Spouse came home from the doctor's today with a good report. It looks like the kidney stone episode is officially over. He's no longer in pain, no longer on mind-altering drugs, and the whole thing is becoming a dim memory. I expected the stones to look like the kind of thing I would pick up and skip across a pond, but really they looked more like grains of sand. Funny that something so small could cause so much pain.
It is rather unsettling to see someone you love writhing in intense pain. I've had only one experience with intense physical pain; six years ago I broke my leg in two places. This kidney stone episode was Spouse's first experience with intense physical pain, and he didn't much like it.
The other new thing for me - once the pain medication took effect and Spouse was no longer writhing in pain - was getting to experience my husband in a drugged state. I've known him since 1978 (we met in high school), and I've never seen him drunk or stoned because he has never been drunk or stoned. I am always a little curious to see how a person acts on drugs because it kind of amplifies their personality. Spouse, I was pleased to discover, is the sort of happy drunk who rambles on and on about how wonderful is wife is. This made me optimistic about any future episodes in which I will need to be his caretaker.
It's in the 90s here, another hot humid day, so I've decided to set up the massage table in our bedroom. (We have a portable massage table but the room is too small to leave it set up.) Massage is one thing that works well in this kind of heat. Hot humid weather relaxes the muscles, makes them easy to work on. I think after the sort of hellish night we had in the emergency room on Sunday, it is time to get those medical images out of our heads -- and celebrate the body.
17 comments:
Glad to hear that was over so quickly. People generally describe passing a stone as *the* most painful medical experience.
Be careful about drunks and other people who need caretaking, though. Their mood can turn on a dime. You may have seen that caring for your aging family members.
I love your spouse. All I need to do now is find a man who will carry on about how amazing I am while drunk. 'Tis a good thing he realizes how luck he is to have you.
I'm glad that he's better now! Here's to no more unhappy returns.
Hope he has a speedy recovery ...
Sergei's had two hospital experiences in our 12 years together, and whatever drugs they gave him turned him into the happiest puppy I've ever seen! Albeit one who repeated the same thing over and over and over.... Darn cute!
I have heard for men that kidney stones are the only things that come close to labor. How anyone knows this I don't know. It's like when people say freezing to death is a nice death. Who could really know this with authority?
Glad everyone feels better, including you.
I'm glad he's feeling better - good thing he came out of it to find an awesome caretaker!
Ah, yes, kidney stones suck. I came home from high school once to find my mom in acute pain saying she was going to die. I laughed at her for being melodramatic (a good way to short-circuit my mom's tendency to catastrophize), carried (!) her to the car, then the hospital, and it was kidney stones.
Am glad Mr. Jo(e) is feeling better.
I'm glad things have turned out well. The massage sounds like a good plan, too. :)
drink water, everyone. LOTS of water.
I used to work in a urology clinic . . . kidney stones are horrible. And there are lots of other conditions also exacerbated by the American tendency towards dehydration.
Glad to hear he's feeling better too.
Glad the spouse is okay...and I'll be over in 15 minutes for the massage table. Sigh.
I'm glad all is well. I have heard that stone as described like childbirth. But I wonder--my brother-in-law puked for his. Anyway, puke on the mind due to a sick kid.....moving on. Re: spouse in a drugged state. When my husband had apnea surgery, I saw that and it was the scariest thing I ever saw. He was so childlike and confused. Hope the recovery is speedy at your home.
very good news! Yay!
I've watched my wife give birth twice, once without any drugs, but it wasn't until I saw one of my church youth (a football player on the high school team) in the hospital with a broken ankle, crying in pain, even with all the drugs the hospital was giving him. I realized then that I've never experienced that kind of pain, and I hope and pray that we all experience as little of it as possible.
Glad the spouse is feeling better! It is awful to see someone we love in pain, but happy sweet drunk is great!
OK, I'm coming kind of late to comment here, but I'm glad to read that the kidney stone episode is over. You sound like exactly the kind of person we needed next to us in the ER many a night. Glad to hear about the happy, appreciative drunk. Annika gets that way, too. I actually took a bit of video of her after her biopsy last year, and I should post it sometime. 3-year-olds on drugs. Hilarious.
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