For this Thanksgiving, I find myself in a very unusual, unpleasant, and unexpected situation, where as much as I wish I was anywhere but where I actually am, I am also filled with gratitude for so much of what I am experiencing.
I am in a French hospital. Although I am not yet prepared to share all détails -- so if you ask questions I might not reply -- I can say that there is a serious situation with one of my kidneys. There is pain. There are still some unknowns although more pieces are falling into place, and I am very happy with the care I am receiving.
It began a week ago when, out of nowhere, I experienced debilitating pain in my right side, followed by uncontrollable vomiting and blood in my urine. My gall bladder is long gone and the pain was too high to be the appendixes. An hour later I was on my way to the ER with Georges at my side.
Tests there seemed to indicate kidney stones. I left the ER at 2:30am with prescriptions for some meds and for a sonogram and more lab work.
Sonogram, next day, showed a rather sizable stone plus some other oddities with the right kidney. The left one is perfectly healthy, another thing for which we are thankful. Because these things always happen on a weekend, I could do nothing else except wait for Monday to consult with my GP.
The pain seemed to get worse instead of better.
My GP is one of the kindest medical professionals I've ever met. He changed some of the meds and wrote orders for mor lab work and a high-resolution scan. He referred me to a urologist just 2 blocks away, and for the CT scan to a clinic in our neighborhood.
Then next challenge would be scheduling both scan and the urologist. It can take days or even weeks in a big city like Paris. But I lucked out and got in for the scan on Tuesday and the specialist Wednesday.
And here's where things took another turn. My kidney was bleeding; not copiously, but enough that THAT is what was causing my pain. The urologist proposed that I check into the same clinic where I had the scan, so I could receive better pain meds and could be monitored.
And that's where I've been since Wednesday afternoon. Thursday I had a procedure to stop the bleeding, and although that was the most painful experience of my life, in the past 2 days things have gotten much better, much less painful. I am SO grateful for this!
This isn't over yet, more tests and consults to be done, but I should be home on Monday. Every day I'm feeling better. And the love and support from my loved ones -especially Georges- has been wonderful.
So that's all I have to share now, and you'll understand why blogging is difficult. Keep me in your thoughts. I'm thankful for your support.
