Around 10 pm on Aug 10 I started throwing up. This was accompanied by severe back pain on one side. Since I'd had several kidney stones before I knew the symptoms and started with my normal procedures to pass one. Usually they pass. I've only had to go to the hospital twice before. Once it was gone by the time I got there and once I spent all day and it finally passed without any interference from them.
Anyways I started drinking lots of water and took some Cranberry pills. The problem with the pills is I kept throwing up so they weren't getting into my system. I need to buy some juice to keep on hand. This lasted all night untill I was only throwing up water - nothing left in my system and still in pain. So I checked with the local Urgent Care but they didn't open until 8 and they didn't have any equipment to deal with kidney stones. So I called my mom and dad to drive me to the hospital in the next town.
Unfortunately they were busy and it was more than an hour before I got checked in. They said the previous day they had only had one patient. They did an ultrasound and found out I had a 12 centimeter kidney stone. The dr planned to go in and reconnect my kidney around it.
That was the plan anyways. When he got in he got the stent around the stone and hit a pocket of infection which went thru my whole system putting me in septic shock. The pus and infection infected all my organs. There happened to be a clinical study being done in the hospital right then on septic shock and how their drug might treat it better. They contacted my parents and they had 30 minutes to decide whether to allow them to treat me or not. My parents knew people who had died from septic shock or who had been sick for more than a year recuperating from it. The mortality rate is 50%. Mom consented to the study.
At that point they went in and took out my gall bladder because it had already become infected. I had a very difficult time coming out of the anethesia. Once they had me woke up, they turned around and put me in a coma for 8 days, while they tried to flush all the toxins out of my system. After 8 days they woke me up.
I was incredibly confused at first and was kept in ICU for 2 days. Then they moved me to an Intensive Care room. By the third day I could stand with help. On the forth day I could walk slowly using a walker. On the fifth day they sent me home to my parents. This was last Sunday. I was so happy to be out of that hospital and the shower I took when I got to my parents is problably one of the 10 best feelings in my life.
At first I was incredibly tired after doing any little thing. Even lifting a spoon to eat was a hugh chore. But I gained strength each day. By Wednesday I was walking without the walker or a cane and Thursday I went up and down the stairs without a problem. So my parents brought me back to my house last night.
I still get tired very easily, but I just rest for awhile until I have more energy. Mom and I are walking about a 1/4 of what we did before. I try to add a little more each day. I have a hard time eating since I'm not hungry and nothing tasted right. All the antibiotics wiped out my taste buds for now.
Because I was in a clinical trial I don't know for sure if I got the drug or a placebo, but based on my recovery and things the nurses said I'm pretty sure I got the drug. Eventually they are supposed to let me know.
I still have the issue of having a 12 centimeter stone in my body and they saw an unidentified mass on my kidney from before. That could have been the pocket of infection or it could be something else. I have follow up appointments to deal with it. I also have a ton of bills coming up with no idea right now what this will cost. I have a $2000 deductible so I'm sure it's at least that much.
But for now I'm alive and home and not in pain - so I feel good. My concentration isn't that good so I'm not reading as fast buy I did finish the library book Whiplash by Catherine Coulter. Mystery - very good
a long post about why I haven't posted in so long
August 27th, 2010 at 05:47 pm
August 27th, 2010 at 06:12 pm 1282932768
August 27th, 2010 at 06:17 pm 1282933063
August 27th, 2010 at 07:14 pm 1282936482
August 27th, 2010 at 07:28 pm 1282937335
August 27th, 2010 at 07:32 pm 1282937528
August 27th, 2010 at 07:47 pm 1282938468
August 27th, 2010 at 07:51 pm 1282938682
August 27th, 2010 at 08:06 pm 1282939585
August 27th, 2010 at 08:11 pm 1282939902
Jerry
August 27th, 2010 at 08:15 pm 1282940154
August 27th, 2010 at 08:52 pm 1282942338
August 27th, 2010 at 09:08 pm 1282943338
August 27th, 2010 at 11:44 pm 1282952654
And your poor parents! They must have had the fright of their lives.
August 28th, 2010 at 12:25 am 1282955116
August 28th, 2010 at 01:01 am 1282957305
I'm so glad you're feeling better, and I hope everything else gets straightened out.
August 28th, 2010 at 01:32 am 1282959155
August 28th, 2010 at 02:21 am 1282962061
August 28th, 2010 at 06:01 am 1282975273
August 28th, 2010 at 10:46 am 1282992388
August 28th, 2010 at 05:27 pm 1283016472
August 29th, 2010 at 09:48 pm 1283118525
August 30th, 2010 at 02:30 am 1283135423
August 30th, 2010 at 05:55 pm 1283190955
August 30th, 2010 at 06:03 pm 1283191385
August 31st, 2010 at 06:49 pm 1283280572