Winter Showers!

Well, I can’t deny the truth behind the old saying, “When it rains, it pours!” This has been one of the crummiest weeks ever....and so unexpected! I have not been sick (this does not include my “stomach” issues) in about 3 years. Last Saturday night, we had a great time with great friends (LOVE our small group). When I went home, I noticed my throat was starting to hurt a little. I thought nothing of it really because sometimes early in the morning and late at night this happens. Sunday morning we got up REALLY early for the 1/2 marathon (yes, another promised post to come later) and I felt really yucky. Again, I thought nothing of it because I sometimes feel this way when I haven’t gotten enough sleep. After braving the cold and the rain I came home and took a nap. When I woke up I felt TERRIBLE. I was running fever, had a sore throat, had body aches (not sure if this was from the race or from being sick), had a headache, and ended up throwing up Sunday night. Minus the throwing up, this is how it was for the next few days.

I attempted to go back to work on Wednesday only to leave a little early to go to the doctor. She basically told me that these are symptoms that many of her patients have come in complaining of and it’s basically a virus that has to run it’s course. She drew some blood to make sure it was viral rather than bacterial (she didn’t see anything on my throat to indicate strep) only to have the test mess up and us not find out the results. Because we were trying to play it safe for fertility reasons (even though she did a urine test that came back negative), she gave me a Z-PAK and told me to only start taking it on Friday if I did not feel better by then.

The unbearable (but well known) pain in my left abdomen (front, side, & back) showed it’s ugly face on Wednesday night! I woke up several times in the middle of the night crying (I don’t think I’m a weak person but this really hurts) so needless to say, I was unable to return to work on Thursday. After talking to my OB’s nurse on the phone, I decided to go ahead and go in and get some blood work done and give a urine sample. The urine sample showed a little bit of bacteria and a LOT of blood. I pretty much knew at this point it was probably kidney stones (I should know; it’s happened so often). The blood work was of course to see if I was pregnant so that we could take the necessary precautions during treatment (it takes about 24 hours for these results to come in). She sent me home with an antibiotic to take that is safe during pregnancy (just in case).

The pain continued with the severity fluctuating constantly. Dr. Peterson (my OB) returned my call on Friday and basically told me that if the pain didn’t go away within a couple of hours that I needed to go to the ER and have them page her since she would already be there. So, when James got home from work, that’s what we did. The wait was a little longer than normal (yes, we’ve done this before) and the pain got so intense that I just sat there and cried. They finally got us in a room and began to take blood to run some of the same tests that I had done the day before. I also had to give another urine sample. One of the nurses told me right off the bat that it was kidney stones...we figured as much because we’ve been through this before (although I was concerned that the endometriosis had grown back and was causing the pain). They went ahead and started me on fluids and pain medicine (that is supposedly safe during pregnancy). They did an ultrasound (both kind) and an examination.

After about 5 hours of being there, my test results came back. They discover that I am not pregnant and can do a cat scan but don’t feel like it’s necessary because my blood levels don’t indicate kidney stones. Of course I was crying because of the news I just received but I was also really upset that they were sending me home with extra strength Tylenol claiming that the infection was causing my pain. I knew better and practically insisted on a cat scan (I mean, might as well rule it out while we’re here since we can). So, she writes the orders and we wait a while longer and finally get the scans. And what do they find? Yes, a 2 mm kidney stone in my urethra about to enter my bladder. Why didn’t they just listen to us and the nurse from the beginning? After about 7 hours of being in the ER and 5 prescriptions later (including the Z PAK since it doesn’t matter if I take it or not), we got home around 1:00AM on Saturday morning. It was another rough night and day with the pain but at least I had the pain meds when I needed them. I went to bed last night (Saturday) pain free (thinking I was out of the woods) only to wake up in pain again early in the morning. So, I am still anxiously awaiting the little monster’s passing......

You know, I have passed 4mm stones at work before with NO problem but for some reason this little 2mm stone is giving me fits (I think it might be stuck). James has gotten stones once and never seen them again. Once I started getting them, I haven’t stopped. I am at least feeling somewhat better today and was able to get out of the house....I am so sick of being in bed!! I am actually looking forward to getting back into the groove of things. Thanks friends for all of your well wishes and prayers-I appreciate it more than you know! :) And thanks so much to my sweet friend Dawn for bringing us some grub on Saturday night-it was delicious!!

I have 2 things to comment on before checking out:

1) Thank you Meredith Bass for introducing me to the best OB ever!!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Dr. Peterson and am so grateful to have a doctor I can trust....a doctor who actually seems to care about me! I never saw her when I was in the ER (I think they waited too long to page her) but I was told she called TWICE to check on me while I was there....and she wasn’t even the doctor on call!!! How great is that?!

2) No, I’m not pregnant. Yes, I am hurting. I don’t have much to say about it....I feel like I’ve said it all before. I think this only proves that no matter how perfect everything is (and it was), if it’s not a part of God’s plan, it’s not going to happen. I am *trying* to trust in Him and His perfect plan and seek Him daily for discernment concerning this whole process. Please pray for us as we continue on this very difficult journey.