Stent No More

Stephen's x-ray showed no signs of stones or fragments so he was able to have the stent removed this morning.  It was by no means pleasant, but it is over.

He will continue to have pain for 24-48 hours but should make a full recovery after that. 

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Midweek

So, Stephen is VERY eager to get the stent out. He went to work today for the first time, took the pain meds there, but when they wore off he was in a lot of pain again. Thursday morning could not come soon enough for him!

Because the string fell off of his stent, he'll have to do a cystoscopy to have the stent removed, but this time it will be under local anesthesia in the urologist's office. I'm really praying he will be as comfortable as possible for that procedure. And I'm very excited about all this being over for him. He's been a trooper, but it has not been easy!

Stephen's Home

We are home and Stephen is recovering. He should be sleeping but apparently he doesn't react to anesthesia like the rest of the free world!

Immediately after surgery, Stephen started talking to the staff. He announced, "I have a wife, three kids and I'm 23 years old." "Mr. Fowler, you're not 23," replied the nurse anesthetist. To which Stephen slurred, "Ooooohhhhh yeah, I'm THIRTY-three."

By the time I made it to recovery, he had the entire staff laughing. He looked at me with his gown falling off his shoulder as he sipped on a Sprite and said that he "rocked it" and that he could "run a marathon." That was before he tried to stand or use the restroom!

On a serious note, Stephen is still in a good amount of pain. The pain pills are not knocking him out, as we expected. We've seen lots of blood today, but we're expecting it to subside in the next few hours.

He has passed a few tiny pieces of the stones, which we are saving to have evaluated. I am hoping he will be feeling much better tomorrow.

Below are some videos of Stephen before surgery. (He gave me the Flip before we walked into the hospital, just in case there was anything interesting to film.)

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P.S. He'll have the stent removed Thursday morning after the doctor's evaulation and another X-ray.

Out of Surgery

Stephen is in recovery now.  His mom and I are waiting to go back and see him.  The surgery went well.  Dr. Bullock said the kidney stones were lodged so he wasn't able to just take them out (as he expected) so he used the laser to break them up into very small fragments.  He did have to put a stent in, so now Stephen will have to pass the "granules" through the stent.  He will have some discomfort from the stent but will be given pain medicine to use as needed.  Dr. Bullock assured us he will not be in the same pain he was when the stones were moving, but he won't feel "all better" until he has the stent taken out, sometime late next week. 

Thank you for your prayers!  I have some video footage of Stephen with his gown and cap on before he went back so I'll post them on the blog later.

Surgery Scheduled

The urology office called Stephen and they decided to schedule his surgery for Friday, June 11th at 12 noon. The procedure is a cystoscopy right ureteroscopy holmium laser lithotripsy with a possible ureteric stent. As Stephen put it, "The name is longer than supercalifragilisticexpialidocious so I won't remember it."

He will be under general anesthesia and they will go in with a fancy laser, blast the two stones into tiny granules so he can easily pass them. This may cause inflammation in his urinary tract, and if so they will put a stent in to allow his kidneys to drain. He will have a 3 day recovery and will have the stent removed on the 5th day. It is a very routine outpatient procedure.

Of course, he'll have another x-ray right before the procedure to locate the stones, so we'd still prefer him to pass them before the surgery, but at least we know there is an end date for the stones.

Thank you for your prayers!

Stones Still There

Stephen went to the urologist and found out his doctor was in the Simpsonville office, even though he was told to go to the Greenville office. But they were able to work him in to see another urologist in the practice.

The stones are still there. They are unusual in that there are two large ones and they are stacked. But they are not blocking his urinary tract any longer and his urine tested fine (no blood, etc.). So the urologist gave him the option of waiting.

The surgery would be outpatient, but will require him to be out of work for about 3 days or so. And, as with any surgery, there is the risk of infection or problems with the anesthesia.

Stephen can choose to leave them in for a while, but over time they can cause damage to his kidneys and/or urinary tract so eventually they have to come out.

So now we have to decide what to do - wait and see if he is in the 20% of people that pass stones this large, OR schedule an unpleasant surgery. June is not a good month for him to be out of the office so it may be July before he has the surgery, anyway.

Please pray for Stephen and me as we try to decide what is best. Thanks!