Surgery was a Success!

This scene plays through my head every time someone merely mentions kidney stones.  I can relate everything in life to either Friends or Scrubs.

     Yes, I had kidney stones.  Hopefully not anymore.  I had surgery yesterday, so I'm thinking I'm all done with that chapter of my life.  Thank goodness!  

     It all started three weeks ago, on my dear Jenna's birthday.  I woke up about 4am, unable to sleep because my right side hurt a fair amount.  Enough to get me out of bed and onto the couch trying to readjust and get comfy.  Unfortunately I hadn't been able to sleep much up to that point either because I was on a volleyball high.  I had played pretty late into Thursday, it was our last game of the season and I was still heated and angry over our loss because, quite frankly, we should have won.  But whatever, point is, I couldn't sleep much.  I had finally taken some ibuprofen around 5am so hopefully I would get at least a few hours of sleep.  Some success.  I woke up around 8 when Dustin got up for school.  He saw me on the couch and immediately apologized.  Hahaha.  I told him it wasn't his fault.  Sometimes I go out to the couch when I can't sleep and on occasion, that reason may be from Dustin snoring. :)  

     I got up with Dustin and immediately took more ibuprofen because I still hurt.  It was all in my right lower rib.  I was up to seven ibuprofen which is not normal for me.  I've always felt like medicine affects me pretty heavily, pretty quickly.  Two ibuprofen will usually knock out any pain for me.  After about an hour of the normal morning routine, trying to get the kids up and fed, I finally realized that the seven ibuprofen hadn't helped at all!  I started texting Dustin telling him that I was in a lot of pain, it was getting worse and I didn't know what to do.  I finally decided that I was just going to go to the hospital and get it checked out.  I have a majorly irrational fear of going to doctors/hospitals and having people tell me nothing is wrong with me and that there is nothing they can do for me and ultimately send me home in tears. 

     I started getting myself and the kids dressed so we could go and Dustin told me to wait for him, that he would come home from school and take me and we'd just go to the instacare down the street.  I thought I'd be able to handle it by myself and just go in with the kids really fast, but by the time Dustin pulled into the driveway, I was soo grateful!  I ended up getting really nauseous really fast and I was also really weak and faint.  

     I was really nervous to go to the instacare because last time I was there I had a doctor I didn't really like and he essentially brought my majorly irrational fear to a reality, so I was a bit on edge.  But everyone there was really nice!  We did a quick urine sample and went in to see the doctor.  He had me up on the table and started pushing on my right side.  I had told them it was up by my rib where it really hurt, but as he pushed lower on my right side, near my hip, it hurt like mad!  He sent us to the ER right away saying it's possible that it's the appendix or gall bladder since my pain was specifically on my right side.  The appendix can be life threatening and they don't have CT scans at the instacare.  He sent us back out so fast that we didn't even get the lab results back from the urine sample yet.  I kept asking Dustin what he wanted to do, who I should call to watch the kids, yadda yadda yadda.  He was like, oh, we'll be fine, no big deal.  HA!

     We get to the ER and I got checked in, got to do my triage room stuff, the norm.  In triage, they usually ask you what your pain is right then.  Not what it was, not what you foresee it to be, but what it currently is at that very moment.  I feel a lot of stress upon being asked this question, and I always mess it up.  I told them maybe a five ish.  Bah!  Let me tell you, I did not get into a room very fast.  UVRMC's ER is almost always full.  But they are fantastic!  I remember waiting in the lobby just laying my head back on my chair and letting the tears roll down my face because I hurt so bad.  I also remember kind of praying that my appendix would burst so I could get into a room faster and get taken care of faster.  Dustin had told me that if your appendix bursts, you, and people around you, will literally hear a pop.  I figured if everyone in that dumb lobby heard a pop, the nurses would whisk me away and make everything better!  No such luck.

     A nurse finally did come out and call my name and I remember telling him that he was an angel sent from heaven, and I meant it.  They wheeled me to my room and told me to change.  I swear another hour went by before anyone came into my room.  My pain just kept getting worse.  It got so bad at one point I remember asking Dustin to say a prayer.  As he was saying the prayer I was literally writhing in pain on my bed.  It was either before or after the prayer that I completely broke down and started bawling and told Dustin that I couldn't do it anymore.  It was too painful and I didn't want to be strong anymore.  As I was in the most ungraceful event of writhing in pain, my door finally opened!  Ah, so happy!  Wrong, just a volunteer who probably got to see a whole lot more of me than he bargained for.  He asked if he could get us anything, blanket, drink, snacks?  Yes, please get me water!  Then he tells me he's going to have to check and see if I can have anything to eat or drink!  The audacity!  Why would you come into my room and offer me something, only to tell me that you're not actually sure I can have whatever it is you have to offer me?  

    Shortly after he left, or maybe while he was still there in awe at my horrendous state, I started spewing into my barf bag.  This is before any nurse or doctor entered my room, mind you.  After I threw up I felt so much better!  My body seemed to relax and the pain subsided, and then my fear is back in full effect now.  The nurses or doctors haven't seen me yet.  I was in pain.  Now I'm not.  It was just not going my way.  I also believe that Heavenly Father heard our prayers and saw fit to take my pain away for me.  I believe that Heavenly Father can do this in many ways, shapes and forms, but I also believe that this one particular time was the full grace of God.  My reason being, I don't remember the nurse ever touching my IV.  I have a thing about IV's and drawing blood, I don't handle it very well.  It makes me really sick, so I would remember someone handling my IV.  I remember the guy coming in to place my IV and draw blood for labs.  I asked if he was giving me any pain meds and he said he was just doing the blood and some saline solution to clean out the line.  I swear, the nurse never touched my IV.  After the prayer, and after throwing up, I really believe that Heavenly Father reached out and helped me through this by taking away my pain entirely.  I am so grateful for my faith and testimony.

     When our labs came back they said all the blood work looked normal but there was a little bit of blood in my urine.  They ordered the CT scan so we had another two hours to wait around for that.

     We hadn't told anybody what was going on yet, except my mom always has a little inside track because I'm always asking her about insurance stuff.  So she had a real small heads up, but not much.  Poor Dustin was so stressed.  Trying to take care of me and all my needs and trying to keep tabs on the kids in the ER room, especially Tate.  Tate was into everything!  I finally called my mom to give her a bit of an update and she told me she was coming right then to get the kids.  I have the greatest mom ever!  She is always helping us out when we need it.  I love her.  By the time my mom got to the hospital to pick up the kids, they had calmed down.  Tate had just fallen asleep in Dustin's arms minutes before my mom came in and Baylee was happily playing on the phone.

     We waited for the CT results to come back.  The doctor came in to tell us I had kidney stones!  (refer back to video at top for the accent I wish you to read that in.)  I wanted to cry.  Especially when he started drawing it on the whiteboard for us, saying that my stone was just 1mm.  That it was so small he couldn't draw it small enough even if he tried.  I wanted to smack him!  He quickly redeemed himself though.  He said that size doesn't necessarily relate to how much pain you may be in, but it does help determine how long it will take for the stone to pass.  He said with is being as small as it is it was possible for it to pass that same day.  Great news.  He prescribed some pain meds and gave us a strainer, which I gladly left on the hospital bed, and told me that if I was still in pain a week from then to come back in.  

     That was all on a Friday.  I took my meds because I didn't want to risk feeling that horrible pain again.  Then, go figure, the meds made me crazy sick.  All of Saturday I was passed out in the kids' bathroom because I felt so nauseous.  I was sure I was going to throw up a number of different times but never did.  I slept on the bathroom floor until the medicine wore off.  It was awful.  I stopped taking the pills after that and just dealt with the pain.  I made it to church Sunday with some moderate pain, then sometime after church I realized that I wasn't in pain anymore.  I even went to Activity Days the next day where we did an exercise program and felt totally fine.  So we figured I had passed the stone sometime after church that Sunday.  Hooray!  All done.  

     All week long Dustin was telling me that he thought it had passed because I wasn't in pain anymore and I would probably know and be in pain if it hadn't yet passed.  I was still unsure.  There were just some small signs here and there that something wasn't quite right.  

     Then Saturday came along.  Eight days after the initial diagnosis.  I was in pain.  A pretty good amount, too.  I now knew what kidney stones felt like so it made it a little easier to compare.  I was pretty sure it was kidney stones but I was so confused because it had been so long and I went for nearly a whole week without any pain.  I did my own little test and took two ibuprofen around 2pm.  At about 4pm I realized that it still hurt, the ibuprofen didn't help at all.  Kidney stones.  I tried calling the hospital because I was told to go back if I still had pain a week later.  The problem was I didn't still have pain because I wasn't consistently in pain.  The pain was back.  I wanted to know what the process was if I did go in.  If there was anything they could really do, because we already knew it was kidney stones and there's not really anything they can do for me beyond that.  Stones pass by themselves, right?

     Anyway, I called and the receptionist couldn't hear me at all, my call failed, service failed.  This is not uncommon for where we live.  We often don't receive calls, a voice mail will all of the sudden pop up.  Usually when I walk out my front door and stay on my porch it works just fine to call someone.  I walked outside, not staying just on my porch but going down my driveway and got through and transferred to the ER.  I started telling the ER nurse what was going on and she said, "hello?  You're cutting out.  Hello?"  I started crying.  I have no land line and my cell phone isn't working when I need it.  I had a lot of errands and things to do that day so it kept me busy.  I decided I would go to the church a few minutes early for the women's broadcast so that I could use the church's land line and get through to the hospital.  

     As I was getting ready to go to the church I went to the bathroom and discovered a whole ton of blood in my urine.  Never a good sign.  You should always go to the ER if there is blood in your urine.  I was surprisingly calm and called Dustin in to tell him.  Yes, it's gross, but I tell him everything and he's going to school for stuff like this so he's actually very helpful and quite used to it.  Judge away. :)  I hurried over to the church and went straight for the phone before going into the chapel.  I tried dialing the whole 9 bit before you dial out.  It even says it on the phone at the church.  I tried several times and before I even finished dialing the first 3 digits that annoying sound would come on followed by the operator's voice saying, "the number you have dialed..." blah blah blah.  I got so frustrated I went back into the chapel crying.  I sat in the back corner so I wouldn't really see anyone I knew.    

     Then I texted Dustin telling him it didn't work and I didn't know what to do.  He told me the 9 thing and then said otherwise it's usually just 1-801...  I thought about that for a minute and went back out to try it and it worked!  I was so happy!  I got through and ended up talking with the charge nurse who was very nice and very helpful.  I asked what would happen if we went in that night.  He told me they'd do another urine sample to make sure there are no infections, maybe another CT scan to make sure the stone didn't grow and to make sure that there aren't more/new ones.  He needed some information from my last ER discharge papers and told me to call him back because they were completely full anyway.  That way, when I called he could give me an update and see if there was room, if I needed to come in based on everything else.  But he told me, based on what I'd told him so far, he wanted me back in there that night.

     Right after I hung up with the charge nurse, I went to check my phone to see if Dustin had texted back and put it back in my purse so I could go back in the chapel.  Jenna was calling me though.  I answered and practically started sobbing to her about everything that was going on and she was soo helpful!  Of course Jenna knows the ins and outs of hospitals and pills.  I told her I was sorry after I was done crying and asked why she called.  Get this, she was totally prompted!  How cool is that?  

     I finally made my way back into the chapel, a big, puffy mess.  I texted my family giving them an update that I would most likely be going back into the ER that night.  So, basically I missed the entire women's conference.  I was such a mess, being in pain, the stress of knowing I was going back to the ER as soon as the broadcast was over, etc. etc.  My mom told me she was coming over immediately after the broadcast.  I told her to wait til I called the charge nurse back.

    I called the charge nurse back and he was like, yup, come on in, we're practically empty right now.  Great.  I forgot to mention that we needed to get our kids down and everything.  We didn't get to the ER til about two hours after I talked to him.  (We stopped to get Dustin a burger and a shake.)  And go figure, they were full again by that point.  They were full enough that they were giving IV's in triage.  I felt really stupid being there this time because I wasn't in a ton of pain but there I was in the ER, getting an IV.  As I mentioned before, IV's make me extremely sick.  I guess the blood drained from my face really good this time because Dustin and the nurse that did my IV were both concerned about me.  They sent me to do my urine sample there in the lobby bathroom, too.  I about passed out in the bathroom.  We got in and Dustin didn't even have a chance to lock the door before I fell into his arms and on the ground.  I was finally able to get up and get the urine sample done.  I was so embarrassed by it that I covered it with paper towels so nobody else could see it.  It was nasty.  It looked a lot darker because of all the blood in it.

     I finally got to a room and the nurse and doctor were excellent.  She came in and told me she was going to give me morphine but I refused it, telling her I felt quite alright.  They kept me around for a little bit and then I finally asked for some pain meds and good thing, too.  I think they were getting ready to send me home because I was refusing meds so I wasn't in enough pain to be there.  But since I asked for them, they started asking me what I wanted to do.  CT scan?  Yes, please.  I knew going in that that's what I wanted, I felt like I needed one just to make sure, so I was really glad when they asked what I wanted and that was an option.

     Sidenote:  on my previous discharge papers that I went through for the charge nurse, I saw that I did not have just one stone.  I had one obstructing 1mm stone and two non-obstructing stones.  6mm and 2mm.  

     The results came back and as it turned out, I did pass the 1mm stone.  But now, the 6mm and 2mm stones were trying to pass, hence my pain and bloody urine.  It was about midnight now and the doctor told us that I should call the urologist and get into surgery the next day (Sunday).  I was taken aback by this because it would be Sunday, surgeries don't seem to usually happen on the weekend.  The ER doctor told us that it was an unusual circumstance which leads to unusual outcomes and fixes.  He then called the urologist and found out that the soonest he could do the surgery was Tuesday because he had surgery scheduled on Monday.  Okay, I guess we go home now and wait and call the urologist on Monday.

     I called the urologist they referred us to on Monday, fully expecting to get in for surgery on Tuesday.  The ER doctor told us he talked to him and that he was telling his staff about me so they would know who I am when I call and get me that opening on Tuesday.  I was not very nice to the receptionist.  I told her I was calling to schedule my lithotripsy.  She practically made me feel like I was crazy and said that they don't do that since I've never been a patient there before.  I would need to schedule a time to come in and meet with the urologist and he would go over my films from the x-ray she was ordering an hour before my appointment.  I was not thrilled about this since I had just had a CT scan done a few days before, I figured they could use that, and I really thought I was just going in for surgery, be done, no more ER's or doctors' visits.  I gave her my insurance information and set up the appointment in American Fork.  

     I did not feel good about this at all.  I decided to make a few more calls and went with the doctor I was originally referred to by the ER.  He was in Provo and accepted both of my insurances, so we would be totally covered.  I made the appointment with them, even though it was still just a consult, I felt so much better about it!  We went in on Thursday and they told us everything that would happen.  The stones were in place at a certain junction that is perfect for surgery where they go up the urethra into the ureter and pull the stones out, instead of lithotripsy where they blast the stone into smaller stones so that they can pass.  I did not want to pass anymore stones, I just wanted to be done, so I was really glad to hear that I'd be having the surgery and having them completely removed.

     They told us they don't do any imaging before hand to make sure the stones are still in place and that it has happened before that they go in for surgery and the stones are gone.  I felt like I was prompted to ask for an order for an x-ray.  She said if we wanted that, that they'd be more than happy to order it for us.  I figured I'd wait til it was closer to my surgery, since it wouldn't be for another week anyway.  We left feeling pretty good and scheduled the surgery for Friday.  You don't find out what time until Thursday night when a nurse calls you to tell you.

    We had one more thing off our list done.  We packed up for conference weekend and went up to stay with Dustin's family.  We had a lot of fun!  Played murder in the dark Saturday night.  Mom Fausett came in 2nd place!  So we stayed up really late playing.  Til about 2am.  Needless to say, I wouldn't typically wake up at 7am if I stayed up til 2am, but I did.  I woke up, and I hurt.  

     I finally woke Dustin up about 7:30 and told him what was going on.  We were told in the urologist's office, at our appointment, that if before my surgery, I hit a fever of 101.5 or higher, had vomiting or lots of pain, to go back into the ER immediately and they would call the on call doctor and perform the surgery right then and there.  Dustin and I discussed what our options were and thought we'd pack the kids up and head down to Provo so I could go to the hospital I like.  I was in so much pain though and didn't have my meds with me that I didn't know if I could make the 90 minute drive down.  I, once again, asked him to say a prayer.  As soon as he was done I said, yup, we're staying here, leave the kids with grandma and grandpa and cousins and let's go. 

     Dustin woke his parents to let them know what was going on and ask if they could help us with the kids.  Of course they did, but I felt so bad because we hadn't told anybody in Dustin's family what was going on in the last few weeks, but here we were headed to the ER Sunday morning.  I was in so much pain this time!  More than ever before.  We got to the hospital and couldn't find the right entrance.  We apparently parked at the ambulance entrance haha.  Dustin told me to stay there and he ran around trying to find where we should go.  Some nurses and maids saw me from inside and helped me in, probably because I looked so pathetic hunched over, hanging out by a hospital entrance looking lost and confused.  Dustin wasn't too far behind and they got us to the lobby to check in.

     Everything was going well so far, I liked the gal that checked us in, I liked the guy in triage that took us to our room, I liked my nurse, she was great, then the doctor came in.  I did not like him.  I missed Provo very very much!  I felt so belittled by him and I do not appreciate that feeling!  We were doing what we were told to do, I was in massive amounts of pain so we, once again, thought we were getting surgery.  No.  They have no on-call urologist at this hospital.

     After the doctor left the semi-private room (another reason I was really missing Provo), I had Dustin call the Ogden hospital to see if they have an on-call urologist and would take us.  As it turned out, they do!  Yay!  Just transfer us over, please.  No.  Another crushing moment.  Our doctor said he didn't think they would take us since I'd never been up this way before and have no history up here that they didn't have access to my CT scans and all that jazz.  Understandable, but I'm just doing what I was told to do!  He said he would call the urologist at the other hospital and check for us if that would make us feel better.  Yes.  Yes, it would.  After he left to make that call I started bawling.  I just wanted to be done with this!  This was my third weekend in a row being in the ER.  I was really tired of the run around, the onsets of immense pain, everything.  When he finally came back in my pillow was soaked.  He seemed to have a little more sympathy at seeing my awful red eyes.  He told us that he was right, essentially.  That he wouldn't do it because it's not a life threatening situation.  But if we wanted to stick around he could see us Monday morning.  Yeah, no thanks.  I want to go back to Provo now.  

     After that they got us all ready to be discharged.  Luckily, they did give me pain meds and I did end up feeling better, though it took a lot longer for them to take full effect.  It was during discharge that the nurse I thought I liked so much said some things that made me feel even more belittled.  I'm sure that wasn't her intention but I was already emotionally compromised.  

     We made it back to the Fausetts' to find the kids were doing just fine and mom and dad were ready to take care of me.  Dad had kidney stones just a few weeks before mine onset.  Coincidence?  I think not.  They had some home remedy stuff for me to try and shrink the stone, get rid of all the hurtful spikes on it so it would hopefully be less painful when it travels.

     I spent most of the day resting until I felt well enough to pack up and we headed home around the kids' bedtime.

     I kept up on my meds once again, even though they offered up more side effects with their help.  Then I called the urologist on Wednesday to get an x-ray, especially after being in the ER again and doing some home remedies.  She called me back after she got the results and told me that one of the stones and moved back up towards my kidney.  So they would go in, do the surgery to remove the one stone and then do stone manipulation to try and move the one back into my kidney and do the lithotripsy to blast it.  Now I get to do both, oh goody.  

     Friday finally Came!  I was so happy to get this done with.  We got pushed back an hour that morning, but I was still happy it was same day.  We got in and ready and waited around some more.

They did an x-ray just minutes before they took me for surgery.  The x-ray showed that my larger stone had moved towards my kidney now and he couldn't see my smaller stone on the x-ray.  So basically, change of plans, again.  Just lithotripsy, which apparently, if all goes well, it should blast the stones into powder, not smaller stones, powder.  I can handle that!  Also, it's less recovery time, less invasive and less painful.  All great news.  Sure, let's do it when you put it that way!  And that's what we did, though I have no recollection of it.  

     I remember going into the OR and moving onto my "trampoline" type bed where they do the lithotripsy.  Apparently, they cover you with water and shock you thousands of times per minute.  Sounds crazy, but explains my pain today.  I was soo tired from the anesthesia yesterday that I slept almost all day and night after the surgery.  They finally woke me up in recovery around 7pm to discharge me.  I think I was done with surgery around 3 or 4pm.  I do have a good deal of pain today.  It's felt like all my organs are going to collapse on the inside.  The ibuprofen helped for the burning but not for that feeling, unfortunately.  Heavy meds are back in my system once again, but hopefully not for long.  All is well and we're done with kidney stones, hopefully for forever!!          

Hanging out in pre-op in my lovely gown.  As soon as I put it on I started sweating like crazy.  It is lined with plastic on the inside and it kept clinging to my skin.

The pre-op nurse came in with a red sharpie for Dusitn to mark a "yes" on the side that I have stones on, just to help them in the OR a little bit, I guess.  Well, the nurse left the sharpie behind so Dusin went back in and hopefully made someone in the OR smile.  The outline is his drawing of my kidney.  The gown also had tons of holes and pockets and things everywhere.  Easy access.

My x-ray.  Don't know much about it or how to read it.  Look, my spine!

After the surgery.  So so tired.  Love me some anesthesia.  See that long white tube?  And the remote thing in my hand?  That tube is connected to my gown, blowing air right into my gown.  Luckily it did have a cool air option to help keep my sweat at bay.