Relief hit when we got home, Mike got to eat his first meal in 24 hours, and take another pain pill. Bedtime at 10.  Sitting around doing nothing in a hospital for 12  hours is one of the most exhausting things in the world.