This is an incredible stuffed dog toy. But it has a secret power.
There are beads of something in the bottom of it that you can
heat up in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds and they turn
this toy into a wonderful and uplifting heating pad. You'll want
one if you get Kidney Stones. I guarantee you will...
Monday afternoon: about 3:30. Kirk feels a crushing, dull pain coming on slowly to his lower, right side back. And a lot of pressure to the area where one's bladder resides. I felt this same pain about 34 years ago. Back then it was a kidney stone. I knew we were going to go downhill quickly. When the pain got nearly unbearable we headed to my favorite Emergency Department at my favorite, huge, midtown hospital. Got admitted and triaged.
IVs. CT scans. Intravenous pain killers culminating in an intra-muscular shot of morphine at 1:30 Tuesday morning along with vague instructions for enduring and succeeding in passing the kidney stone on my own.
Yesterday I met with a bright, youngish urologist (who incidentally, grew up going to the Rollingwood swimming pool and who lives in the neighborhood). He went over the multiple CT scans and delivered bad news. There's a monster big (1cm) kidney stone that ain't going to make it out on its own. A type of surgery done with laparoscopy and a laser is indicated. Just waiting, completely uncomfortably, to get that scheduled.
The process is longer than I'd like and I've been out of the pool already a lot longer than I'd like. Probably just writing off the rest of January. A really crappy way to start out the year.
But at least I don't have to worry about rescheduling clients. Thank goodness for retirement. More time for doctor's appointments.
I'm now the guy who is drinking more water every day than I thought possible. Nurse B. insists.
Hope you guys can soldier on without me for a bit longer. Might try to have Henry White step in to write a substitute post or two.
Major ouchies.
Added Friday morning: Feeling much better this morning. Even went out for a nice walk. On the mend.
20 comments:
One battle after another, without the. prospect of an Oscar. Seems like a long time to wait, though.
See? Even when we take care of ourselves we often aren’t taking as good care of ourselves as we think. Sorry about your painful and undignified start to 2026. Here’s to an easy procedure and quick recovery, Kirk!
Sorry to hear that you’re having to deal with that pain until surgery. It’s no fun, that’s for sure. Not a great way to spend any retirement time, not to mention being unable to swim now, and then in the recovery phase. I hope you have a less arduous wait and a swift recovery.
Oof! Sorry to hear. Feel better Kirk!
What ever happened to ultrasound to break the boulders up? I thought that was the school solution. Good luck, take care. RichThomasTacoma
Get well soon !
Those are one of my major fears, on the avoid list.
I like how you've continued to expand your repertoire; can we expect to see more stuffies interspersed amongst — or perhaps in lieu of — the manequin portraits? ;-) And you know, Kirk, that mirror is just begging for that classic Tuck reflective self-portrait. . . .
But in complete sincerity, best wishes! Hang in there, man; you've been through worse, you'll weather this, too!
No fun. Sorry to hear you are out of the pool. Best wishes for a good surgery & speedy recovery.
Get well!
Sorry to hear. Had been wondering where you were. Hope you're back in the pool before too long.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Sorry you are going through this.
Yikes! I hope this issue gets solved quickly. Thank you for letting us know what’s up. Get well soon.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Oh, I know that pain. Had it twice. Good luck and hoping for a quick appointment.
My thoughts are with you and hope you get the relief you need soon. I have had kidney stones twice and at times they can hurt enough to make a grown roll around the floor in agony. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Aw man, they hurt. But what instant relief when they pass. When you're bored of all the water and coffee or tea, my brother was told that beer is good too.
Get well soon, Kirk! Look forward to seeing you on South Congress!
Thanks David, I just returned from a walk up and down S. Congress with a stop for the highly medicinal coffee at Jo's Coffee. So nice to get out of the house on a perfect afternoon!!! Hope to see you there sometime this weekend.
Ouch! Never got kidney stones thanks (add you Deity here), but I have endured gotta... I really wish you well soon.
Hi Kirk, I sympathize with your suffering. I had kidney stones a couple of decades ago. I survived the first passing, but I got another while in the middle of a submersible dive from a vessel out at sea. I had to suffer in silence, and did my observations when it was my turn, and curled up when it wasn't my turn. But, most of the attack passed by the time the submersible surfaced after 8 hours. Fortunately, I didn't have to declare a medical emergency and cut our voyage short. Drank more water when I wasn't on a dive, but had to cut back when I had a dive coming up. No place to pee in the sub! Hope you're feeling better!
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