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!
Showing posts with label stephen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stephen. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
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.)
:
P.S. He'll have the stent removed Thursday morning after the doctor's evaulation and another X-ray.
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.)
:
P.S. He'll have the stent removed Thursday morning after the doctor's evaulation and another X-ray.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
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!
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!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Urologist Appointment Rescheduled
Stephen's vendor showed up at Scansource unexpectedly today so he was not able to get away to see the urologist this afternoon. The appointment has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, June 1st at 2:30 pm.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
IVP
Stephen described the IVP as one of the strangest feelings he's ever had. The dye shooting through his veins made him feel like his insides were melting and he almost threw up at one point. Thankfully, it wasn't painful for him, just weird.
Tomorrow is his appointment with the urologist (at 2:10 pm) to review the results. If he still needs the procedure, they'll schedule it tomorrow.
Stephen commented that he has not been having as much discomfort lately, so maybe he's already passed the stones. And the CD they gave him doesn't appear to have visible "spots" anywhere, but we're not radiologists, so we'll wait and see what the doctor says.
Thank you for your concern and for your prayers.
Tomorrow is his appointment with the urologist (at 2:10 pm) to review the results. If he still needs the procedure, they'll schedule it tomorrow.
Stephen commented that he has not been having as much discomfort lately, so maybe he's already passed the stones. And the CD they gave him doesn't appear to have visible "spots" anywhere, but we're not radiologists, so we'll wait and see what the doctor says.
Thank you for your concern and for your prayers.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Kidney Stones
Stephen had his very first kidney stone attack on Sydney's birthday, Sunday, April 11th. We were eating lunch at Boston Pizzeria and he went to the bathroom and never came out. We weren't sure what was happening at first but ended up at an emergency clinic and the doctor said, based on the symptoms Stephen was describing, that Stephen may have a large stone that was not able to pass. He recommended a CT Scan, but we chose not to do that, thinking we'd give it time to pass before we paid for an expensive test. We left the emergency clinic armed with a nausea and pain medication, which Stephen carried in his pocket at all times.
Several days later, Stephen had his second attack but the medicine seemed to kick in after about an hour. Two-and-a-half weeks passed with no pain or discomfort, so we assumed he'd passed it.
The next attack hit on his flight home from a business trip. The pain meds were locked in the overhead bins. He suffered terrible pain and when he got home he was out-for-the-count. He had another attack from about midnight until about 6 am, and this time the pain medicine was not cutting it.
We called our primary care doctor and she recommended a CT scan. The scan revealed he has large stones that are lodged in his urinary tract. He was given a prescription for Flomax, a medication that would open up his ureter and make the stones more likely to pass. He was also given another pain medication that is apparently very potent and can only be taken for about 5 days before it causes internal bleeding. We hoped, of course, the stones would pass during that time period, but they have not.
Stephen saw a urologist last week and had another x-ray. Stephen's stones are large and stones this size only pass 20% of the time. The urologist ordered an Intravenous Pyleogram (IVP), which is an X-ray they'll do after injecting a dye into Stephen's kidney. Once they have verified the exact location of the stones then they will schedule him for a stone-removal procedure.
The procedure will require general anesthesia because they will go through his urinary tract to blast the stones with a laser. The kidney may swell so they will then put in a urinary stent to help urine drain from the kidney to the bladder. Five days later he will have the stent removed.
Stephen's IVP is at 9:00 tomorrow morning. He will then see the urologist again to schedule the procedure. I'll keep you updated as we learn more. We are praying that the stones would pass before then but are trusting God to do whatever is best. Your prayers are coveted.
Several days later, Stephen had his second attack but the medicine seemed to kick in after about an hour. Two-and-a-half weeks passed with no pain or discomfort, so we assumed he'd passed it.
The next attack hit on his flight home from a business trip. The pain meds were locked in the overhead bins. He suffered terrible pain and when he got home he was out-for-the-count. He had another attack from about midnight until about 6 am, and this time the pain medicine was not cutting it.
We called our primary care doctor and she recommended a CT scan. The scan revealed he has large stones that are lodged in his urinary tract. He was given a prescription for Flomax, a medication that would open up his ureter and make the stones more likely to pass. He was also given another pain medication that is apparently very potent and can only be taken for about 5 days before it causes internal bleeding. We hoped, of course, the stones would pass during that time period, but they have not.
Stephen saw a urologist last week and had another x-ray. Stephen's stones are large and stones this size only pass 20% of the time. The urologist ordered an Intravenous Pyleogram (IVP), which is an X-ray they'll do after injecting a dye into Stephen's kidney. Once they have verified the exact location of the stones then they will schedule him for a stone-removal procedure.
The procedure will require general anesthesia because they will go through his urinary tract to blast the stones with a laser. The kidney may swell so they will then put in a urinary stent to help urine drain from the kidney to the bladder. Five days later he will have the stent removed.
Stephen's IVP is at 9:00 tomorrow morning. He will then see the urologist again to schedule the procedure. I'll keep you updated as we learn more. We are praying that the stones would pass before then but are trusting God to do whatever is best. Your prayers are coveted.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Christmas 2009
I got a new camera for Christmas (thank you, Stephen) so I'll let the photos tell the story of our day.
abby. ready to open gifts.
brody. his first train present of the day.
stephen. intently opening.
brody. actually opening.
abby. excited about her summer dress.
abby. posing by her stocking.
sydney. getting in on the action.
stephen. posing, too.
sydney and abby hugging after opening the stocking gifts they gave each other.
sydney's stocking gift from abby.
abby's new snowhat from nana.
stephen. posing at lunch.
brody. rolling around on the floor.
stephen and dody catching up.
sydney. with her chocolate covered pretzel.
pop. just a pic of pop.
brody. smiling first then wondering what in the world i was holding.
pop and sydney. singing. playing.
stephen. out. katherine. messing.
sydney. opening more.
brody. hammering.
brody. crying.
brody. still crying.
brody. still crying but getting Leslie's "tar" back and not realizing it.
brody. settled in with Leslie's guitar.
brody. happy as a clam with the guitar. leslie gave it to him.
(sorry I didn't take the time to rotate)
sydney and brody. trying to coax the cat out. unsuccessfully.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Enrich Showcase
Last night was a Showcase for the home school co-op, Enrich. The first graders were supposed to perform but cancelled at the last minute. Greta Fuller and I talked our daughters, Abby and Ella, into singing a duet. They practiced after Enrich and pulled off a wonderful rendition of Jingle Bells. Stephen emceed the event. It was a lot of fun.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)