Shreveport Detour

Last friday started out like any other "Friday Shopping Day". I was driving through Shreveport on my way to meet my cousin at the farm, just like most trips where we meet there and then cut back through Bossier to the Boardwalk. However, on this particular day as I was driving on the bypass I suddenly felt like death sat behind me in the seat of my car (I kid you not). Let me preface this pain this way...tuesday or wednesday night I had some pretty crazy, random lower left back pain that woke me up. I laid on the couch for a few hours and it finally went away, so I figured it was muscular pain (Shawn told me to go to the doctor for it...yeah, right)...no biggie, not the first time. On thursday night, it returned....so I took a super hot shower to try to relax it away (this pain was nothing compared to the previous pain) and it was gone....Shawn said "go to the doctor", I said "whatever"....and went to bed. Friday morning I felt super...not sarcastic super, really super! Anywho, driving on the bypass changed that super fast. I miraculously made it to Posado's on Bert Koons where I crawled into my backseat and laid there for probably 30 minutes. I decided I should let Ashley (my cousin) know I would be running late and let her know what was up....then I called Shawn....then I called my doctor's office and talked (or something like talking...I did my best) to a nurse. Believe me, I had no real intention of going anywhere to get help....come on, that's such a pain and I had serious shopping to do. The nurse convinced me (in a very panicky way after I described what was up) that I needed to get to an ER ASAP....then she suggested I call an ambulance to come get me (I played along, but that was a firm "no way"). So, I laid there a little longer so the spinning could stop and I could regroup myself to figure out where I was and what was around me. After I did this, I magaged to climb back in the driver's seat and drive up the road to the nearest hospital...as soon as I parked I called the nurse back (b/c she said to call her back and if she didn't hear from me when I got to the ER she would be calling an ambulance herself to come get me...so I decided I better go). Again, it's a miracle I drove myself to the ER (well, I made it to the hospital parking lot and walked way around the buidling looking for the ER entrance...which is a miracle in itself) since I wasn't really in a mental state to be operating a vehicle. I sat in the ER for a bit (shaking and bent over...I'm sure anyone who came in thought I was messed up on something), finally saw a nurse, described (the best I could...as I said before, I wasn't really good with talking at this point...not breathing well can do that to you) what was up and answered lots of questions before being put into a room where I had to get into a gown (keep in mind that, at this point, even though the nurse at my doctor's office said she suspected kidney stones I still believed it was muscular pain)....ugh. At this point I was thinking "this sure is a lot for muscular pain...gah, just do something and let me go...I need to shop". About that time, the doc comes in, does his exam, tells me the nurse will be in shortly to get me started on IV fluids and pain killers and I would go in for a CT Scan asap (this is where I said "now what?") and explained he suspected I had kidney stones or a ruptured cyst, but most likely kidney stones. Ok, yay...this is where I go to the mental state of "crap, I'm in an ER in another state, alone, and Shawn will be able to say I should have gone to the doctor days ago like he said to....double crap." The drugs have started...I update my facebook status (without really thinking about it) and start to get texts in my loopy state (which was great b/c I like to talk and that kept my mind off of the pain and the painkillers that weren't doing their job)....hopefully I didn't say anything back to ppl too stupid sounding. I felt all cold, my nose started to itch (the really nice nurse said that was normal), and I couldn't feel my hands or legs anymore....perfect for texting, right? haha, that's why I say there is no telling what came out. Anywho, I was there for a while...went in for the CT scan, was told I had 2 kidney stones (1 on the left, 1 on the right), but the left one was the problem. (Ashley and Shawn made to the ER by this time, so that already made me feel better to not be alone...but I still hurt). The doc also complimented my state when he met me....he said I was very reserved for a person with kidney stones-haha! Anywho, they gave me a few more painkillers (apparently morphine doesn't do too much for me either....), some Rx's (for painkillers that apparently don't do much for me b/c I've been in pain since I left the hospital), a urine strainer (yeah, that's fun...your life won't be complete until you have to use one for days on end) and sent me on my way b/c it was (is) a 3.7mm stone and they don't do anything unless it's 5mm or greater (perfect, just missed it). Anywho, they made it seem like the stone should pass that night or saturday....yet, here I sit on Monday night, still in pain, and no stone to show for it. Around 5 AM Sunday morning I had a minor break down b/c I had taken the painkillers and I felt like I'd had nothing at all for a long time and the pain continued to get worse and worse....around 6 :30 or 7 am I called Trinity Clinic begging to see an on-call doctor b/c I felt like I was dying...unfortunately, she just said the on-call doc would tell me to go back to the ER and I was NOT going to do that-I'd rather just suffer (but the girl on the phone was really sweet and said she understood and that she would fax something to my doc's office that she would get monday to let her know that I had called in pain). Luckily I'm going to my doctor tomorrow and hopefully a urologist tomorrow or wednesday. Shawn has been a wonderful caretaker....I'm beyond lucky. He is on his vacation days and the poor guy has spent his time taking care of me....he even set alarms for 3 am and 7 am so I could take my painkillers. If that's not love and the sign of a good husband, I don't know what is. As you know, I like to find the bright side of things....so, here they are:
1. If I hadn't been in Shreveport, driving, when the killer pain hit, the chances are really good that I would still be rolling in pain (or worse pain than I'm in) tonight b/c I wouldn't have gone to the doctor...or I would have spent a lot more time in killer pain b/c I would have waited forever to go to the doctor. So, I went when I needed to.
2. My CT Scan made me look super skinny....and in the muscular layer it made me look like I have amazing abs (so I do have the muscle, but I need to get to 3% body fat to look that way....yeah, right.). So, now I know my best side for the photographer to get...the CT side, but I don't think the paps who follow me (haha) will be able to capture it.