Teton Adventure-Day 6

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Today is Tuesday Aug. 5th

Well our morning started out with a freakish trip to the emergency room in Dillon, Montana!

Chuck was in pain from about 3a.m. He thought he'd hurt his back, and was sick to his stomach from the ice cream he had eaten. However, that was not the case.
He had stretched out across my lap several times during the morning for me to rub his back. Each time I did, his back felt hotter, and he felt sweatier and clammier. The pain was getting worse too. I was really worried about him, and suggested we get some medical attention. He said no, it would stop eventually.
Around 6a.m. he began doubling over, saying "oh crap, oh crap". I wanted him to go to a hospital, but he still thought it would go away.
Pat saw what was happening, and told him he needed to go to the ER too.

By 8a.m., he had deep pain grooves in his forehead, and he was very pale. I decided that if he didn't agree to go, I was going to call an ambulance to come and get him.
What he hadn't told me was that at 3a.m. he had gotten up to take a leak, but couldn't, and instead began vomitting.
He finally agreed to go around 8a.m., but insisted on tearing down camp first.

So Chuck and I jetted back into town to get him some help. We found the hospital, parked the bikes, and I helped him through the ER doors.
As soon as we were through the doors, I started yelling for someone to come and help us, my husband was in severe pain!
Within seconds, nurses and doctors were swarming us. They took him right into the ER, and got him ready for an I.V.
They began asking questions, and one of the doctors thumped gently on Chuck's back and asked him if that was painful. I though Chuck was going to shoot through the roof. He cried out with a groan, and told the doctor he didn't want to make the mistake of doing that again. lol
They started an I.V., and drew blood.
All of this had taken place in the first 10 minutes we were there. If that long.

They said they figured it was kidney stones, but had to do a CT-Scan to be sure.
I'd never seen Chuck in such horrific pain. He was shaking, and pounding his fists trying to power through it all.
They gave him some pain killer to ease the pain some. It helped a tiny bit.
It was frightening seeing Chuck in that kind of pain. There was nothing I could do for him accept be there for him, and pray.

Pat, Corrie, and Tammi all broke camp right after we did. They weren't far behind us, and when they got to the hospital I let them know what was happening.

The doctors had him in getting a CT-Scan within no time, and it only took 25 minutes from the time they did the scan, until we had the results. They found 3 kidney stones in there giving him so much grief. The one causing so much pain was a 3mm stone that the kidney was trying to pass. They explained that each time he would have a wave of pain, it was the kidney cramping moving the stone. And each time the stone was moved, it was cutting it's way out. Crazy weird.
The doctors said there were two other stones in there also. One was a 2mm, and one was a 10mm. They said the 10mm one was a monster!

Chuck was in miserable pain, even though they had him on Stadahl.

Once he was moved to his room, we thought the stone had passed from his kidney. He still couldn't pee though, so we teased him that now we knew he was truly full of piss and vinegar.
We could tell he was starting to feel better because "Walter" (Jeff Dunham's grumpy counterpart) was his alter ego. He surfaced with a vengence, and wanted some food. He was starving.

Pat joked that heavily medicated Chuck looked like "Peanut"(Jeff Dunhams wild and crazy counterpart). We all laughed. However, when we looked at him, he did have crazy hair, was odd colored, and seemed a little off, so yeah we all agreed...he looked like "Peanut". lol

Corrie and Tammi went to McDonald's to get some breakfast and hang out a little. They met some bikers there from Manitoba who were headed for Central Oregon. Go figure. Corrie gave him some tips on where to go, and what roads were good.
Once they came back, we all hung out in Chuck's room and BS'd while he hurt and snored.

While in the waiting room Pat saw a news story about a guy who called 911 from a Subway Sandwich Shop because there was no mayo or mustard on his sandwich.
Guess you can't cure stupid.
He was arrested for making a false 911 call.

The nurse brought Chuck a sandwich. He ate it, and was asleep again in no time.

He finally peed a little around 11:30. The nurse on duty didn't know he hadn't given a urine sample yet, so she dumped it. No problem though, we would just have to have the next sample tested.

Chuck got lunch @ noon, and ate some of it. He wasn't feeling well again. They brought him more meds @ 12:30. He was still in pain but sleeping between bouts.

We were all talking while Chuck was sleeping about how glad we were that this happened while we were near a hospital. We had been out in the middle of no-man's land on this trip, with no phone service. We had been headed that way again last night.
So, to have it happen here was definitely a God thing.

Corrie, Tammi, and Pat decided to go back out to the KOA and stay again tonight.

Everyone left to go back to the KOA about 2p.m.

In the quiet, I was sitting there thinking about what had transpired this morning. On the way to the hospital, Chuck almost passed out while riding his bike to the hospital. He doubled over three times, and slumped over to the side twice, almost falling off his bike the second time. I prayed like crazy all the way there. It was extremely scarey, and I thank God we got there safely.

As I sit and watch my Chuck toss and turn in pain it is almost more than I can stand. It is more than he can stand. I'm thankful however we live in this day and age of modern medicine.
The nurses and doctors here are good @ what they do. They are very thoughtful too.

Here's a funny: the phone rang in Chuck's room, so I answered it. It was a computerized telemarketing system "not trying to alarm me" in order to "GIVE ME" better interest rates. The absurdity of it all made me disgusted. I had to laugh.

Chuck's pain is running wild again. I just want it to get over with for him. The nurse just came and gave him some narcs "better than morphine". It's called Diladad. It's not working yet, but I know it will.

"Dear God, please give Chuck some relief."

I called Gennie at home, and asked her to call the Butte CMA and have them come and pray with Chuck.

It's 3:15p.m. here in Montana. My tears wont be stopped anymore. I'm trying to keep them at bay but Chuck's agony just kills me to see. I want to hold him, and love him, and make it all better. Even with the meds he can't stay still long because the pain is so great.
My God is bigger than all this, and I know he cares about and for Chuck. I just want him to heal his body NOW though. I know there's a reason for everthing, and I know we'll see it all clearer on day. Until then I know God is with us, and that's what I have to hang onto.

It's 3:45pm, and Kelly the nurse just gave Chuck some Tordol to relax his muscles. It is suppose to try and get the spasms in his kidney under control.
His blood pressure sky-rocketed with the last pain waves.
It's down now, his b/p is only 138/87. It was 157/98.
He finally peed again. Alittle setiment came through, but no kidney stone.
The muscle relaxer is working well now. It's 4:30p.m. and he is able to rest, and actually lay still for the most part.

He said his back is just kicking his butt now. That's because the muscle relaxer is at work and doing the job.

It's amazing to me how kind the people are here. From the time we walked in this morning, Chuck was on a table and being seen within 5 minutes. It's been the same all day.

Even Pat was amazed how quick they got Chuck in and how thoughtful the people are here at Barret Hospital in Dillon Montana.

It's 5p.m. and I can smell food everywhere. It smells luscious!
They brought Chuck a tray, but he wasn't very hungry. They brought me a tray also. Chuck ate some canned cherries, and he smiled and said they tasted like the ones his Grandma used to make. I gave him my cherries too. Anything to bring a smile to his face. He drank 2 glasses of grape juice too, and a glass of water.

Kelly and Alena both went off shift, but came in to give Chuck some pain meds, and say goodbye.

Pat, Corrie, and Tammi stopped by again to see if I wanted to go to dinner with them. They went to try a restaurant called Sparky's Garage. It's supposed to have killer BBQ pork. Guess we'll find out when they come back.

Chuck got up again and peed through a little dixie cup strainer. Still no debris.

The doctors and nurses said that for a man to pass a kidney stone is comparable to a woman giving birth. Now that's some nasty pain!

We all decided that when Chuck gives birth to this little gem-we're naming it Walter. If there's twins, the other one will be Peanut. lol

It's 6p.m. Chuck just got meds again. He's sleeping pretty good right now. Yvonne the nurse came and helped us. She had a sandwich with no mayo put in the fridge for Chuck in case he gets hungry later. I thought that was very cool.

Nurse Lisa came and gave Chuck more meds at 6:30p.m. Straight narcs, he's such a stoner. lol

Everyone came back from dinner. They said the food was great! The napkins were shop rags, the tables were brightly colored tile, and the drop down lights were old oil cans. The people wore shirts that said, "Sparky's High Octane Fun". There were old license plates, hubcaps, old signs, and antiques on the walls and other places. There was a 50's 7-up machine outside. Sounds like a very cool place.

We all sat around telling stories about farts while Chuck snored. It was great. Pat and Corrie were definitely crap heads when they were younger. Nurse Yvonne came in in the middle of our fart stories, and said that one of the girls down at the desk said there's a bunch of bikers hanging out with the guy in room 8. She thought we were Hells Angels, and she thought we were mean bikers too. Pat said he didn't even have his angry eyes on. ( his angry eyes are goggles he bought on the trip) That is just too funny. We busted up laughing. People have the wrong idea of bikers. We have great respect for all bikers.

The doc came in amid our fart stories, and he was laughing too. He said to make sure he's called as soon as Chuck has Walter. He said as soon as it passes, the pain will be gone almost like magic.
I asked what we should be looking for. Would Walter be a specific color. He said Walter would probably be black, and I said he better not be because that would mean Chuck cheated on me. Everyone busted up laughing.

Nurse Lisa came in and gave Chuck more Diladad. She'll be back again @ 9p.m. to give him more Tordol. It will help his muscles to relax again.
It's 8p.m. and he's sleeping finally. I'm very glad.

Everyone left a few minutes ago, and it's very very quiet. Feels strange with no noise.

KayLee, our youngest, called one of the cell phones earlier. Then my Mom called the room phone. She said she got the wrong # from information, and ended up calling a Veterinary Hospital. They asked her if Chuck was a dog or a cat. lol What a riot! She said he's neither, he's my son-in-law. They gave her the correct #, so she called to check on him. I filled her in on the latest, and had her call Chuck's parents too.

It's 8:15p.m. I'm a little bored, but still laughing at the "mean bikers" thing. Too funny.

9:30p.m. Chuck just got his muscle relaxer again. They changed his I.V. tube, and brought us both ice waters too.

Yvonne came in and set us up with towels, and toiletries. I am looking forward to a nice shower.

It's 10p.m., I was getting ready to take a shower when I heard Chuck start to get up again. He said he was going to puke again. I helped him, then got him back into bed.

I took a shower right afterward.

11p.m. Chuck sat up in bed and needed to pee. He went to the bathroom, and when he came out he barely made it back to the bed. He almost passed out twice, and started puking again. I called for the nurse, and she came and helped us. She got him a pretty new dress with red diamonds on it. lol
He began having waves of stabbing pain, and he was writhing from it.

I got him his sandwich a little while later, to try and help with the nausea. He drank some ice water and juice, and ate a few grapes, but could not eat anything else.

Nurse Wratchet came in next! She was crotchety, witchy, and rude. She was haggy too unlike the other people who had come in previously. She stood there for 20 minutes saying she wasn't going to give him anything. She saw me writing in my journal, so at 11:45 she finally gave him his pain meds. What a witch. She went down and told the other nurse on duty that I was writing down everything that happened. The other nurse said, "So! She's keeping a journal, what's the big deal!" We didn't see that crotchety old bag anymore all night. I was glad. Maybe now Chuck could sleep a little.

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