Today I saw the urologist and he ordered an X-ray so he could see the stone in my right kidney. If you saw the x-ray you might ask "Is that a thumb?" because the stone is so damn big. It is literally the size of my right thumb from the tip to the first knuckle. No wonder I've been in so much pain.

The doctor told me I need to get the stone out NOW and scheduled an Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy for Friday monring at 8am. I have to be at the hospital by 6am for the check in procedures. This is the procedure where they dunk me in a tank and hit me with sound waves to break up the stone. When I asked the doctor how long it would take so I could tell my boss when to expect me on Friday he looked at me like I was talking in a different language. He explained the pain of having this done is enough that I will be doped up in advance and will be out of commission the entire day. I have to plan for a ride to the hospital and a ride home. Luckily my mother has offered to come over from Mississippi and take me.

The doctor explained that I will be passing the fragments of the stone for at least two days and gave me a painkiller that he explained is way more potent than Lortab. Am I the only one getting nervous yet? It get's worse. The doctor went on to explain there is a 15% chance that not all of the fragments will be small enough to pass. If that happens there is tube that goes in through the penis and up the urninary tract that will grab and pull out any stuck fragments. Oh man...this sucks...this really sucks. Let's hope that 15% doesn't happen.