This just totally sucks...

I am a very healthy person. I have a very high pain threshold. I have very high stamina. I am on the low end of average weight for a woman of my height. I don't drink. I don't smoke.

So what's with these totally random things happen to my body?

Due to a couple of random, but fierce, alleged bladder infections, my GP referred me to a urologist who then wanted an ultrasound and an x-ray of my bladder and kidneys.

Long story short, I have a very large kidney stone in my right kidney. If it was any bigger, the doctor would recommend surgery, but as it is (1.5 cm x 1 cm) I have a couple other options. After a long discussion with Dr. Smith, I decided to go the laser route.

An outpatient procedure, they'll knock me out for a couple hours then thread in a laser through my you-know-what and chop the stone into dust it. It will take a bit of time, though, since the stone is large and the laser is very small. (They use a very short laser so that it doesn't cut the surrounding tissue, only the stone.)

I still have to pass the pieces, but the doctor will leave a stent in place to widen the tubes and hopefully make the passing process that much easier. I'll be on the couch for several days with a bottle of pain medication close by. Guess I better get a stack of movies and a stack of library books to have nearby as well.

This is so not the end of the world, but what a nuisance to have to deal with the surgery, the pre-op tests, insurance claims, etc. Ugh. We're not even finished paying off Scott's hernia surgery/complications/hospital stay from last April!

As I said in my title, this just totally sucks.