Cobble Stones or Kidney Stones

I have been out of commission lately. I have been focused on making money, to keep the wheels on the cart. I have thought about surfing, but I just have not had the time. I want too, but just have not been able too.

Well, I had another thing happen that will keep me out of the water.

I was woken from a deep sleep the other night around 10:45 (yes, that is early for some of you!) by a sharp pain in my back on the left side. I thought it was a back spasm, since my back has been real bad lately. I laid there trying to relax, and the pain just keeps getting worse. It was hot and felt like I was getting jabbed by a hot branding iron. I got up, and could hardly move, still thinking it was the worst back spasm I have ever had, I tried to lie on the floor and stretch it out. By this time my wife was up and knew this was not a typical back spasm.

After fifteen minutes of the pain, we finally called my Doctor (happens to be my neighbor, two doors down). He tells my wife to get me to emergency; it is most likely a kidney stone. So, now it is 11:30pm. I need to get to the hospital, my 8 year old son is sound asleep in his room and we don’t want to have him get up and freak out seeing Dad in pain. So, I tell my wife to call EP. It is times like these, that you really can tell who your good friends are! Five minutes later, EP is at the door (he later tells me he had a big next day, couple of meetings, etc, and went to sleep early to be rested, but he still shows up)

He looks at me, and could tell I was in bad shape. (Side note: EP and I have been watching every episode of “The Pacific” on HBO; I had read all the books about the Marines in WWII. I look at him and say, “This is not as bad as the Marines in the Pacific, if I was in a foxhole with this pain, you guys would have shot me, to shut me up).

I get in the F150 for the ride to emergency and I am literally cringing and squirming with pain.

We get in, I get a bed, and then have to wait another 10-20 minutes until someone finally comes in to do something with me. Finally, this nurse comes in and tells me they are going to hook me up to an IV, then give me some Morphine. F-YEAH! I am thinking. So, he tells me to count backwards from ten. 10, 9, 8, …ahhhhhh……..a warm feeling starts to move through my body, I put my head back, and my eyes roll back in my head as the Morphine hits………relief.( all as EP snaps pics with the camera phone!) No wonder people like Heroin, this shit is good……….


Well, I finally leave around 3 -4am, loaded on Morphine, with a prescription for Iodine and other drugs in hand. I was told to drink large amounts of water, and pee in a strainer.

It has been a few days, and the pain is still there, but not like the first night. In the midst of my Morphine high/haze, I was laughing to myself thinking about what my buddy; VR says about getting old, “the best thing to do is just breath”

All this on the heels of turning 44. Just breathe!