life's little surprises
It had been a pretty great vacation up to today... my time in NB had been spent roasting myself silly at the beach, trying to dodge jellyfish and horseflies. Meals consisted of local delicacies like fried clams and my dad's very great BBQ steaks, burgers, etc. He really is the cliched king fo the grill, and I am grateful for it!
Went to see Pirates of the Caribbean with my sister and thoroughly enjoyed it, as swollen and overdone as it was, it was perfect summer popcorn movie fare!
Today was Return to Toronto day, and I was feeling pretty ready for it, eager to get back with a pretty healthy attitude, ready to make some lifestyle changes and continue to enjoy another week of time to myself. I felt kind of bloated and unusually constipated, but figured that the heat and unusual diet contributed to that. My parents went to an eye appointment for my dad and we were going to have a last brunch before heading to the airport. I checked in online and had a few hours to kill.
My stomach was getting worse. It was a frustrating feeling, one which wouldn't be compatible with a plane ride. After about 2 hours of this, I suddenly experienced a surge of pain. It was a burning stab in my lower abdomen on the right side, and I suddenly knew I wasn't constipated. Something was wrong. And it was, like, hospital wrong. I lay down on my bed, hoping that it would help to lessen the pain, but it was radiating through to my back on the same side, and there was no comfortable position. It was getting worse. I made my way to my parents' phonebook, hoping to find my mom's cell number in the off chance that she'd have it on. It wasn't listed. So I called my sister in Fredericton. She could hear the pain in my voice and told me she'd call her and get back to me right away. I lay back down and started to panic for the first time. She called back and told me that she couldn't reach her, but she called me an ambulance instead.
Oh great. It's funny, despite the fact that I knew this was exactly what I needed, I still felt embarrassed that I was getting all this attention. By the time they arrived, I was shaking with pain, and sobbing fairly uncontrollably. Of course, my parents arrived about 5 minutes later and their shock added to the chaos. And then I was on a stretcher, being carried to an ambulance for the first time in my life. So weird.
It turned out to be a kidney stone, NOT my appendix, as I had been fearing. But let me be clear, the pain was still as exquisite as anything I have ever experienced. I was brought to triage immediately and after about a half hour was FINALLY given pain killers, sweet, blessed drugs. The catscan revealed that the stone wasn't too big, about 2 mm, and by the time they found it, the worst of it had passed, and the stone passed into the bladder. I was released about 4 hours after I arrived, with a lovely prescription for narcotics.
As a result, I missed my flight to Toronto, and was re-scheduled for a Friday flight, which is a little disappointing, but I am being well cared for here, and it's just as well I suppose.
At this point, I'm feeling pretty ok, not sure if the stone has passed already, mercifully crushed by the walls of my mighty urethra, or if it's still inside. All I know for sure is I'm going to sleep sooooo well tonight.
Went to see Pirates of the Caribbean with my sister and thoroughly enjoyed it, as swollen and overdone as it was, it was perfect summer popcorn movie fare!
Today was Return to Toronto day, and I was feeling pretty ready for it, eager to get back with a pretty healthy attitude, ready to make some lifestyle changes and continue to enjoy another week of time to myself. I felt kind of bloated and unusually constipated, but figured that the heat and unusual diet contributed to that. My parents went to an eye appointment for my dad and we were going to have a last brunch before heading to the airport. I checked in online and had a few hours to kill.
My stomach was getting worse. It was a frustrating feeling, one which wouldn't be compatible with a plane ride. After about 2 hours of this, I suddenly experienced a surge of pain. It was a burning stab in my lower abdomen on the right side, and I suddenly knew I wasn't constipated. Something was wrong. And it was, like, hospital wrong. I lay down on my bed, hoping that it would help to lessen the pain, but it was radiating through to my back on the same side, and there was no comfortable position. It was getting worse. I made my way to my parents' phonebook, hoping to find my mom's cell number in the off chance that she'd have it on. It wasn't listed. So I called my sister in Fredericton. She could hear the pain in my voice and told me she'd call her and get back to me right away. I lay back down and started to panic for the first time. She called back and told me that she couldn't reach her, but she called me an ambulance instead.
Oh great. It's funny, despite the fact that I knew this was exactly what I needed, I still felt embarrassed that I was getting all this attention. By the time they arrived, I was shaking with pain, and sobbing fairly uncontrollably. Of course, my parents arrived about 5 minutes later and their shock added to the chaos. And then I was on a stretcher, being carried to an ambulance for the first time in my life. So weird.
It turned out to be a kidney stone, NOT my appendix, as I had been fearing. But let me be clear, the pain was still as exquisite as anything I have ever experienced. I was brought to triage immediately and after about a half hour was FINALLY given pain killers, sweet, blessed drugs. The catscan revealed that the stone wasn't too big, about 2 mm, and by the time they found it, the worst of it had passed, and the stone passed into the bladder. I was released about 4 hours after I arrived, with a lovely prescription for narcotics.
As a result, I missed my flight to Toronto, and was re-scheduled for a Friday flight, which is a little disappointing, but I am being well cared for here, and it's just as well I suppose.
At this point, I'm feeling pretty ok, not sure if the stone has passed already, mercifully crushed by the walls of my mighty urethra, or if it's still inside. All I know for sure is I'm going to sleep sooooo well tonight.
