Rolling Like a Kidney Stone

It's Wednesday morning and I'm at work. About thirty minutes ago my perfectly healthy looking husband dropped me off. My phone flashes at me as I get a text.

Jeremy: I think I need to go to the ER. What hospital do I go to?

I know this might sound like a strange question to ask, but we just switched insurance this year and this is the first time we've had to use the ER. I try not to panic, but I'm envisioning that he has chopped off a finger making himself breakfast..or something just as gruesome.

Me: What? Whats wrong? Go to community.

Jeremy: Ok.

Ok? OK?! That's all I get. He is telling me that he needs to go to the ER and then just brushes off my question of what's happening? I don't even think so. I call him.

Jeremy: *sounding like he has been punched in the stomach* Hello.

Me: What is going on?

Jeremy: I don't know. I got this sharp pain in my back and it hasn't gone away.

Me: Do I need to drive you? Are you ok?

Jeremy: I'm already on my way but I can stop and pick you up.

Me: No, no. Just go. But call me when you can to let me know whats going on.

It was 7:47.

I text him at 8:00. No response.

I text him again at 9:00. No response.

By this time, my mind has gone to some pretty scary places. I can't help it. So, I call the hospital and get transferred to the ER. He had just been sent to get a CT scan. I ask the guy, 'Can you tell me if he is ok? I'm trying not to panic here' and he tells me that Jeremy is stable. Well, that's something at least.

Finally, at 9:51, I hear from Jeremy. Within that three hour window I couldn't see straight. And I had screwed up orders, and spreadsheets, and stupid conference calls..basically everything that I don't have to deal with on a normal basis was falling in my lap. But all that was going through my head was 'To go or not to go'.

11:00 rolled around and they still hadn't sent Jeremy home. He was still in the ER, hooked up to an IV. At this point I decide that I am just going to go to the hospital. I know if I was in the ER, hooked up to an IV, I'd want him to be there with me. The only problem is I don't have any time to take off work. So, I have to go through the whole hoop jumping of checking with a supervisor who has to check with the HR director to make sure that I can leave work. I get the OK, as long as I bring back something to prove I'm not lying, and I head out. Oh wait, there is another problem. We only have one car and it's already at the hospital. Luckily, my Mom wasn't working that day and was able to give me a ride. Momma saves the day.

I was finally able to lay eyes and hands on my husband by noon. It just made me feel so much better to be able to look at him and make sure he was ok. Nothing too eventful happened after that, but I know Jeremy was glad that I came to be with him. They were giving him pain meds to handle the stabbing, cramping back pains so he was at least comfortable. The ER doctor finally came to tell Jeremy that after reviewing the blood work and urine tests and CT scans he could say that it was in fact a kidney stone. They set us up with three prescriptions and a plastic bottle to catch Jeremy's pee..you know, in case he passed the stone, and then a strainer to catch the stone. Jeremy was thrilled with the idea of collecting his pee, let me tell you.

By 1:00 we were home. I told Jeremy to take his shoes off, go lay down, and call your mother before I walked right back out the door to go to the pharmacy. The three prescriptions cost us $60.00 (and I didn't even mention the co-pay for the ER visit). Jeremy had one more episode of stabbing pain. All I can compare it to is a woman having a contraction. He sort of froze in place and started breathing deeply in and out. All I could do was rub his leg or hold his hand. I asked him if the pain was as bad as this morning and he said no, the pain he had in the morning dropped him to his knees. He took some of his pain meds and soon the pain went away.

At around 9:30 that night Jeremy passed the kidney stone. It's now in a nice little sample cup on our bathroom counter. Jeremy says he can't believe something so small could cause so much pain. But, I'm looking at it and thinking no wonder it hurt so bad. Either way, as soon as he passed it he felt 100 times better and he hasn't had any pain since. Do y'all know what that means? It means I have three nearly full prescription bottles sitting on my microwave that cost me $60.00! Dang it!

But at least the pain has stopped and Jeremy is feeling better. Now to find out how we might avoid this in the future, because I don't think I can handle another day like this.