ER x2

Disclaimer: I talk about peeing a lot in this post, so if it is TMI for you, then you should probably stop reading.

Woke up Friday morning feeling pretty okay. Stuffed a muffin bar down my throat before I had the chance to feel nauseous. I showered and tidied the downstairs. Georgina came over for an hour or so to visit (and bring me yummy popsicles and beautiful flowers). Very shortly after Georgina left I started feeling pretty nauseous - not the "oh gosh I'm definitely going to vomit" nauseous just the "in your throat I wish I could just vomit" nauseous. I also started feeling a lot of pressure right below my stomach and had to pee what felt like every 3 minutes. I called my mom, as you do when you aren't feeling well, and during the time of the conversation the nausea got a bit worse. We decided if nothing else, I at least need to go get some anti nausea meds. On the doctor's notes from the Wednesday ER visit it says to call if you have any questions or concerns about the visit, so I called them and they told me to come back in.

My flowers from Georgina

Jen could have taken me, but she would have had to drop me off at the door and go because she had Joseph and had to go pick up Ben. Luckily, I have amazing people surrounding me here that I can call (who luckily have Fridays off). I called Nikki and she was more than willing to come pick me up and take me.

When the triage nurse asked the general questions of pain or what's concerning you and I started with I was seen here on Wednesday night, she immediately remembered the situation, my visible pain, the diagnosis, etc. It made that whole process much quicker and way more personal, which was nice. They took me back to a kid's room, which was pretty cool. The walls were brightly colored. There were decals on the walls and ceiling. They came in and set up another IV site, which I wasn't too pleased about, and drew my blood. However, I was very pleased with the anti nausea medicine they gave me as it worked almost instantly. Then told me they needed another urine sample... oh boy... this went so well the last time I was here I'm sure this will just be a blast... (note the sarcasm please) Luckily, thanks to my annoying need to pee every 3 minutes, this went much quicker than Wednesday.

Because we were in a kids' room, there were toys, books, and coloring stuff which Nikki immediately started going through to find us something to do. Mostly we used the magna doodle to draw each other pictures and play 3D tic-tac-toe (naughts and crosses) and hangman. Nikki taught me how to do 3D block letters too. We also discovered the TV, which would turn on but the screen wouldn't light, so we could hear the shows but not see anything - that was... um... interesting, from some random musical neither of us had ever heard to Ellen.

One of the flowers Nikki drew me

The doctor came in and we chatted a bit about the pain and symptoms and she said she wanted an ultrasound to see if tubes were inflamed or if there was a twisted ovary, etc. She also said the CT scan from Wednesday night/Thursday morning was at such a low dose of radiation (because I'm so young) that it was almost impossible to interpret. While we waited for the ultrasound Nikki and I continued our magna doodle shenanigans and conversation. After what seemed like too long since I really really had to pee, but the doctor told me not too since for an ultrasound it is best to have a full bladder, they finally came to get to me for the ultrasound. They made me sit in a wheelchair, which honestly, I totally could have walked, but it made for good entertainment later.

Never in my life have I ever had to try not to pee as hard as I did during the ultrasound. A full bladder, cold jelly, and someone pushing on your bladder time after time... not a good combination. I'd also like to add that never in my life have I had an ultrasound, so there is another first in Australia. Once the ultrasound was over we went back into the hallway and waited for at least 30 minutes for someone to take me back to the ER, which was ridiculous honestly because I could have walked there myself or at the least Nikki could have pushed me. Luckily though, Nikki was there to chat with me and I decided to use this time to be further productive by mastering the art of wheelchair spinning. Someone finally came and wheeled me back and now it was time to just wait some more for the results.

Unfortunately Nikki had to leave for work just after 3:30, which is later than originally planned, but she got her work hours pushed back so she could stay longer. However, I am entirely grateful for her taking 3.5 hours out of her Friday off to pick me up, stay with me, distract me, and make all the uncomfortability, waiting, and newness much easier to handle. Once she left I called my mom and updated her and then Georgina called so I updated her as well. Then I went to watch YouTube on my phone but didn't have enough service and my battery was dying, so I tried the TV again, but still wasn't working properly. Then I sat there staring at the walls, the hallway, the ceiling... twiddling my thumbs... really wishing Nikki could come back. It's amazing what a difference the company and distraction makes. I decided to go look through the toys and found markers and coloring sheets so I colored a pretty pot of flowers and a butterfly, while I waited for the doctor.

Around 4:30 the doctor came in to tell me what she found on the ultrasound. I appreciate her sitting down to try and make it casual... but for a girl who watches way too many movies and TV dramas... this gave me a slight heart attack because usually doctors sit down if it's serious. Well, turns out the ultrasound shows very healthy ovaries, tubes, kidneys, this and that, and that and this. Everything is the right size, right shape, and in the right place. However, there was very clearly a stone in each kidney and there is still blood in the urine sample. No telling when they'll pass - tomorrow, 20 years from now, or never. She also thinks I may have a bladder infection - hence the pressure and constant need to pee. She gave me a prescription for the anti nausea medicine and an antibiotic for the possible bladder infection and then told me I could go.

I got dressed, packed up, checked out, and went outside to wait for Joan, who was leaving her family who was in from out of town to pick me up. She picked me up, we went to the pharmacy, and then I went home and got ready for a birthday party of a friend. People thought I was nuts, but I just couldn't sit in my bedroom alone or a hospital room  for one more second, and it was totally worth it.

So what happens now? I drink a lot of water, which is hard because I thought I already was drinking a lot of water. And I live my life no differently than before. I can't let the thought that at any moment one of the stones could decide to pass, potentially putting me back into that debilitating pain, stop me from going and doing.

It's now Sunday and I'm still a bit tired, but nothing that some sleep won't fix (however, waking up at 4 and 6am to watch ACC basketball games probably isn't helping). I'm still a bit sore in my lower right back, but as long as I'm not thinking about it it's practically unnoticeable. And my stomach isn't quite back to normal yet, easily full and quick to feel unsettled, but hey at least I don't have to worry about gaining weight since I can't work out just yet.

***A huge thanks has to go to Nikki for everything she did for me on Friday and to Joan as well who was willing to drop her own family for an hour or so for me. I must also thank my host mom though who let me have off and took on caring for all 3 kids on her own like a champ, especially after having all 3 of them on her own the day before as well.***