(click on the picture to enlarge)
No, not really. After dealing with pain in my lower left abdomen, ranging from mild discomfort to "ouch, dammit, ouch", for all of last weekend, Sue drove me to the emergency room at a nearby hospital early Monday. They did some tests, including a CAT-scan and found that I had a kidney stone.
They said that it had almost completed its path to the bladder and should pass out of my system on its own soon. The fact that it was only 3mm in size would help that process. Stones as big as 7mm usually pass easily. So, after 4 hours at the hospital, they gave me prescriptions for pain (Vicodin) and Flomax (to help the exit happen easier) and sent us home.
I used the Vicodin twice, but didn't have much pain after about 10:00 pm on Monday. Then, around 6:00 pm on Tuesday, this little guy presented himself to the world. (much to my relief)
Tomorrow (Thursday), I go to a urologist here in Bonita Springs. He will look at the stone and decide which one of four possible types it is. Some are caused by infections, others by mineral deposits. One very rare kind is even hereditary. I don't think that I have that last kind, but both my Dad and my brother had kidney stones.
A big thanks to Sue for expertly applying the light source so I could use a magnifier and camera to take the picture. I wanted to have a record of the event in case the urologist doesn't return the little boulder to me.
To all blog readers, I fought the urge to post this picture on Facebook. I believe that it was a wise choice.
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