The BIRTH of a STONE… pics and gory details too.

Well, it happened.

This morning, Monday May 25th, at precisely 7 am, I passed Wilbert, my adorable baby kidney stone.

He’s a tad angular, not at all soft and cuddly, but then, what can I expect from a stone head! LOL

Here… take a look for yourself. He’s a full 5mm in length too. (About 1/6")

Not really sure what to expect on this "passing" occasion, as I’ve never actually gone through labour (C-section girl myself), I was told all kinds of horror stories about the pain.

Well, I felt nothing this morning, other than the general discomfort I have been dealing with these last seven days.

Initially, when I went to hospital, eleven days ago, my pain was out-of-this-world torture. For those that don’t know me well my pain tolerance is incredibly high.

For me to need Tylenol 3’s says something. Oh, at the hospital they wanted to give me a shot of morphine, but hey, I declined, I’m enough of a space cadet without help! 

The T3’s controlled the pain well enough. I only took them for the first three days, when the pain was at its worst.

I was on Flomax (given to men with prostate issues) to make the Urethra relax as the stone travels down it. I think it helped (a lot) as I felt minimal discomfort these past seven days. 

Here’s a picture of what it all looks like… 

Source - Mayo Clinic

I find the Mayo Clinic site to be very useful! 

I wouldn’t have known I passed the stone if I wasn’t peeing into a sieve, in a little catch basin. Oh yes, I’m not holding back on the gory bits! These I consider gory! LOL 

I guess I had expected something more painful to happen on delivery - well, it didn't (YAY) and I'm grateful too. This kind of pain is no picnic, I can tell you that.

See… the birthing gods get even with those of us that had it easy in labour! Yup, there's no cheating the system when it comes to suffering. We all get our share! (Damn!)

This afternoon I'll head off to the lab to have Wilbert analysed. Hopefully the results will tell me something about my kidney stone. What kind it is, what I need to do to prevent more, that sort of stuff. 

Okay… this saga is officially over… I hope!

HUGE THANK YOUs to everyone who dropped in and wished me well. Surprisingly enough, well wishes do work!

☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀

The almighty question - HOW’S LIFE BEEN TREATING YOU? 

Really - I want to know! Has it been as exciting as mine?

Cheers, Jenny

Better NEVER than LATE - my A to Z REFLECTIONS

Well, I outdid myself with my tardiness - epic late. But, it could not be helped. (FYI - I am the last one on the Linky List - now, isn't that just appropriate!)

Here are my thoughts about the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

My buddy, Bushman, summed up his feelings (the not so happy feelings) in his reflections post. He speaks for me with what he says so I’m not going to regurgitate it all again here.

Point is… I share his feelings.

I struggled with what I wanted to say and almost decided on giving the Reflection Post a miss.

BUT… here I am.

So...

In a nutshell I had fun participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

I met some really cool new bloggers, they can be found over there to the right in the BLOGS OF NOTE - NEW ADDITIONS list. If you made it on this list you know I’m staying in touch.

If you’re a longtime regular, you’re probably on my BLOGS OF NOTE - THE ORIGINALS list. I read you, I enjoy you, and I thank you! You are the reason I blog as much as I do. 

Without my posse (Al, Ruth, Bushman) this year would have been harder. 

I twittered up a storm, and met some awesome folks out there too. Amazing.

Now… I wanted to end this by telling you all that over the next little while I’m going to be knee deep in the final stages of getting a book ready for press.

Yes… it’s true.

Part of the struggle for me this year, with the Challenge, was doing double duty. I can safely say I’m burned out, but in a good way.

I’ll be filling you in on all the gory details in the weeks to come.

Until then, thanks for making my April go by so fast.

Okay… a question… because I know a question makes you think.

What do you think my book is about?  (hahahaha - hint… not about me!)

Cheers, Jenny

A special shout out to Arlee Bird, from Tossing It Out. He’s the Founder and Creator of the  April Blogging from A to Z Challenge, As well as being a blogging friend, he is a great motivator and an inspiring leader. Thanks Lee - you rock!

DING DONG - the WITCH is dead - well, sleeping anyway!

Looks like Monday, May 4th is the big reveal…

well, okay, not big reveal, but it will be the day of MY BIG REFLECTION POST.

This is when those of us that slogged our way through April, working into the wee hours of the night, (right Ruth), on our last minute, awesomely excellent posts, will be sharing with you exactly why it was all worth it. (Hmmm, why was that again, hey Ruth… any thoughts!)

For those needing a wee bit more info about how this Reflection Post business works, it’s like this…

On May 4th there will by a Linky List over at Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

You will FIRST write your reflection post, and publish it. 

Then, and only then, you will copy the link to that post and add it to the Linky List. 

You will be able to add your Reflection Post to the Linky List any time from May 4th to May 8th. So DO NOT PANIC if you don’t have it ready tomorrow. (This part really benefits me… chances are I’m going to be fashionably late to my own party!)

This bit is cool… the Linky List, with the Reflection Posts will be up all year long. 

Which means you have loads of time to make your way through the list. I’ve always enjoyed visiting those on the Reflection List - it’s a great way to meet other A to Z Survivors. (Makes me feel like I got a seat on one of those few Titanic Lifeboats!)

Okay… that’s all folks.

In keeping with tradition… here’s the question (Because I know you would be terribly disappointed if I didn’t have one for you - admit it!)

What will you be doing now that the A to Z Challenge is over? (Besides break open a bottle and order in a pizza.)

Just wondering… (You could always head over to Write Brain Challenge if you're short of reading material - just sayin’.)

Cheers, Jenny