Lots of pain! We got quite a surprise this week, granted not the good kind of surprise one would hope for! Tuesday morning Justin went to work early to play basketball and left his phone at home (he never does that!). I was working till 6pm that day so I was going to go in a little later than usual. I started getting ready for work when my lower abdominal area became very sore and uncomfortable. I thought I was having some type of cramps so I called over to my doctor's office when they opened (8:30am). I described the type of pain I was having, to which the front desk lady said "I'll have a nurse call you back and we can maybe get you in to see the doctor tomorrow." There was no way I was waiting! I told her with the type of pain I was in I couldn't wait another minute so they had me come in to see the doctor. The nurse thought I was having a bladder infection, which didn't seem far-fetched to me. After having a urine culture done, (and sorry for the graphic nature of this post).. they found blood in my urine.
By the time they put me in one of the patient rooms at the doctor's office I was in so much pain! It now had spread to my lower back and my upper right back. The doctor came in and explained what they thought it might be...kidney stones! So he sent me to the hospital (AF hospital) which is thankfully just next door. I had to wait for the nurse to get an ultrasound scheduled at the hospital so I sat in another nurse's chair behind the front desk, sobbing my eyes out! Side note: Definitely not my proudest moment looking back on it, but at the time I had zero self-awareness or any awareness for that matter. I called Justin at work and told him the situation and that he could meet me at the AF hospital. In the meantime, the sweetest nurse was helping me try and walk over to the hospital. We didn't get very far before my breathing had taken a turn for the worse so she drove us, in our highlander, over to the hospital. My sweetheart was waiting for me there, it was so wonderful to see him finally!
I'll skip over some of the more embarrassing details ... basically they did an ultrasound and found hydro (?)/inflammation on my right kidney. So the ultrasound tech said to go back to the doc's office. After driving back there and waiting for 15 minutes to see the doc, he said to go right back to AF hospital to Labor & Delivery. We got settled in a room on the labor & delivery floor (after waiting for what seemed like forever), the nurses came in with liquid relief. Another side note: I have always dreaded IVs, I hate the idea of a needle being in my hand and staying there. After the nurse tried putting the IV in my hand she announced that my veins were too small. I offered her my trustworthy-blood-drawing spot, the inside of my left elbow. (Again, I hate having blood drawn but with events in the past couple years I've gotten used to it-I just squinch my eyes and look away). That area worked and I was pumped with IV fluids and Morphin within no time. That took most of the edge off the pain but my right upper back was still hurting quite a bit. They gave me another drug (Tordal) which dilates the tubes within the urinary tract system and once that hit I was feeling pretty much back to normal. The latter drug was to help the stone pass more easily through the small confines it is in. After about 4 hours of resting in the hospital the doctor came in and said that I could go home. They were going to give me 4 different medications to help with infection and pain.
Kidney stones, really? I never had an inkling of what type of pain they create. I've heard that it is the closest thing to labor a person can feel but I don't think that ever hit home. Apparently the stones really hurt the most when they are on the move, but once they enter the bladder the worst pain is behind you. I am not sure if the stone has passed yet but thankfully the pain has. (Knock on wood!!). The nurses said that kidney stones can be super tiny, smaller than a grain (then why do they hurt so much?!) so sometimes it passed but you just can't see it. I sure hope that is what has happened, I definitely don't want a repeat of this week-especially when I'm pregnant!
The great things I learned from this experience:
-First of all, I have no desire now to try and have a natural birth! Bring on the epidural. I learned that I'm in enough pain it doesn't matter what needles go where, as long as they bring relief, I can stand the momentary discomfort.
-The AF Labor & Delivery floor is very nice! Our room was spacious and the nurses were super sweet and helpful.
-We got to hear our baby's heartbeat as they monitored him for about 30 minutes when I was on the initial doses of drugs. Little boy sounded so great they said, his heartbeat was wonderful! It was so comforting as I was lying there in pain that I could hear his sweet heartbeat in the background...wished they would have left that monitor on longer. He was pretty funny though, once they put the monitor on my belly he started kicking and punching right at it it seemed like. So amidst the constant heartbeat you would hear a loud thud from his karate kick. I like to think he was trying to cheer his mom up, and it sure did work!
-I really am grateful for modern day medicine. I can't stand being on medications constantly but through this experience they have been such a blessing!
-I have so many friends and family that are so loving and concerned! From the calls to texts about how I was doing, I was so grateful to have their support and love through it all. Their prayers too, as I'm sure that is why I'm feeling so great now!
Sorry for all the antics and drama of this post! You would think I was in a much worse situation by how I have been going on and on about it lol.
For a happier note!
Justin felt Baby Blackham kick last Sunday night for the first time. I grabbed Justin's hand (as I have countless times in the past) once I felt a strong kick. Every time in the past Justin had waited patiently but our baby was done with his exercising. But not last Sunday! Justin had looked away for a moment, but when he felt the kick his head jerked back at me and his eyes were big with surprise! It was so cute! Since then Baby (Carter?) has been kicking and punching and squirming around nonstop. They say you are supposed to feel 6-10 movements per hour... so sometimes randomly when I get a quiet moment I will feel for those movements. Within about 5 minutes I have felt probably twice that amount of movement. He makes it so I don't have to worry about him too much thank goodness! :-) I am so excited to meet this little guy!
