22 - The Lord Takes Care of his Missionaries, In Sickness and In Health

Beautiful Flowers at the Bismarck Temple

We went through the temple this Wednesday morning, so our p-day is today instead of on Monday. Such is customary, or a required practice rather, should you go to the temple on the first Wednesday of the month. It won't be bright and flowery much longer, so I took the liberty to capture their beauty before they die from the frosty winters here.

I have one story this week. It was quite the experience.

Friday. We went back to the apartment a little early to finish up companionship inventory. We do companionship inventory as part of the scheduled weekly planning every week (how's that for being redundant). It's the last part of weekly planning; you discuss the strength of your relationship, how your obedience is, goals you have personally and as a companionship, how you or the other can improve, discussing anything that's bothering you or keeping you from working in unity, all that good necessary stuff.

So we were sitting on the floor, talking, things were normal, but I was having this stupid cramp in my side. It was weird though, because I thought it was a cramp from PMSing, but I'd never had a cramp like that, more in the front and secluded to my right side... but it was the same kind of 'pain' as a cramp you get when you are PMSing. After I resolved that I just could NOT find a position that made it more comfortable, I took some ibuprofin and that was that. The pain calmed down, normal night of fun, went to bed.

...I woke up at around four in the morning with that same pain again that I couldn't ignore. I tried for a little bit, but it was no good. It was constant and pressing and it was progressing. I got up, bent over, stupid cramp, stupid pain, and basically crawled my way over to taking some more ibuprofin. ...My breathing was labored because of the pain...  I had struggled my way into the kitchen and taken the medicine, but the pain was so intense it was making me nauseous. I went into the bathroom, gasping, rolling up into a ball hoping that that would ease the pain, though it did basically nothing. I'd never felt anything like this before...

My pains were not silent. After awhile, maybe ten minutes at most, a knock came at the door, as I was rather hoping it would. I didn't want to wake the sisters... but I wanted help...

"Come in," I gasped.

*knock knock...*

"Come in," I gasped louder, my face grimicing in pain as I was doubled over. It was Sister Christiansen.

"What's wrong?" she asked urgently.

"I don't know.. huh.. huh... I've- uhHU- never felt anything like this before- huh, huh."

"Do you still have your appendix?"

"huh- yes. huh.. huuh"

"It might be appendicitis.... We're taking you to the emergency room." And so she began to wake the sisters.

I was afraid of that.... After all, I was just notified a month or so earlier by letter that my dad had contracted appendicitis and was throwing up every half hour until mom took him to the emergency room at four in the morning ironically and found out his diagnosis.

And just as I knew it would happen, I vomited into the toilet bowl the two grapes, the water, and the pills that I just recently swallowed... My side was absolutely bursting with pain with no hope of it being relieved here...

It was a rough ride to the hospital. Took a bowl and some water to prevent dry heaving, and we were there soon enough. Dang this was awful. It was so so hard to control my breathing. We called the elders, but they weren't getting there fast enough. We waited for five minutes, but after that we just went in there. 

Kidney Stones are NO FUN!

Got there a bit after five and it was good, I got in to see a doctor right away. Bent over, hurting to bend to the right, having to take off my clothes and put on the gown, guh, it was hard business. The doctor came in and pressed to find the source of the pain. I told him it hurt more to move. He said that wasn't a good sign. Got an IV in me, got some morphine, peed in a cup after the pain had subsided a liiiittle, and they had me sign a paper to give me a cat scan. Mom would appreciate that the doctor commented on my signature saying I had worse handwriting than he did. haha. But... yeah, I wasn't having fun.

But man, one of the hardest things was the cat scan, because they asked me to scootch myself over to another stretcher thing OW! and to hold my hands out above my head OW! and to hold my breath OW! three times as they scanned me! OWW! It was so hard to hold my breath in that pain!!

Got back from that rough cat scan and I didn't want to move, talk, I just wanted to go to sleep. I was so. tired. I'm glad my companion was there to just talk at me. It helped a bit. And then the elders got there and gave me a blessing. The power of the priesthood and modern medicine. You can't go wrong.

There's That Pesky Kidney Stone!

So the doctor came back and the results? A kidney stone. He even drew me a picture.

And I only have one kidney stone, the one stuck right there in the picture. Yeah. Dang kidney stone. People say that it's comparable to child birth, having a kidney stone. I don't know, I still think child birth will be worse, but now I will be able to compare them.

Anyway, went home and the sisters picked up my prescribed medication from the pharmacy. I wrote on them to remind myself of which med did what.

Lots of Meds to Take

Man, I was so tired, I just... I still hurt and... sigh, it was good just to go to sleep at 9:40...

I woke up 2 hours later at 11:40 and...... wait.... !

Took Meds. Felt Awesome!
Take THAT, Kidney Stones!

I sat up. ...WHOA! I layed down and sat up again....! WHAT??! I lifted my leg! WHAT!? MAGIC!!! OH MY GOODNESS!! I WAS PAIN FREEEEEE! It hurt like, .01! When earlier it was like, 7,8! AH! MAGIC! I got up and basically put on a show for Sister Gray. I did a simple thrust out of my hip and said, "that would have KILLED ME this morning!!" She laughed and said that move reminded her of puppets on Sesame Street.

Man, at that moment, I said: "I wanna do something... awwwwesome." So I did.

For those of your who haven't seen on youtube, kid snippets, dance class, please do so now and you will more fully appreciate this picture and comment.

So yes. Magic. And I was complimented, especially by Sister Christiansen, about keeping a good attitude throughout the whole thing.

Felt no pain the rest of Saturday! I felt like crap on Sunday because I think it started moving again and the pain medication didn't beat into submission 'all' of the pain, plus I was exhausted from the day before, so that morning and early afternoon was hard, and the rest of the day was hard emotionally just because my stamina was so shot, but on Monday I was very normal again, and yesterday and today I haven't even been on any pain medication!

So I think the stone has passed into my bladder and is just hanging out there for a bit. It won't hurt when it comes out I've been told, so that's good. But yeah! So I'm doing fine now!

Moral of the story, don't get a kidney stone, but, if you do, it'll be okay. "It will come to pass!"