just a stones throw away

last wednesday, for some odd and fortunate reason, my brother happened to be over the house with his friend Keith. He noticed I was moving odd even for me. Some aching, throbbing pain was searing into my right kidney. After a valiant hour of attempting to ignore it and continuing my stupidity, Lance drove me to the emergency room.

It's never a good thing when you're the patient in the waiting room who makes all the other patients waiting uncomfortable. I was writhing in pain in my seat somehow holding the screams at bay. Thankfully, the wait did not add to the torture because I was called in after 5 minutes. I was given the last hospital bed for the moment is stall 22 (i interpret that to be a lucky sign). The luck continued when the nurse find my vein immediately, for it usually takes a few tries. Even better, the IV went in along with some morphine and some other drug to reduce the swelling in my kidneys. I was a classic kidney stone case. A couple hours later I was finally drugged enough to go home, but I did get my first ever CT scan (not as claustrophobic as I expected).

unfortunately, I missed school on thursday and there was no substitute available for me, but I did go in briefly to leave lesson plans. Three co-workers who have experienced the joys of giving birth and passing the stone all said that the stone was more painful. This does nothing to assuage my fears, especially because the stone seems to be moving so slow. The stone is near the bottom of my kidney and its been 5 days. It could take another week or so to pass and that's when the real pain comes.

Yet, Friday was another difficult day. I attended the funeral of Grandma Junio. She lived a good life. She was always funny and lived to be 97 years old. It was the first time I ever attended a funeral at Golden Gate National Cemetery, the one near Tanforan. It was kind of surreal seeing gravestone with people born in the late 1800s and the mall in the background and planes flying overhead.

The night should have been better because Lance was having a birthday party at Suite 181. And I love going out to dance. Alas, I remained laid up in bed nursing my kidney stone.

And woke up still in too much pain to attend the much anticipated fanfest at the ballpark. There were 20,000 people there and I was not one of them. I called Lance to see if he was going and I learn that after the party on his way home about 10 minutes away from his freeway exit... a car slammed into the back of him. First off, he remains in good spirits and did not have to go to the emergency room. He is supposed to get himself checked out medically tomorrow. But can you believe... a Lance and this other car were the only ones on the freeway at 3am. He was driving the usual speed and another car literally rear-ends him at full speed. Good thing my brother wasn't at a stop or forced into hitting anything. Then the car that hit him slows briefly and then runs for it. Those BASTARDS! But Lance did get a license plate...

so 2007 is off to a strange start...
hopefully when i see you all again, i won't be pissing through a strainer anymore waiting to give birth to a 3mm stone...