As those of you who occasionally stop by Sensen No Sen know, this blog is rarely devoted to anything of a personal nature. I try to focus on "big" things that are important to me and that I think (or hope) are important to a lot of other people, too, while leaving the so-called "little" things to actual interpersonal communication with the amazing and wonderful family and friends I am fortunate to have.
Earlier this week however, I was felled - and believe me, "felled" is the right word - by a kidney stone. While I can probably attribute some of the distress I experienced to not knowing what was happening to me - I have no personal or family history of kidney stones - the pain was, nonetheless, everything it was cracked up to be. (My urologist told me that, of the women with children he has treated for stones, a good portion of them prefer labor pain to kidney stone pain.) In a word, it was excruciating.
Happily, I am over the hump and on the mend, but one thing that became clear - in addition to my deep-seated desire to never have another kidney stone - is that my wife is awesome. We've been married for a bit more than a year and half, and while I have never doubted that I both chose well and was lucky in the extreme to have been chosen in return, the proof of such belief is only truly apparent when the chips are down.
Amy took complete and total care of me without an ounce of complaint, getting me to the emergency room (twice), taking me to the doctor's office, sitting by my side until well into the night, talking to the medical staff, and making it as easy on me as possible while I was at my most helpless. Sure, kidney stones aren't cancer, and sure, that's what your spouse is "supposed" to do, but I can say from personal experience that what's supposed to happen in that realm isn't always what does, and I am unbelievably grateful to have married the woman that I did.
So anyway, I thought I'd take a quick pause from the "big stuff" - to which I will duly return next week - and share a little bit about myself. While I have been in some of the worst discomfort I have ever experienced over the last couple of days, I have also never felt luckier.
My wife rocks.
Earlier this week however, I was felled - and believe me, "felled" is the right word - by a kidney stone. While I can probably attribute some of the distress I experienced to not knowing what was happening to me - I have no personal or family history of kidney stones - the pain was, nonetheless, everything it was cracked up to be. (My urologist told me that, of the women with children he has treated for stones, a good portion of them prefer labor pain to kidney stone pain.) In a word, it was excruciating.
Happily, I am over the hump and on the mend, but one thing that became clear - in addition to my deep-seated desire to never have another kidney stone - is that my wife is awesome. We've been married for a bit more than a year and half, and while I have never doubted that I both chose well and was lucky in the extreme to have been chosen in return, the proof of such belief is only truly apparent when the chips are down.
Amy took complete and total care of me without an ounce of complaint, getting me to the emergency room (twice), taking me to the doctor's office, sitting by my side until well into the night, talking to the medical staff, and making it as easy on me as possible while I was at my most helpless. Sure, kidney stones aren't cancer, and sure, that's what your spouse is "supposed" to do, but I can say from personal experience that what's supposed to happen in that realm isn't always what does, and I am unbelievably grateful to have married the woman that I did.
So anyway, I thought I'd take a quick pause from the "big stuff" - to which I will duly return next week - and share a little bit about myself. While I have been in some of the worst discomfort I have ever experienced over the last couple of days, I have also never felt luckier.
My wife rocks.
