Thankful

I just wanted to give an update on my health for those of you who have been praying for me. I am so thankful to say that as of yesterday I believe I am on the mend.

Sunday evening I didn't have quite as much pain in my lower stomach, so I decided to postpone calling the Urologist until Tuesday. That wasn't such a great idea since the pain seemed to get worse throughout that day. On Tuesday morning Sam called the Urologist I saw on Friday, Dr. Schafer. He called the Sindelfingen hospital to set up an appointment for me to return to them. (Sindelfingen hospital is who put the stent in, so I had to return to them, but Dr. Schafer wanted to call the Chief of Urology there to discuss my situation and to tell him that my last experience there was really bad). I really like Dr. Schafer. He even called Sam back yesterday after the appointment to check up on me.

My appointment was set for yesterday morning at 8:00. I was hoping to get a different urologist since the one who put the stent in is who I was unhappy with last time, however, it ended up being the same people.

I get very frustrated with many of the German doctors because they don't seem to think that the patient needs to be told anything of their health. They don't like to be questioned and just expect you to accept what they say. From what I've heard the Germans go along with that, but I do my own research and want to know what my options are and be involved with the decisions that affect my health. I guess he didn't think I needed to know last time I was there, but the cause of all my pain and problems with the stent was caused because he couldn't get the larger (softer) stent into my ureter (tube that runs from the bladder to the kidney), so he used a smaller, but stiffer stent. Also, they had to create a pigtail curl at the end in my bladder, but due to the problems I had early on that was cut off and so all that time, the stent has been poking my bladder, causing all that pain. Needless to say I was rather upset that they couldn't have just been honest with me from the beginning. Also, if I hadn't been pushy about finding an answer to my pain I think they would have just let me continue like that for the next 3 months. I have to say that my experience with German doctors has not been very good so far. There were other situations that I won't mention on this blog, but I was to the point of wanting to pack up and head home until after the baby was born.

Anyhow, back to yesterday. After hearing that the pain was probably due to the stiffer stent used, I asked him to change it out. The Urologist didn't seem to like that idea, but I told him it was either that or he could take it out completely because I could not handle the pain I've been in for any longer. He finally said he would try to use the larger, softer stent. I absolutely hated to have the procedure done again, but that was my only option. What makes it even harder here is I don't understand German, so I have no idea where they are in the procedure and the doctor sees no reason to update me along the way. It was very painful, but he said he was able to get the softer stent in this time. I wasn't sure if that was my answer, but was sure praying it was.

Leaving there I was still in lots of pain, so I just came home and laid down for most of the day. I was hesitant to believe it could be better because I had been in such pain for over a week, but as the day went on it seemed to be getting better. By the time I went to bed last night I was feeling so good. It was such a relief to not feel constant pain. It's hard to appreciate health when you have it, but I am so thankful to be on the mend. I still have a little pain, but I believe it's going to be better. I still can't believe the doctor would have just let me continue like I was if I hadn't pushed for an answer. I was really feeling hopeless about the situation, but thank God there was an answer. I know my family and friends back home were praying for me and I so appreciate that. It's definitely an answer to prayer. I feel like a load has been lifted and I can get on with my life again. I can get things done in preparation for the baby and can enjoy all her kicks again. Which, by the way, constantly amaze me. She moves so much and has the hardest little kicks. At times it almost feels like she's rolling around. At one point it felt like she was jumping in there. It's just amazing to me to see my stomach moving from her. What a miracle!

Well, I better get myself moving. I have another appointment with Dr. Van de Castel today. I always look forward to those appointments. Whether I'm hooked up to the fetal monitor or having an ultrasound it's nice to see or hear the baby. We got about 2 1/2 inches of snow overnight. It's beautiful, but Sam said the roads are pretty bad, so I need to leave a little early.