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).
Then I really started to worry. I was thinking we are nowhere near civilization and I am in unbearable pain. I asked Patrice to look to see if she could find a nearby hospital listed in the phone book. She found none. The front desk was already closed for the evening. I thought for sure this was going to be my exit scene. Finally we tried 911 and sure enough they have an emergency response team. In what seemed like eternity (but probably wasn’t all that long) three paramedics arrived. They started to address the problem and they agreed that this might be a kidney stone. They got me in their ambulance and started to prepare to take me to the closest ER in Alpine, TX which was 76 MILES AWAY!!!!
In the ambulance they offered to give me Fentanyl or Morphine (for those of you on this list who are not in the medical field those are two very powerful narcotics). Then the lead paramedic said that his wife also has stones and she (in addition to numerous patients he has treated) responded very quickly to Toradol. I accepted the Toradol and then he informed me that, “Seems like we are out of Toradol”.
My pain abated some so I decided it would be better if Patrice drove me instead of taking the only paramedic unit in the area on a 76 mile trip. After getting the directions to the hospital and warnings about deer crossing the road we were on our way. Of course as soon as we got about 10 miles from the motel the pain started to increase. I was counting each mile down and trying to perform the breathing we learned in Lamaze. At the 64 mile mark we encountered a border patrol blockade (really, I couldn’t make this up). After a few questions including the clincher that proved that we were okay (“Are you both American citizens?”) we were back on our way.
We finally arrived at the ER in Alpine, TX and I could not have been more pleased with the care. They got me registered, in a bed and seen by the doctor very quickly. Dr. Kyle McCombs agreed that this was most likely a stone and arranged for me to get a CT (yes they have a CT in Alpine, TX). The study confirmed that I had a stone but by this time the pain had subsided. He got me set to go with some meds in case the pain returned but when I got up the stone said, “NOT SO FAST MISTER”. At that time, I did ask for meds and they recommended Toradol and actually had some.
We finally got to bed at about 2:30 AM.
Today we drove to the Carlsbad Caverns. On our way we saw a very interesting bumper sticker (see below). I love the combination of “Another Texan for Guns, Come and Get It” along with “Jesus is the Answer”. The topper is the Handicapped license plate. He probably needs this because he accidentally shot himself in the foot on his way to church.
We were both very tired today so I don’t think we enjoyed the Caverns as much as we could have. It was very difficult to get good shots with my point and shoot camera but I tried (see below). The main thing in my mind was at least I didn’t have any more pain.
Tonight we are sleeping in Las Cruces, NM and tomorrow we head toward Phoenix.
Robert
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 