Month: May 2015

Today has been a wonderful day.  I had an early morning appointment to have my stent removed.  After a brief time in the recovery room to prove I was awake and all the plumbing was working they sent me home.

Dr. Garrett Matsunaga did a great job and he released me to full activity.  I asked, “How about sex?”  To which he replied, “Thank you but I’m married”.  (Just kidding, he didn’t say anything of the sort, that was just my little warped sense of humor at work).

After the hospital we headed to Tammies Corner Dinner for her famous muffins (also had some eggs too) and now I am relaxing at home.  It will be good to get back to work tomorrow.  Feeling normal sounds so incredible right now.

Thanks for all the support.

Robert

I’ve never been much of a fan of roller coasters and this little episode with my kidney stone hasn’t changed things.  As I rest here trying to get to sleep prior to my 5:30 AM curtain call at the hospital (actually I successfully negotiated a 6:00 AM arrival) my mind has been reflecting on our abbreviated vacation and this post vacation adventure.  A variety of things have come to mind which I’d like to share.  Some are questions while others are just observations.  No one needs to feel an obligation to answer any of the questions or make any comments. That being said, feel free to say what you like but just remember that your comments will be open for all the world to see.

1.) Why is it that St. Louis seemed so clean, no graffiti, no trash in the streets (damn the ballpark was near spotless) and smelled so good but the food was second rate?  On the other hand Memphis and New Orleans had lots of graffiti, trash and odors that defy description but the food was amazing?

2.) Sign on the roadside between Lake Charles and Lafayette, Louisiana “We have the best hookers!”  

3.) Why do people (I mean men) put gum in urinals?   Do they think it eventually dissolve?   Or maybe they think the poor guy (or lady) whose job it is to clean the bathrooms gets great satisfaction out of taking their hardened gum (I assume it’s hardened because I sure as hell didn’t touch the stuff) out of the urinal?   Is it really that difficult to just put it in the trash!  Or maybe I am missing some incredibly pleasurable experience in the manner in which I dispose of my gum?  I don’t chew gum so I guess that question will have to go unanswered.  

4.) I have still yet to see a beach ball at a baseball game except in the Los Angeles area.  Does this mean that the people in Boston, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, Chicago and San Francisco actually go to watch the game rather than to hit a beach ball into the head of some poor unsuspecting soul (like me)?

5.) Speaking of baseball, it has not gone unnoticed by me that the Pirates have  been almost unbeatable since we saw them lose 3 straight in St. Louis. 

6.) Lastly after reviewing my blog statistics I found many more views and comments during the kidney stone tour than during the National Park Tour.  Am I led to believe that people were more interested in reading about me rolling on the floor praying for death than hearing about the wonders of the Archway to the West or the Carlsbad Caverns?

Well it’s off to bed with me.  Sorry for any typos tonight because my copy editor is already asleep.  She is much better at sleeping than I am.  Maybe the fact they aren’t going to be pulling a 12 inch stent out her urinary system through her penis (sic) allows her to rest a little easier?  

I’m sure I’ll be fine but I’ll try to give you one final update sometime after the procedure.  Thank you for all the kind comments and emails.  
Robert 

Okay, okay, I know I’m taking liberties with the bible.  Well the 7th day was not a day of rest.  No sir, the catheter came out and Robert’s plumbing system was back at work.  Minimal burning and some remnants of who knows what came down the pipe.  Who cares, it works and I can leave the hospital.  

I plan to chill out the next few days until my book group meets on Sunday to discuss “The Boys in the Boat”.  What is the deal?  Seems like my life is surrounded by water these days.  

Drama has seemed to end….. for now.   Stent comes out on next Tuesday. 

Thanks for all the support. It’s time for us to start planning our next trip.  

Robert 

Today we arrived at the hospital, as instructed, at 9:30 for my 11:30 surgery.  Since I hadn’t eaten since last night’s dinner I wasn’t at all concerned about the procedure because all I could think about was how much hunger I had.  

Pre-op prep went smoothly, when I was greeted by a very friendly and efficient nursing staff.  I was also very pleased that Rita Moorman, MD was going to be my anesthesiologist.  Rita is a friend of my partner, Allen, (business partner, remember Patrice is assigned those more personal partner responsibilities).  Rita was my anesthesiologist when the hardware was removed from my hip one year following my hip fracture repair.  She did a great job then and again today. 

Surgery went beautifully.  My surgeon, Garrett Matsunaga MD, performed like Luke Skywalker in scrubs.  He sought out the alien intruder in my left ureter (if you don’t know what a ureter is shame on you for not reading my previous posts)  and then took out his light-saber (aka laser) and blasted the little M-F-er into 3 segments (see below).
In recovery things didn’t go as well.  Unfortunately I could not void.  I think the main problem was that I have a large prostate (like all men of my age) and because of the trauma from surgery it burned when I tried to urinate.  That resulted in a “perfect storm” and retention was the result.  A catheter was placed and 775 cc of urine was drained.  For those not in the medical field that is a huge amount of urine and results in bladder stretching requiring rest to recover.  So right now I am resting  my bladder in bed with a urinary catheter in place (my worst fear realized).  The plan is on the board at the foot of my bed (see below).  The catheter will be d/c (discontinued) in the morning and I can go home once I make water. 

Let’s pray for the ability to make water (I’m taking about me pee-ing, the drought prayers can come later)
Robert 
   
 

The little stone has not passed yet so tomorrow my urologist will go up and fetch it.  The procedure sounds almost as fun as the pain I get when the stone is trying to pass.

In brief:

1.) They put me to sleep (anesthesia might be needed for me to write what they will do next).

2.) The urologist will put a fiberoptic scope (see below) up my little soldier (this is where most guys will stop reading and I am only writing for the ladies).

3.) He will find the stone and either just extract it or if necessary blast it with a laser and then pull the remnants out.

4.) A stent (see below) is then placed in my ureter (the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder).

5.) Then they wake me up and send me home.

6.) One week later the stent is removed.

In regards to removing the stent, my urologist said that it is a minor procedure that can be done under local anesthesia in the office.  I told him, not on me!   Pulling a 10-12 inch tube from the ureter through the bladder and out my penis is not happening while I am awake.  He gave me another option.  He can tie a string to the end of the stent and extend it out of me and leave it anchored to my skin for one week until removal.  Doesn’t this guy realize we are Americans?  AMERICANS DO NOT TORTURE.  Just ask W.

Maybe I am getting a little too political.  I think this pain has my brain working in strange ways so please excuse any offense to anyone.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts.

Robert

The National Park Tour ended abruptly but a new trip has started.  Lots of people have been contacting me about the progress of the stone so I thought this was the best way to update everyone at once.

In conversation with my urologist we decided it would be best to have me admitted on Friday night after we returned home and place a stent to help relieve my pain and remove the stone.

When I got to the hospital I felt great.  My pain was gone and my appetite had returned.  We decided to wait and see if the bugger would leave without any prompting.  Unfortunately when I got home the pain returned.  It wasn’t severe but it did require medication for me to sleep.

It is now Saturday morning and I am feeling good.  I spoke with the urologist and I will see him on Monday and if I am still having a problem we will put the stent in on Tuesday.

Stay tuned, I will update you in a few days.

Robert

After much deliberation and consultation from various sources I have decided to call it quits to the National Park Tour.

We are currently in the El Paso Airport awaiting a flight to San Antonio and then on to LAX.

Of course this trip would not be complete without a little more excitement.  We initially made our flight reservations online.  When we arrived at the airport they had no record of our reservation.  In our desire to get this moving we accidentally made the reservation for tomorrow.  A night in El Paso?   I am told there is a reason they call this place El Paso.  Luckily we did find the last two seats on another flight that will arrive 7:10 tonight.

So no Antelope Canyon, no Monument Valley, no Horseshoe Bend, no Canyonlands and no Arches National Parks.  We will have to try this again some other time.

Thank you for all the posts and personal emails of concern from friends and family.  Those messages made the renal colic disappear.  WHO AM I KIDDING?  I loved the messages but they didn’t do S— to touch that F—— pain.  That was one real MF-er that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.  Well maybe on my worst enemy but certainly no one on this Blog list.

Until later.  I will fill you in when I know more.

Robert

When last we spoke I was complaining about the dump of a room we had at the Big Bend Resort.  With the park closed there wasn’t much to do.  We decided to check out the gift shop.  We looked around a bit when suddenly I started to have left sided abdominal discomfort. The pain progressed and no matter what I tried I was unable to get any relief.  I started to wonder could this be a kidney stone?  Immediately I started to have back discomfort (I am quite susceptible to suggestions; in fact while in medical school I almost died of a misprint).

Long travel day and not much to say.  We are in Big Bend National Park in Texas.  It is located on the US – Mexican border.  I had heard it was nice and since it is a national park it seemed like a natural for this trip.  On our way to the “Big Bend Resort” (who do they think they are kidding?) we encountered a variety of creatures.  In addition to the expected horses and cattle we saw a road runner and snake.  Patrice did some wonderful driving to avoid sending those little guys to their final resting place.  Speaking of resting places this so called resort is a dump.  Well I am sure I wouldn’t have been so harsh if it we hadn’t just come from Heaven on Earth aka “JW Marriott in Austin”.  One more tribute to the hotel, please see the picture below of the shower with a hidden drain.