Charlie and I both had big days yesterday. Here's the update.....
My kidney's and bladder are fine. I don't have to go back unless I have another issue. The kidney stone is small enough that we are going to ignore it for now. Since the pain in my right side has gone away maybe the stone has also gone away? Anyway, I'll definitely be able to recognize the pain if it ever comes back again. The Urologist had a different opinion on the gallstones than the urgent care doctor did because he used to be a gallbladder surgeon. He told me I needed to have my gallbladder removed. He said 300-400 people die each year from gallstones. He's seen people die with the number that I have because they get caught down in the tubes (whatever that means). So I've got an appointment with my regular doctor this morning to have him refer me to a surgeon. I really wasn't expecting that yesterday.
Charlie seemed to pull through his ordeal without showing any signs of stress or discomfort. When we picked him up yesterday afternoon he was his normal hyper self. He was jumping on us like he hadn't seen us in a month. I had his leash when we walked out the door. Jay took him from me so I wouldn't fall because the parking lot was ice covered. I'm glad Jay had him, because Charlie pulled Jay out to the truck like he was on a dog sled. Jay managed to keep upright, but I don't know that I would have been so lucky. Charlie was sent home with two pain pills and instructions about watching his stitches. We're supposed to keep him from rough housing, running and jumping. Have you ever met our dog?
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Charlie's Tentacles
Charlie is at the vet right now to get (according to Cade) his tentacles removed. I know, I posted about this way back in June and were just now getting it taken care of. We didn't take him in the end of June because of our vacation. He was going to have to spend a couple of weeks with Jim and Sharon so we didn't want to traumatize him too much. Then once we got back from vacation we had to replace my windshield, then Jay had his week long teachers meetings, then we had VBS, then it was time for school to start, then it was football season, etc. You get the picture - tentacle removal was put on the back burner. Now that we have Sadie, who is a female, it was time to get Charlie to the vet. Especially since it's been cold and we've had them in the garage together. Occasionally I'll hear Sadie barking her head off. It's like she'd giving him a piece of her mind for doing something she didn't appreciate. I'm not sure what's going on between the two of them so we didn't want to take any chances. Also, since Charlie's been running loose more often, I've lived in fear of finding a batch of short legged puppies on my front step one morning. If any of our neighbors had puppies that had legs 1/4 of an inch long, they'd know exactly what house to bring them to.
So yesterday Jay and Cade delivered Charlie to the vet. The procedure will actually be done today, but we had to drop him off yesterday. Since we still didn't have school today Jay and Cade brought me to work and will go with me to my doctor's appointment this afternoon. Of course loading Charlie up in the middle of the day and dropping him off at the vet created quite the opportunity for questions yesterday. Luckily Jay was the one who got to take care of them. I'm afraid since they spend so much time in a vehicle together he may have to field a lot of these questions. Thankfully by the time I got home last night Cade had already moved on to other things.
The first question of course was what were they doing to Charlie?
Then came why are we doing that to Charlie?
Jay's response was so that he couldn't have puppies.
That's what got the wheels turning. If it had been Sadie, Cade would have gotten it. Obviously he knows that women are involved with how babies are born, but he didn't know there was a male connection to it.
That brought up the next question "So how does that work?"
I know of some parents, who at this point would have brought out that special book they purchased and had hidden for this moment. Other parents would draw graphs and diagrams to explain how it worked.
Of course that's not how we handled it. Yes, we are the parents who prefer to avoid those types of conversations with our 6 year old. Anytime anything like that gets brought up I have an overwhelming desire to flee the room. Poor Jay was stuck in the truck with Cade so there was nowhere to run. So Jay answered it like any scared parent would.....you'll understand it later.
It seemed to work, Cade accepted his answer. Jay managed to keep the truck on the road. All was right in the Shepherd household again. I guess Charlie may think differently though......
So yesterday Jay and Cade delivered Charlie to the vet. The procedure will actually be done today, but we had to drop him off yesterday. Since we still didn't have school today Jay and Cade brought me to work and will go with me to my doctor's appointment this afternoon. Of course loading Charlie up in the middle of the day and dropping him off at the vet created quite the opportunity for questions yesterday. Luckily Jay was the one who got to take care of them. I'm afraid since they spend so much time in a vehicle together he may have to field a lot of these questions. Thankfully by the time I got home last night Cade had already moved on to other things.
The first question of course was what were they doing to Charlie?
Then came why are we doing that to Charlie?
Jay's response was so that he couldn't have puppies.
That's what got the wheels turning. If it had been Sadie, Cade would have gotten it. Obviously he knows that women are involved with how babies are born, but he didn't know there was a male connection to it.
That brought up the next question "So how does that work?"
I know of some parents, who at this point would have brought out that special book they purchased and had hidden for this moment. Other parents would draw graphs and diagrams to explain how it worked.
Of course that's not how we handled it. Yes, we are the parents who prefer to avoid those types of conversations with our 6 year old. Anytime anything like that gets brought up I have an overwhelming desire to flee the room. Poor Jay was stuck in the truck with Cade so there was nowhere to run. So Jay answered it like any scared parent would.....you'll understand it later.
It seemed to work, Cade accepted his answer. Jay managed to keep the truck on the road. All was right in the Shepherd household again. I guess Charlie may think differently though......
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I Feel Fabulous
Kristy, my cousin-in-law nominated me for this award while we were in Charlotte. It's taken me awhile to put it on our blog because 1. I was trying to get all the Charlotte posts done, but that hasn't worked out and 2. I didn't know who to pass the award on to.
Here are the rules to receiving this award:1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions in the post.
4. On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.
Five current fabulous addictions:
1. Christmas movies on Hallmark and ABC Family: I can kill a whole Saturday because they draw me in, even if I've seen them a million times.
2. Christmas Music: I'm sure I'm driving George and Tom nuts in the office.
3. Being with Jay and Cade: I enjoy just being at home with them and wish we could do that more often
4. Blogging: Not only do I enjoy writing on ours I enjoy reading other blogs.
5. Reading: I'm on quite a reading kick these days. It's much more fun than doing that annoying housework like laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc
Five other fabulous bloggers:
This is the one I've had problems with. Kristy's blog is the only one I read that I actually know the person. There are a few others I read, but I don't personally know them. Almost three years ago I found a Christian forum for infertility called Hannah's Prayer. I think I've posted 15 times in the last three years, but I check it often. There are a lot of blogs that I've read on there that have given me encouragement over the years. Since I don't post that often no one knows who I am, but I know a lot of them and their stories. I'm pretty sure that could be a definition of a stalker??? I don't want anyone to think I'm some creepy person sitting in a dark basement using the computer to track down these people so I won't list them. Instead I'll list some blogs and sites that I keep up with. I guess this isn't actually an award, but just a list of things that I check out frequently. Think of it as a way to get to know me and some other people a little better.
1. The Shepherd Times - This is Corey and Kristy's blog. Corey and Jay are first cousins, their dad's are brothers. It's been nice to be able to stay up on each other's families since we don't get to see each other often. Corey and Kristy just had their 3rd son last week. I'm looking forward to getting to know another little Shepherd through their blog. He was born at 28 weeks 6 days (I'mnot sure I've got the days right but I know he was under 29 weeks). Benjamin seems to be doing very well considering his early arrival. You'll need to look at their blog - I'm amazed by the size of his diapers and the fact they still look huge on him.
2. Stuff Christian's Like - With the rest of my list I had to at least put one down that's more on the silly side. I don't keep up with this as often as I used to, but I check it out every once in awhile. There was a good one recently about how Christmassy is your Christmas sweater. I thought it was funny, but I also have a weird sense of humor.
3. Bring the Rain - This is a blog written by the wife of a member of Selah. Their 4th daughter received a "not compatible with life" diagnosis about half way through the pregnancy. I found the blog a few weeks before Audrey Caroline's birth.
4. Skylers Website - This isn't technically a blog, but I do check it every day looking for updates. Skyler, the son of one of my former co-workers, has an inoperable brain tumor. Since finding out about his diagnosis last May, Skyler and his family have never been far from my thoughts. We pray every night with Cade that God will heal Skyler's tumor.
5. Colby's Caring Bridge Site - Again, this isn't a blog but it's an important site. Colby is the little boy in Cade's class who was diagnosed with lymphoma last June. I check it often looking for updates on Colby. He is also in our thoughts on a daily basis and we are also praying for his complete recovery.
Ok, after writing out that list I feel a little teary. This has been quite a year.
Here are the rules to receiving this award:1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions in the post.
4. On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.
Five current fabulous addictions:
1. Christmas movies on Hallmark and ABC Family: I can kill a whole Saturday because they draw me in, even if I've seen them a million times.
2. Christmas Music: I'm sure I'm driving George and Tom nuts in the office.
3. Being with Jay and Cade: I enjoy just being at home with them and wish we could do that more often
4. Blogging: Not only do I enjoy writing on ours I enjoy reading other blogs.
5. Reading: I'm on quite a reading kick these days. It's much more fun than doing that annoying housework like laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc
Five other fabulous bloggers:
This is the one I've had problems with. Kristy's blog is the only one I read that I actually know the person. There are a few others I read, but I don't personally know them. Almost three years ago I found a Christian forum for infertility called Hannah's Prayer. I think I've posted 15 times in the last three years, but I check it often. There are a lot of blogs that I've read on there that have given me encouragement over the years. Since I don't post that often no one knows who I am, but I know a lot of them and their stories. I'm pretty sure that could be a definition of a stalker??? I don't want anyone to think I'm some creepy person sitting in a dark basement using the computer to track down these people so I won't list them. Instead I'll list some blogs and sites that I keep up with. I guess this isn't actually an award, but just a list of things that I check out frequently. Think of it as a way to get to know me and some other people a little better.
1. The Shepherd Times - This is Corey and Kristy's blog. Corey and Jay are first cousins, their dad's are brothers. It's been nice to be able to stay up on each other's families since we don't get to see each other often. Corey and Kristy just had their 3rd son last week. I'm looking forward to getting to know another little Shepherd through their blog. He was born at 28 weeks 6 days (I'mnot sure I've got the days right but I know he was under 29 weeks). Benjamin seems to be doing very well considering his early arrival. You'll need to look at their blog - I'm amazed by the size of his diapers and the fact they still look huge on him.
2. Stuff Christian's Like - With the rest of my list I had to at least put one down that's more on the silly side. I don't keep up with this as often as I used to, but I check it out every once in awhile. There was a good one recently about how Christmassy is your Christmas sweater. I thought it was funny, but I also have a weird sense of humor.
3. Bring the Rain - This is a blog written by the wife of a member of Selah. Their 4th daughter received a "not compatible with life" diagnosis about half way through the pregnancy. I found the blog a few weeks before Audrey Caroline's birth.
4. Skylers Website - This isn't technically a blog, but I do check it every day looking for updates. Skyler, the son of one of my former co-workers, has an inoperable brain tumor. Since finding out about his diagnosis last May, Skyler and his family have never been far from my thoughts. We pray every night with Cade that God will heal Skyler's tumor.
5. Colby's Caring Bridge Site - Again, this isn't a blog but it's an important site. Colby is the little boy in Cade's class who was diagnosed with lymphoma last June. I check it often looking for updates on Colby. He is also in our thoughts on a daily basis and we are also praying for his complete recovery.
Ok, after writing out that list I feel a little teary. This has been quite a year.
Weather
I haven't been good at updating the blog recently. I still have pictures from Charlotte that I want to post. We went to Billy Graham's library and have some neat ones from there. That was probably one of my favorite things about the whole trip. I also need to post some pictures of Cade from this past weekend. He was Joseph on our chuch float for the Christmas parade. He took his job very seriously.
The reason why I haven't been able to do anything with the pictures is because they're at home and I'm stuck at work. I've spent the last few nights with mom because of the nasty weather we've had. I have about a 35 + mile drive to work each day. When the weather gets bad it stresses me out because I'm afraid of having a wreck or getting hit by another car or going off in a ditch and not having cell service. It wouldn't bother me to drive it as long as I could be the only car on the road. Since that's not an option I've stayed here. Also this time of year is busy with people deciding they want loans at the last minute and co-workers trying to use up vacation time. I sacrificed time with my family so that I wouldn't stress anyone out at work. The sacrifice ends today, I'm going home. FCS will have to deal with it if I can't make it to work, but I really don't think I'll have a problem. I'm thinking that the worst maybe over???
Tomorrow I have the follow up with the urologist so I'll have some more information about the kidney stone. I'm not looking forword to tomorrow's appointment....To start with the waiting room is always packed, when I go I wait for at least an hour before I even get to go back to a room. Then I feel a little odd while I'm waiting - the waiting room is 95% men over the age of 70. I'm a 31 year old female so I know people are looking at me wondering why I'm there. The only plus about the weather is that maybe some of the other patients won't want to get out in it tomorrow? Ok that's a little mean - hoping that the older patients won't make their appointments because of the snow and ice. I guess the waiting thing could go either way. I'll just have to wait and see. My appointment is at 1:00 so hopefully I'll be done by 3:00???? It's always a toss up.
The reason why I haven't been able to do anything with the pictures is because they're at home and I'm stuck at work. I've spent the last few nights with mom because of the nasty weather we've had. I have about a 35 + mile drive to work each day. When the weather gets bad it stresses me out because I'm afraid of having a wreck or getting hit by another car or going off in a ditch and not having cell service. It wouldn't bother me to drive it as long as I could be the only car on the road. Since that's not an option I've stayed here. Also this time of year is busy with people deciding they want loans at the last minute and co-workers trying to use up vacation time. I sacrificed time with my family so that I wouldn't stress anyone out at work. The sacrifice ends today, I'm going home. FCS will have to deal with it if I can't make it to work, but I really don't think I'll have a problem. I'm thinking that the worst maybe over???
Tomorrow I have the follow up with the urologist so I'll have some more information about the kidney stone. I'm not looking forword to tomorrow's appointment....To start with the waiting room is always packed, when I go I wait for at least an hour before I even get to go back to a room. Then I feel a little odd while I'm waiting - the waiting room is 95% men over the age of 70. I'm a 31 year old female so I know people are looking at me wondering why I'm there. The only plus about the weather is that maybe some of the other patients won't want to get out in it tomorrow? Ok that's a little mean - hoping that the older patients won't make their appointments because of the snow and ice. I guess the waiting thing could go either way. I'll just have to wait and see. My appointment is at 1:00 so hopefully I'll be done by 3:00???? It's always a toss up.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The NASCAR Experience
Blogging Note - On the post describing my current medical issues I said I'd have some interesting pictures to show. After re-reading that it sounds like I had pictures of all the cysts and stones. I meant interesting pictures of our trip not the CAT scan. Sorry if I grossed someone out. Here is the post with the really good pictures.
One of the highlights of our trip to Charlotte was visiting the Lowe's Motor Speedway. I'm not a NASCAR fan, but it was still interesting. There were about 5 or 6 cars practicing that day and it was so loud, I can't imagine how loud it would be on race day. I think your hearing would be permanently damaged or at the least you'd be partially deaf for the next few days. Besides winning a wonderful plaque and the honor of being the outstanding ag program in region 4, Jay and Lyle also won a cash prize. Since the money was burning a hole in their pockets while we were at the Speedway they found a way to spend it. We all are guilty of spending money and not really remembering what we spent it on. I think Jay and Lyle can safely say they won't ever forget what they spent their prize money on this time.
Welcome to the Richard Petty Driving School:
No, it's not Ricky Bobby & Cal Naughton Jr from Talladega Nights, it's Jay and Lyle. They rode in a NASCAR 3 times around the track going 165 mph. I don't think Jania and I have laughed as hard as we did watching them get in and out of the car (see the last picture for an example). All Jay could think about while he was in the car was that he wouldn't be able to get his head out of the car. I'm already seeing the above picture on the slide show at the FFA Banquet in May.
One of the highlights of our trip to Charlotte was visiting the Lowe's Motor Speedway. I'm not a NASCAR fan, but it was still interesting. There were about 5 or 6 cars practicing that day and it was so loud, I can't imagine how loud it would be on race day. I think your hearing would be permanently damaged or at the least you'd be partially deaf for the next few days. Besides winning a wonderful plaque and the honor of being the outstanding ag program in region 4, Jay and Lyle also won a cash prize. Since the money was burning a hole in their pockets while we were at the Speedway they found a way to spend it. We all are guilty of spending money and not really remembering what we spent it on. I think Jay and Lyle can safely say they won't ever forget what they spent their prize money on this time.
Welcome to the Richard Petty Driving School:
No, it's not Ricky Bobby & Cal Naughton Jr from Talladega Nights, it's Jay and Lyle. They rode in a NASCAR 3 times around the track going 165 mph. I don't think Jania and I have laughed as hard as we did watching them get in and out of the car (see the last picture for an example). All Jay could think about while he was in the car was that he wouldn't be able to get his head out of the car. I'm already seeing the above picture on the slide show at the FFA Banquet in May.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Memory Lapse
I know in a lot of my posts it seems like I'm hard on Jay. For any of you wondering about that he does give as good as he gets. Most of our families know that and Lyle and Jania were witnesses to it last week in Charlotte. This next story though is too good to not write about. For those who think I'm too much like Kate from John and Kate + 8, even you'll appreciate this story.
Jay had a FFA officers meeting at 7:30 am this morning. They have these at least once a month and they're not a big deal. Cade gets to play on the computers from 7:00 to 7:50 and then Jay take him to the elementary for school. This morning I got a phone call from Jay at 10:00 and he says "uh, you're gonna kill me". For a brief moment I was concerned because he sounded like something was wrong. He then went on to say "I'm just now getting Cade to school". After the meeting Terry called, then Jay went to eat breakfast and then it was time for school to start. Finally at 10:00 a student walked by the computer lab and said "shouldn't that kid be in school." That's when it hit Jay, he had forgotten to take Cade to school this morning. Cade had been playing computer games for almost 3 hours. He never moved from his spot. When Jay walked into the lab to get him Cade said "man dad, that meeting took a long time". I laughed so hard that I was crying when he told me, but I've always had a fear of forgetting Cade so I wasn't upset. But it's going to take Jay a long, very long time to live this down at school. I'm sure it spread from one end of the hall to the other in record time.
Jay had a FFA officers meeting at 7:30 am this morning. They have these at least once a month and they're not a big deal. Cade gets to play on the computers from 7:00 to 7:50 and then Jay take him to the elementary for school. This morning I got a phone call from Jay at 10:00 and he says "uh, you're gonna kill me". For a brief moment I was concerned because he sounded like something was wrong. He then went on to say "I'm just now getting Cade to school". After the meeting Terry called, then Jay went to eat breakfast and then it was time for school to start. Finally at 10:00 a student walked by the computer lab and said "shouldn't that kid be in school." That's when it hit Jay, he had forgotten to take Cade to school this morning. Cade had been playing computer games for almost 3 hours. He never moved from his spot. When Jay walked into the lab to get him Cade said "man dad, that meeting took a long time". I laughed so hard that I was crying when he told me, but I've always had a fear of forgetting Cade so I wasn't upset. But it's going to take Jay a long, very long time to live this down at school. I'm sure it spread from one end of the hall to the other in record time.
Monday, December 8, 2008
My Absence
Some of you may be wondering where I've been since I haven't posted in almost two weeks. Jay and I, along with Lyle and Jania have been in Charlotte, NC. Jay and Lyle received their award that I wrote about here and Jania and I went along for the ride. Actually, there probably aren't many who are really wondering why there was a break in the posts because most of you who read this knew where we were. But in case there are some out there who didn't know that's why.
I had taken off work all last week, Monday through Friday. We didn't leave until Tuesday morning so I had big, big plans for Monday. I was going to pack, have my oil changed, update the blog for Christmas and write a fabulous post about our Thanksgiving, balance our checkbook, go to the library etc. That all came to a screeching halt Sunday evening.
I've been having some issues for the last few months with recurrent UTI's (urinary tract infections). I had to go see a urologist the middle of November and he set me up to have a wonderful test called an IVP. Let me be honest here - if a medical test comes with instructions telling you how to prep for the test you best block out the night before the test. You're not going to want to be anywhere but home. Anyway, this test was supposed to show if I had any masses growing on my kidneys or any kidney stones. The doctor would only call if there was something that needed to be addressed before my next appointment. By the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I assumed no news was good news and decided to quit worrying about it.
Fast forward to the Sunday after Thanksgiving and two days before we are supposed to leave for Charlotte and I have a pain in my right side. It was a different kind of pain that I'd had off and on for awhile. That combined with my high blood pressure was somewhat concerning me, but the doctor hadn't called so I figured everything was fine. That afternoon it kept getting worse and I had a feeling I was getting another UTI. Jay and I talked about it and we decided I should go to urgent care rather than trying to fit in a doctors appt on Monday. I headed to Springfield and Jay stayed home with Cade. I got into the doctor pretty quickly, which was great, but I didn't have a UTI. The doctor was concerned because of my symptoms and some other things that had shown up. He wanted to do a CAT scan to check for stones or a kidney mass. I asked about the IVP I had just two weeks earlier and he said that really wouldn't show the bad stuff if it was in the kidneys, only if it was in the tubes. Great, I'm at the doctor's by myself, scared because the doctor seemed pretty concerned and I was mad I had suffered through the IVP prep for apparently no good reason. Then to add insult to injury they had to run a pregnancy test before they'd do the CAT scan. No, I'm not going to "surprise" every one in this post and say it was positive. I waited at least 30 minutes for the stupid thing to come back negative (like that wasn't obvious) before I could have the real test.
After a few agonizing minutes the doctor finally came in with the results and thankfully I did not have a mass on my kidneys. I did have a 2mm kidney stone which was stuck in the kidney and not in the tract. I was surprised by this because I was in pain, but I wasn't in that much pain. I've heard of people rolling around on the floor because of the pain and mine clearly wasn't that bad. But they also found more than I had bargained for....gallstones and two ovarian cysts. I had been pretty concerned about this pain and the blood pressure thing for awhile so it was nice to have some relief from the worry. While driving home my relief turned to humor, which it normally does....I am a like surgeon's gold mine. For those of you who are more literal, no I don't need surgery, I'd only need it if 1. if the kidney stone got bigger then they'd blow it up 2. if the gallstones start bothering me 3. if the cysts didn't eventually go away... so for those of you thinking "she doesn't need surgery" just work with me here....I've got three things going on that could require surgery but yet are fairly simple procedures. If I visited a doctor who wanted a little extra cash he could make it off of me. Cha Ching!!! Hopefully I don't end up in the wrong hands in the ER someday! I've laughed over that for some reason. But yet it also explains a lot.
So that brings me back to Monday and why I didn't post anything. I was too worried about passing a kidney stone on a plane somewhere between KC and Charlotte. It's definitely a thought that halted my productivity last Monday. Fortunately Lyle, Jania, Jay and I along with the cysts and the stones (If I were smarter I could make some funny rock band comment there like The Stones are so old they started touring with The Cysts and they're coming to a hospital near you, but right now it's not coming to me) made it home safe and sound Sunday morning.
I've got some really good pictures to post so stay tuned!
I had taken off work all last week, Monday through Friday. We didn't leave until Tuesday morning so I had big, big plans for Monday. I was going to pack, have my oil changed, update the blog for Christmas and write a fabulous post about our Thanksgiving, balance our checkbook, go to the library etc. That all came to a screeching halt Sunday evening.
I've been having some issues for the last few months with recurrent UTI's (urinary tract infections). I had to go see a urologist the middle of November and he set me up to have a wonderful test called an IVP. Let me be honest here - if a medical test comes with instructions telling you how to prep for the test you best block out the night before the test. You're not going to want to be anywhere but home. Anyway, this test was supposed to show if I had any masses growing on my kidneys or any kidney stones. The doctor would only call if there was something that needed to be addressed before my next appointment. By the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I assumed no news was good news and decided to quit worrying about it.
Fast forward to the Sunday after Thanksgiving and two days before we are supposed to leave for Charlotte and I have a pain in my right side. It was a different kind of pain that I'd had off and on for awhile. That combined with my high blood pressure was somewhat concerning me, but the doctor hadn't called so I figured everything was fine. That afternoon it kept getting worse and I had a feeling I was getting another UTI. Jay and I talked about it and we decided I should go to urgent care rather than trying to fit in a doctors appt on Monday. I headed to Springfield and Jay stayed home with Cade. I got into the doctor pretty quickly, which was great, but I didn't have a UTI. The doctor was concerned because of my symptoms and some other things that had shown up. He wanted to do a CAT scan to check for stones or a kidney mass. I asked about the IVP I had just two weeks earlier and he said that really wouldn't show the bad stuff if it was in the kidneys, only if it was in the tubes. Great, I'm at the doctor's by myself, scared because the doctor seemed pretty concerned and I was mad I had suffered through the IVP prep for apparently no good reason. Then to add insult to injury they had to run a pregnancy test before they'd do the CAT scan. No, I'm not going to "surprise" every one in this post and say it was positive. I waited at least 30 minutes for the stupid thing to come back negative (like that wasn't obvious) before I could have the real test.
After a few agonizing minutes the doctor finally came in with the results and thankfully I did not have a mass on my kidneys. I did have a 2mm kidney stone which was stuck in the kidney and not in the tract. I was surprised by this because I was in pain, but I wasn't in that much pain. I've heard of people rolling around on the floor because of the pain and mine clearly wasn't that bad. But they also found more than I had bargained for....gallstones and two ovarian cysts. I had been pretty concerned about this pain and the blood pressure thing for awhile so it was nice to have some relief from the worry. While driving home my relief turned to humor, which it normally does....I am a like surgeon's gold mine. For those of you who are more literal, no I don't need surgery, I'd only need it if 1. if the kidney stone got bigger then they'd blow it up 2. if the gallstones start bothering me 3. if the cysts didn't eventually go away... so for those of you thinking "she doesn't need surgery" just work with me here....I've got three things going on that could require surgery but yet are fairly simple procedures. If I visited a doctor who wanted a little extra cash he could make it off of me. Cha Ching!!! Hopefully I don't end up in the wrong hands in the ER someday! I've laughed over that for some reason. But yet it also explains a lot.
So that brings me back to Monday and why I didn't post anything. I was too worried about passing a kidney stone on a plane somewhere between KC and Charlotte. It's definitely a thought that halted my productivity last Monday. Fortunately Lyle, Jania, Jay and I along with the cysts and the stones (If I were smarter I could make some funny rock band comment there like The Stones are so old they started touring with The Cysts and they're coming to a hospital near you, but right now it's not coming to me) made it home safe and sound Sunday morning.
I've got some really good pictures to post so stay tuned!
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