Kidney Stone Stent

Despite having kidney stone surgery on Monday, which removed the stone and should have provided relief, I still felt lousy.  I was subjected to multiple kidney spasms, which mimic in intensity the pain of the original stone.  I also was stuck with this stent inside of me, and despite that pain, I also had the pain of the retrieval chords sticking out from my, ahem, guy.  Any undo brushing against those chords instantly caught my attention.

Well, I finally got the stent out today.  What a relief it was to get out, but until it was removed, I had no idea its size:

It was about a foot long, and the nurse pulled it out of me like she was pulling the rip cord on a lawn mower.  The  only thing that was missing was the "VROOM" noise, although my screaming may have compensated.

It's hard to describe the pain associate with this event.  I've broken bones, tore up a knee, and had multiple concussions.  All of that, dear friends, is child's play.   

The only bigger surprise to all of this is how many people have suffered from these.  It is far more common than I thought.  But perhaps in a way I'm lucky it is so common as the emergency room knew exactly what was going on the minute I came in, and they were extremely forthcoming with the morphine.  So much so that the ER Doctor said to me, "I know you're still in pain.  But I can't give you any more and be able to guarantee that you'll be able to continue breathing."

I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.