(Hopefully) Ending a Bad Cycle

The nature of this segment has allowed me to talk about myself and family over the years although certainly that is not the main purpose. 

For those who might recall last week I did a bit of “woe is me” when talking about recent sickness, the latest which had been a pretty bad case of some intestinal flu. I really only brought this up because I’ve managed to stay healthy over the years. I mean I probably average 1 or 2 sick days a year.

Just as I was getting over the stomach thing last Thursday I developed this incredible pain in my kidney area which resulted in a trip to see the popular urologist Dr. Paul Low, who is well known for his assortment of bow ties.  By the time I saw him the pain had become very intense and he believed it was likely a kidney stone although a CT scan would be needed.

I had two previous episodes with kidney stones before and the pain was in a different location and I happened to pass them on my own.  I went for the prescribed scan right away as the pain worsened but I thought relief was on the way in the form of an Oxycontin scrip which awaited me. By the time I got home and popped the pill I was in total agony and there was no relief so after calling Dr. Low’s office I headed to the ER at Community Medical Center.

Fortunately it was quiet there late Thursday afternoon and I was examined right away after a rather bizarre encounter with a woman who works there.Turns out we met while on our respective honeymoons in Bermuda nearly 33 years ago and she always thought about that when hearing me on the radio. All these years later we are both happily married to the same people.That’s a rarity.

To make a rather long story somewhat short I finally found some relief after a dose or two of morphine and the ER doctor told me he had spoken to Dr. Low who had received the CT scan and confirmed it was a kidney stone. I would need to spend the night in the hospital and he would try and blast the stone in the morning.

I had a very rough night made a bit more bearable by an attentive young nurse named Ashley and only slept a couple of hours but in the morning Dr. Low was able to break up the stone during a procedure in the Same Day Surgery unit. After a few hours of rest and a rather decent lunch I was discharged Friday and driven home by my friend Joe Gomulka because all this time my wife was chaperoning a trip and out of the country (that in itself is another story).

So head cold, stomach bug, kidney stone...at least that’s the end because bad things come in threes right? No, I lost my wallet somehow and am dealing with that incredible inconvenience.I truly believe the bad cycle needs to end now!