Deja Vu

It has been a tough week for me.  I spent all of Tuesday in the emergency room with daughter "Cate", not her real name.

Cate, who is a single parent of a teen, went to the ER with severe pain.  They diagnosed a kidney stone pretty quickly.  When she heard the word "stint",  that's when she decided that she needed her mother and called me.  And indeed, she absolutely did need an adult advocate with her, as she was heavily medicated for the pain and probably not entirely lucid all the time.  There was much to remember and absorb.

When I arrived,  the nurse was filling me in.  I absolutely could not believe my ears.  I was stunned.  Twenty years ago, husband Gerry ended up in the ER with severe pain and a kidney stone in his left kidney.  In the process of doing tests, they discovered a mass in his right kidney, which resulted in surgery and the removal of that kidney.

So I learned that Cate had a kidney stone in her left kidney, and in the process, they discovered a mass on her right kidney.  It was the eeriest thing!  It felt to me like a Mega Deja Vu !  It was unbelievable to me, and somewhat traumatic.

Over the course of the day, a lot of tests were done, and Cate ended up in the Operating Room getting the stint, which keeps the flow going from the kidney to the bladder.  When I asked the doctor about the mass on the right kidney, at first he seemed very concerned.

After the procedure,  he studied the tests more closely, and when Cate's surgery was over, he came to see me in the waiting room and said that he actually is confident that it is benign.  They will keep track of it over time and see what it does.

The nurse for the day heard Cate and I discussing some concerns about health insurance.  Cate does have health insurance at the moment, but she is in the midst of a major life transition, which involves leaving her job, getting married, selling her house and moving. There will be a period of uncertainty regarding health insurance.

The nurse told us of many instances of people who had been brought to the ER  (presumably by someone else),  but because they did not have health insurance, and did not want to incur huge debt, opted to refuse all treatment, even an aspirin.  Several of those  had chest pains, or in one instance, a heart attack happening at the moment.  That nurse was wishing that in America all citizens had access to medical care.   It is very sad indeed that health is a for-profit enterprise.   It is hard for me to imagine anyone bearing the pain of a kidney stone without at least drug intervention.

Cate is doing well and having her stint removed tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I picked up some kind of virus while at the hospital, and now have one miserable head and chest cold and cough.
I am looking forward to a better day.

I am going to Mississippi soon and so hoping that at least it will be warmer there!