The ABSOLUTE WORST Flight of My Life
Warning: LONG post about Part 1 of my Kidney Stone issue!
When I was pregnant with Kaden, I experienced the worst physical pain that I have ever felt up to that point in my life. I had passed about 37 kidney stones. That's right. THIRTY-SEVEN. Here is the proof... Remember...this was back in 2008.
I remember saying that I NEVER wanted to feel that pain again. I remember someone saying that once I got them, that I would probably get them again. I especially didn't want to have them again during pregnancy, but I guess it wasn't really my choice....
Fast forward to Tuesday, October 5th, (34 weeks into pregnancy). We were scheduled to fly home from Tulsa, OK. Our flight kept getting delayed later and later and we realized that we would not make our connecting flight in Dallas that night. So, we flew to Dallas, stayed there and then caught a flight out the next morning. We kept going back and forth about which flight we were going to take. We finally decided on an earlier one and planned on getting to Seattle about 10:00 am. Tuesday night I didn't feel very well, but chalked it up to pregnancy.
(Note: Small side notes of my thoughts at the time will be added in RED.)
I felt okay in the airport and was anxious to get home to my kids. I fell asleep on the airplane even before we lifted off. As we were ascending in the air, I woke up with severe pain. I had some flank pain in my back, but I had been having occasional flank pain over the past couple of months, and just thought that I was sick from all of the eating out that we had done. I was starting to get really uncomfortable and couldn't wait until the seatbelt light went off so I could get back to the bathroom.
I finally gave up and just went back to the bathroom. I felt so sick. When I returned back to my seat, I just knew that it was more than just being sick. (Sweet...only FOUR more hours of this flight) I had gone back to the bathroom a couple of times, but nothing seemed to be helping. I sat there and just let the tears fall because I knew that it was not going to be good. Jerrod paged the flight attendant to ask if they had any pain meds and she replied that she couldn't give me any unless there was a Dr. or Nurse on board. She got me some water and a few pillows. As I was on my way back to the bathroom again, I heard her come over the speaker to ask if there was a Dr. or a nurse on board. (Great...that isn't going to draw ANY attention to the pregnant lady who keeps getting up to go to the bathroom and is in OBVIOUS pain!)
As I approached the bathroom, there was a man standing in the back of the airplane and he said to me..."You're not going to have that baby now are you?" (Thanks for the concern in your voice, kind sir!) I said, "No, I just have kidney stones." (Now will you PLEASE excuse me so I can go throw up for the FOURTH time?!?!)
This kind man then replied with, "Well, you really need to stop drinking pop."
I politely smiled and said, "You are probably right."
He then kept going with, "And coffee."
By this time I was trying to defend myself and said, "I don't drink coffee, but thanks." (Now seriously get the HECK out of my way or I will throw up on YOU!)
The next few LONG hours were kind of a blur because it was just filled with standing, laying down, throwing up, contracting from being in so much pain, crying, going to the bathroom, standing, laying down, throwing up, contracting, and crying...all in a continuous cycle....over and over again. I really didn't think that flight was ever going to end. Oh, and did I mention that the only person with a medical background was a military EMT that said, "well, you can't really do anything about kidney stones." (Thanks for your service for our country, but I didn't really need your medical advice to tell me that one!!)
They arranged a wheel chair for me to be at the gate and we called the Dr. office as soon as we landed. I couldn't have been happier that we landed, but I knew that we still had to get the luggage, the car, and then drive the 40 minutes home. A kind airport worker wheeled me quickly through the airport as Jerrod raced to get the car which was parked at a lot away from the airport. Poor Jaela and Ryan followed me through the airport helplessly, watching me throw up into the bag that I just happened to grab from the airplane. They grabbed our luggage and we waited for what seemed like an eternity for Jerrod to get the car there. Finally he got there and we were on our way to the Dr. office. They couldn't get me an appointment with my Dr. until 2:45...remember it was only 10:00 AM...(Ummmm....I don't think so!!!)
So, we went straight to the walk-in clinic. When we got there, I threw up again, and waited for the PA to see me. Long story short, they gave me a shot of some sort of morphine, and a shot to help with my nausea.
I asked him what the heck was I supposed to do when the shot wore off?!?!
He prescribed me some Vicodin. I said "Okay, thanks." (I have been here before...Vicodin is NOT going to solve my problems, but whatever. I am feeling pretty good after that shot that they gave me in my butt.)
Jerrod took me home, tucked me in and then drove to North Bend to meet my brother who had our kids.
I was able to sleep for a couple of hours, but could never get really comfortable. I was so happy to see the kids when Jerrod brought them home, but I was sad that I couldn't just love them and cuddle with them. I had missed them and for some reason needed their loves and cuddles even more at that time.
Around 5:00 pm, I finally gave up. I was in way too much pain, and contracting. I knew from before that they would be concerned about me going into pre-term labor, so I told Jerrod that we needed to go to the hospital.
When we got there, they realized that I was 34 weeks pregnant and they sent me right up to the Maternity floor.
From then on, they gave me an IV because I was so dehydrated, some pain meds and they tried to make me as comfortable as possible. They monitored the baby quite often to make sure that he was doing well. It was a rough, long night. I had an ultrasound to look at my kidneys, and after more pain meds, and a sleeping pill, I don't remember much. I sent Jerrod home to be with the kids since we had been gone for almost a week.
The next morning, my WONDERFUL Dr. came in to see me. He would not quit expressing his sympathy for me and told me that my kidneys were FULL of stones. And to make things even better, I had some HUGE ones...one on my left side the size of a QUARTER!! That is right not a dime...a QUARTER! He was very concerned about me and wanted to make sure that we weren't going to have a baby too early.
Since I was pregnant, I couldn't have Lithotrypsy to blast the stones into tiny little pieces to be passed. So, my option was having surgery to place stents into my Ureter tubes to open them for little stones and to prevent the large ones from trying to pass. He told me that after I have the baby, that I would have another surgery to blast the stones to get them out. I agreed to the surgery and called Jerrod to let him know what was going on.
My surgery was scheduled for 1 pm that afternoon. Needless to say, I was scared. They would have to put me under completely which would also cause the baby to go under. I had to even sign papers in case something went wrong and I had to deliver him via C-Section.
I actually passed a stone right before they took me into surgery. Supposedly it was considered a "large" one and it looked pretty small to me! It is crazy how much pain one of those tiny things can cause!
Anyways, my surgery went well. I woke up pretty groggy and my mouth was extremely dry. This is a little side note about the surgery...I asked that they monitor Kohen while I was "under". When I woke up, the nurse that was monitoring told me it was crazy because minutes after I went under, so did he. And then minutes after I started to wake up, he started to wake up and move around. It is really amazing how much these little babies inside of us are so affected from what we do.
When I got back to my room, there was my Honey, with flowers to greet me. I was so thankful for his love and support at the time. I ended up staying in the hospital one more night to make sure that I could keep the oral meds down.
While I was in the hosptial, I got many phone calls from friends and family who were concerned about me. It was so wonderful to be able to talk to them and hear of their thoughts and prayers that were going out for me.
I am sad to say that my surgery didn't really solve anything. I still have the stones in there, that eventually need to be passed and I still have the stents which cause a lot of pain and other side effects. I constantly feel like I need to go to the bathroom and it hurts to go. It hurt to walk or even stand at times. The first week after the surgery, I was doing okay. I was able to stop taking so many pain meds and I felt like I could last for the next few weeks.....But something that I have learned throughout this whole thing is that I can't plan every little thing in my life..... (Stay tuned after the Pumpkin Patch post for more of the story!)
When I was pregnant with Kaden, I experienced the worst physical pain that I have ever felt up to that point in my life. I had passed about 37 kidney stones. That's right. THIRTY-SEVEN. Here is the proof... Remember...this was back in 2008.
I remember saying that I NEVER wanted to feel that pain again. I remember someone saying that once I got them, that I would probably get them again. I especially didn't want to have them again during pregnancy, but I guess it wasn't really my choice....
Fast forward to Tuesday, October 5th, (34 weeks into pregnancy). We were scheduled to fly home from Tulsa, OK. Our flight kept getting delayed later and later and we realized that we would not make our connecting flight in Dallas that night. So, we flew to Dallas, stayed there and then caught a flight out the next morning. We kept going back and forth about which flight we were going to take. We finally decided on an earlier one and planned on getting to Seattle about 10:00 am. Tuesday night I didn't feel very well, but chalked it up to pregnancy.
(Note: Small side notes of my thoughts at the time will be added in RED.)
I felt okay in the airport and was anxious to get home to my kids. I fell asleep on the airplane even before we lifted off. As we were ascending in the air, I woke up with severe pain. I had some flank pain in my back, but I had been having occasional flank pain over the past couple of months, and just thought that I was sick from all of the eating out that we had done. I was starting to get really uncomfortable and couldn't wait until the seatbelt light went off so I could get back to the bathroom.
I finally gave up and just went back to the bathroom. I felt so sick. When I returned back to my seat, I just knew that it was more than just being sick. (Sweet...only FOUR more hours of this flight) I had gone back to the bathroom a couple of times, but nothing seemed to be helping. I sat there and just let the tears fall because I knew that it was not going to be good. Jerrod paged the flight attendant to ask if they had any pain meds and she replied that she couldn't give me any unless there was a Dr. or Nurse on board. She got me some water and a few pillows. As I was on my way back to the bathroom again, I heard her come over the speaker to ask if there was a Dr. or a nurse on board. (Great...that isn't going to draw ANY attention to the pregnant lady who keeps getting up to go to the bathroom and is in OBVIOUS pain!)
As I approached the bathroom, there was a man standing in the back of the airplane and he said to me..."You're not going to have that baby now are you?" (Thanks for the concern in your voice, kind sir!) I said, "No, I just have kidney stones." (Now will you PLEASE excuse me so I can go throw up for the FOURTH time?!?!)
This kind man then replied with, "Well, you really need to stop drinking pop."
I politely smiled and said, "You are probably right."
He then kept going with, "And coffee."
By this time I was trying to defend myself and said, "I don't drink coffee, but thanks." (Now seriously get the HECK out of my way or I will throw up on YOU!)
The next few LONG hours were kind of a blur because it was just filled with standing, laying down, throwing up, contracting from being in so much pain, crying, going to the bathroom, standing, laying down, throwing up, contracting, and crying...all in a continuous cycle....over and over again. I really didn't think that flight was ever going to end. Oh, and did I mention that the only person with a medical background was a military EMT that said, "well, you can't really do anything about kidney stones." (Thanks for your service for our country, but I didn't really need your medical advice to tell me that one!!)
They arranged a wheel chair for me to be at the gate and we called the Dr. office as soon as we landed. I couldn't have been happier that we landed, but I knew that we still had to get the luggage, the car, and then drive the 40 minutes home. A kind airport worker wheeled me quickly through the airport as Jerrod raced to get the car which was parked at a lot away from the airport. Poor Jaela and Ryan followed me through the airport helplessly, watching me throw up into the bag that I just happened to grab from the airplane. They grabbed our luggage and we waited for what seemed like an eternity for Jerrod to get the car there. Finally he got there and we were on our way to the Dr. office. They couldn't get me an appointment with my Dr. until 2:45...remember it was only 10:00 AM...(Ummmm....I don't think so!!!)
So, we went straight to the walk-in clinic. When we got there, I threw up again, and waited for the PA to see me. Long story short, they gave me a shot of some sort of morphine, and a shot to help with my nausea.
I asked him what the heck was I supposed to do when the shot wore off?!?!
He prescribed me some Vicodin. I said "Okay, thanks." (I have been here before...Vicodin is NOT going to solve my problems, but whatever. I am feeling pretty good after that shot that they gave me in my butt.)
Jerrod took me home, tucked me in and then drove to North Bend to meet my brother who had our kids.
I was able to sleep for a couple of hours, but could never get really comfortable. I was so happy to see the kids when Jerrod brought them home, but I was sad that I couldn't just love them and cuddle with them. I had missed them and for some reason needed their loves and cuddles even more at that time.
Around 5:00 pm, I finally gave up. I was in way too much pain, and contracting. I knew from before that they would be concerned about me going into pre-term labor, so I told Jerrod that we needed to go to the hospital.
When we got there, they realized that I was 34 weeks pregnant and they sent me right up to the Maternity floor.
From then on, they gave me an IV because I was so dehydrated, some pain meds and they tried to make me as comfortable as possible. They monitored the baby quite often to make sure that he was doing well. It was a rough, long night. I had an ultrasound to look at my kidneys, and after more pain meds, and a sleeping pill, I don't remember much. I sent Jerrod home to be with the kids since we had been gone for almost a week.
The next morning, my WONDERFUL Dr. came in to see me. He would not quit expressing his sympathy for me and told me that my kidneys were FULL of stones. And to make things even better, I had some HUGE ones...one on my left side the size of a QUARTER!! That is right not a dime...a QUARTER! He was very concerned about me and wanted to make sure that we weren't going to have a baby too early.
Since I was pregnant, I couldn't have Lithotrypsy to blast the stones into tiny little pieces to be passed. So, my option was having surgery to place stents into my Ureter tubes to open them for little stones and to prevent the large ones from trying to pass. He told me that after I have the baby, that I would have another surgery to blast the stones to get them out. I agreed to the surgery and called Jerrod to let him know what was going on.
My surgery was scheduled for 1 pm that afternoon. Needless to say, I was scared. They would have to put me under completely which would also cause the baby to go under. I had to even sign papers in case something went wrong and I had to deliver him via C-Section.
I actually passed a stone right before they took me into surgery. Supposedly it was considered a "large" one and it looked pretty small to me! It is crazy how much pain one of those tiny things can cause!
Anyways, my surgery went well. I woke up pretty groggy and my mouth was extremely dry. This is a little side note about the surgery...I asked that they monitor Kohen while I was "under". When I woke up, the nurse that was monitoring told me it was crazy because minutes after I went under, so did he. And then minutes after I started to wake up, he started to wake up and move around. It is really amazing how much these little babies inside of us are so affected from what we do.
When I got back to my room, there was my Honey, with flowers to greet me. I was so thankful for his love and support at the time. I ended up staying in the hospital one more night to make sure that I could keep the oral meds down.
While I was in the hosptial, I got many phone calls from friends and family who were concerned about me. It was so wonderful to be able to talk to them and hear of their thoughts and prayers that were going out for me.
I am sad to say that my surgery didn't really solve anything. I still have the stones in there, that eventually need to be passed and I still have the stents which cause a lot of pain and other side effects. I constantly feel like I need to go to the bathroom and it hurts to go. It hurt to walk or even stand at times. The first week after the surgery, I was doing okay. I was able to stop taking so many pain meds and I felt like I could last for the next few weeks.....But something that I have learned throughout this whole thing is that I can't plan every little thing in my life..... (Stay tuned after the Pumpkin Patch post for more of the story!)
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Ashley