Ugh.

So, i didnt post all last week, which some of you may or may not have noticed. Normally when i dont post for long periods of time, its because im in one or a few of the few things.

1. Depressive funk
2. Vacation
3. Nothing Pithy to Say
4. Busy with Family

Or some other things i cant think of. Now, note that not a single one of those things said "in the hospital for a week on my back dealing with Kidney stones, organ infection, pneumonia and a 104 Fever". That was my past week.


Sunday morning around 5am, i woke up with a sharp pain in my left mid back. The day before i spent playing with my 2 nieces, so i figured i just pulled something carrying those 2 sack of potatoes around. Took 2 aleve and tried going back to bed. Pain got worse and worse so that by 545, i couldnt take it anymore. I called my dad, who was surprised to hear my voice at that time of day, and told him to come get me, cause we were going to the hospital. We whisked off to Hinsdale hospital(ironically the same route he and i took when i drove him there for kidney stones about 10 years ago) By the time i was taken into the Emergency room, i could barely function. The pain from kidney stones is so terrible...i cant even put it into words.

From there it should have been simple. Get a feel for where the stone was(ultrasound and xray) and see if it was big enough to warrant going in and getting via surgery or letting me pass it on my own. Well...thats all well and good, but the stone started getting bored. Bouncing around inside my kidney, moving around, causing lots of issues. Somehow, it caused an internal infection...and my body temp started to skyrocket. all the way to consistent 104's. Doctors did everything they could to try to keep it down and keep the pain from making me see little pink dinosaurs. The pain medication got stronger and stronger and doses heavier and heavier. Thats when the real kicker set in.

At this point, it was pretty certain id be there overnight. I was put in a room for observation in-between tests. Overnight, the pain meds they gave me apparently messed up my breathing enough that fluid started to form in my lungs. The next day i could barely breathe, was coughing like there was no tomorrow and there was no end in sight.


Off to the ICU.


Now it is wednesday. Spent time in the ER. Spent time in general observation. Had CT scans, Xrays, ultrasounds, dye tests, etc all taken. Now im in the ER, having more tests done, having a dedicated nurse, more monitoring done...and it seems to be getting worse. Enough headway was made with the fever and infection(aka pummeling my system with super high levels of antibiotics) I was able to get into surgery(where they finally took the stone out) and scope to make sure that everything else was ok. Getting that out was a big big thing. The rest of wed and thurs, and then friday around 1am or so i was moved into general observation again. Fever started going down, pneumonia started subsiding and after more tests, treatments and whatnot on friday and saturday, i was able to leave around saturday night at 5.


Now im home, recouping. Id probably say im at 40%. I have about 900 different medications to take right now Going to take the next 2 days off from work, then have the 4th, and will try to go back to work on the 5th. Let me just say that this is one of the worst things i have ever experienced in my life. Has been a HUGE shock to me, and while lifestyle had little impact on it, i know that i need to change a ton of lifestyle aspects. Now to get back healthy so i can do that. I dont ever want to deal with stuff like this again.