It was a week before Thanksgiving my freshman year of HS and after a dinner I did not really eat that included stewed tomatoes, I went upstairs to my bedroom and got in bed. My dad, wonderful guy that he is, went out and got me a Fribble at the local Friendly's, hoping to cheer me up. I drank it. It was delicious. But then my tummy got all rumbly and after a visit to the porcelain god that had me checking to make sure I'd not eaten any tomatoes for dinner, I wound up in the hospital with a kidney infection.
I will spare you the rest of the details from that night and the ensuing hospital stay. It was not pleasant.
The infection started as a UTI, continued to a bladder infection and then because of a tiny birth defect that I did not know I had, ended up in my left kidney.
For at least five years prior to this, I had been having pain in my left "flank" right where my kidney lives. I'd been to the doctor several times with this complaint. Usually, we'd eat dinner, and half way though my side would start to hurt. I would go lie on the sofa in our living room until the pain subsided. The doctors kept telling my parents that there was nothing wrong with me. No infection, no problem. Until there was an infection and they found the problem.
Now, why am I telling a story that is 17 years old? Other than that it was a defining point in my life?
Well, I am having the same pain in my left flank. It got so bad last week that I went to the ER and waiting for almost 6 hours to see a doc who told me that my blood and urine were infection free and that the CT scan they did (my first ever) showed no problems. All they could do was give me pain meds and a referral to a urologist.
And this kinda pissed me off. I explained my medical history to them and they told me, yeah, we believe you that you know your body, we'll check out things related to that, but ultimately, we'll give you narcotics and blow you off, NOT attempt to fix what is giving you so much pain.
I am so not looking forward to the ER bill.
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