A Post Wherein I Don't Talk About My Kidney Surgery. Much.

Okay, let me just get is out of the way: they took the stent out this morning, and it really didn't hurt. The anticipation was the worst part. I really could have done it myself, as it turned out--it just slid right out. The craziest part was that it was a) blue, b) about a foot long, and c) kinda fat and looked like rubber. I was picturing something like two inches long, but as the nurse pointed out, it did need to stretch from my kidney to my bladder. I get discharged after breakfast. I've ordered pancakes and bacon. I had it last time I was here, and they literally sent me a platter of bacon (covered in a silver dome), and a side of two small pancakes. This is the unhealthiest hospital I've ever visited (but yum, bacon!!). When the doctor stopped by this morning to give me the "all clear" for the stent removal, I asked some more questions about the weirdness of what happened. He said that the entire kidney doesn't have the fibrous mesh-- just part. There is no reason to think the left kidney has this problem at all (and there were no signs of stones on the CT scan of that kidney). They don't know what causes it the weird mesh, although it's not very common. There is nothing to suggest that someone with this fibrous patch like I have is at greater risk for any type of more significant problem or other types of problems with the kidney. Finally, if I should ever develop stones like this again, he recommends the same method of surgery (laser going up through the ureter) as opposed to the surgery that goes in through the back. He said going in through the back would have been a "disaster," because he needed room to maneuver around and get to everything (fibrous patches to release then stones, breaking up stone fragments at the bottom of the kidney, etc.) which the percutaneous surgery doesn't allow. Okay, my breakfast arrived while I was typing this, and I indeed got a platter of bacon with a side of pancakes! TEN slices of American bacon, which is in heard of hear (local "bacon" is more like a side of ham). I was tempted to eat it all, but restrained myself. I wish I could figure out how to smuggle greasy bacon out of the hospital so I could bring it to T. (Did I really just type that sentence?) He would be so happy! In other news, can I just tell you how proud I am of my stepsister? When we decided to chuck our lives in the U.S and take this job, it was really important to us that our families and friends got to take advantage of this lifestyle, too. We've invited everyone we know to come and stay with us for a visit, and many people have taken us up on it. But we invited my stepsister to come and live with us, and she came and got her master's while she was here. She helped us with the kids occasionally, but we really tried to limit what we asked her to do, because we wanted is experience to be all about her doing things for her and spreading her wings, and not about her doing things for us. It turned out really well. She just got her first real job, and the company is going to sponsor her visa so that she can stay once her student visa expires. She met a great guy a while back, and they are going to move in together (next month! Tears!) She's such a hard worker, and had been living at home in a little town and putting herself through school working a bunch of different (unglamorous) jobs. If she hadn't come over here, given her major and the dismal economy, she may have been stuck in those jobs for a while. But she made a leap of faith, came over here, took advantage of the opportunity, got more education, made friends, traveled a fair bit around Europe, and built a life for herself here. I am so, so proud of her that she's done all of that. It makes me so pleased that we could be a part of it, too, and that someone else could get something good out of our move. It's just such a happy story. Now ignore this bit-I happened to have blogger open when the doctor called to advise on how long to pump and dump: Propofol, onz, diclo (antiemetic), Tylenol, voltarol, fentanyl. Oh, and that post title was a bald-faced lie.