Sunday, September 2, 2012

Design Wall and a Day in the Life....of my idiot husband

My design wall had the Paperweights and it is growing slowly.  I took out my vases hanging to look at for a while.  You know how that goes.
Paperweights

The Vases
The Vases was a Round Robin project with my CyberSisters group.  There were 8 of us and I designed a wall hanging since they did not want a quilt UFO.  I had everyone make a vase for their center.  The center was to guide the rest of the work.

Then I worked out an elaborate way the pieces criss crossed Texas, LA, MO, AR and MS to have sections added.  They were all different and they were all beautiful.  I wanted to make mine into a lap quilt but at least one of them finished hers in a hanging.

I wanted to work on The Vases and Paperweights today as well as put another quilt on the frame.  I have completed the quilting on three quilts this week during hurricane Isaac (Plaid Bargello has ecru binding, The Dogs have a black/white/red facing and The River City Mystery Quilt has a self binding).  So the frame is empty, and looking for another victim.

The dogs - needs binding sewn
It was not to be.  I spent 2 1/2 hours with Frank at the Doc in the Box and 5 hours at the ER where he was having severe pains in his waist area.  He never is in pain, even a headache so I was not sure that he really was just not having a flu episode.  But no vomiting and no diarrhea.  Doc in the Box was puzzled, gave him an antispasmodic and sent us home saying if he was still in pain by 4 or 5 PM to head to the ER.

So at 4:30 we head to the ER.   Three doctors, two nurses and 4 tests later, it is determined that he has a kidney stone.  No one thought of it because he was not presenting in the normal way.

AND because he is an idiot.  They ask him to rate his pain 1 to 10 and he says 12.  Doc says, there is no way because you would be doubled over on to the floor.

AND because he is an idiot.  They ask him to describe his pain as: stabbing, hot, cold, waves, clamping, etc.  He says constant.....not a word they have offered him and not describing the type of pain.

Plaid Bargello needs binding sewn
AND because he is an idiot.  They ask him to point to where the pain is located and he says it is in his stomach and he rubs under his rib cage.  Stomach.  Kidney stone pain is generally in the lower abdomen and can be in the back or toward the man parts.  Not the stomach.

But he is pacing and 5 hours later the nurse says to the third doctor........he won't take pain medication and he is pacing, what can I do for him.  The doc says.....pacing?  Let's look for kidney stones.

 And Voila!  We have kidney stones.  And I ordered him to take a pain med and he was amazed that his pain eased.  Idiot.  He is so afraid of being addicted because his mother told him he shouldn't take an aspirin because he could become addicted.

So the doc had a heart to heart talk with him.  He needs to take the pain med BEFORE the pain gets worse over the next 48 hours.  If you wait till the pain gets bad it will not work.  Take it  BEFORE.

So now he sits with it in his hand.  He is, in his mind, debating what is pain.

I think I need one of those pills, I should just sleep through it all.

glen

6 comments:

  1. Oh my! Poor Frank! I've never had one but I've heard that they are excrutiating. I guess that all that "doctor time" threw a big kink in all your plans though. And guys are such babies when it comes to pain!

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  2. Oh my! Poor Frank! I've never had one but I've heard that they are excrutiating. I guess that all that "doctor time" threw a big kink in all your plans though. And guys are such babies when it comes to pain!

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  3. Well at least you got something lovely quilting done last week - as for Frank- I hope that he passes the stone soon - for his sake and yours. About a year ago, my husband complained for days that he was having any attack of Pancreatitis. I begged him to call the doctor but he believed he could treat it himself since the treatment for his previous attack involved a week of a liquid diet and that's what he was doing.

    Saturday came and he says I'm still not feeling well maybe I should go to the emergency room - he was going to drive himself -but I did convinced him to let me drive. When we get there he tells the nurse "I have a pain in my jaw and in my arm" -- Immediately they check him out and discover he's having a heart attack. He had never told me this the entire week! He refused to believe them and insisted they should treat his pancreatitis (which he didn't have). Two stents and 24 hours later he finally emerged from the land of denial. Men!!!

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  4. Oh Glenda, I feel so sorry for you. I know what you are going through.
    Kidney stones are not fun & I hope that Frank is feeling better and passed the stone(s).
    My husband has had them, in fact his body seems to manufactur them. He's had lithotripsy 5 different times, not fun.
    Yes, take one of the pain pills, sleep thru it as this will pass.
    Take care,
    Andrea

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  5. ohhh Glen you'll have to forgive me for giggling through your post and your dh's painful experience! But OMG MEN! You'd think that after living with us so long that we would rub off on them a bit and they could learn some communication skills. But no! I keep telling my dad that I don't speak "DAD" well and he's just goin' to have to join the rest of the country and speak our language (grin) - My husband is a bit better but I constantly have to remind myself that although he was born here - English is his second language - "Husband" being his first (grin)

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  6. I am so sorry you are both going through this. I have watched friends with this pain, and it appears to be very unpleasant. I hope the stones pass quickly.
    I absolutely love the vases and the paper weights. Beautiful.

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