Dear Diary, You Can’t Make This Shit Up

April 30th: Woke up this morning feeling punky with lower back pain. Had my plasma transfer on Thursday, and today is the day I start feeling normal again, so this caught me off guard. But I was in bed a lot these past few days and it isn’t unusual for the back to bark when I am, so I went about by business early this morning and picked up the groceries, but when I got home I couldn’t put them away because the back hurt worse and I had to lie down because I felt like complete shit. As time went by it got worse instead of better, and I could not understand what was going on until the answer came to me in a flash. I had K take me to the emergency room, where they gave me fluids and took a CT Scan. As I suspected, it’s a kidney stone – 4 mm. They gave me some pain meds and more fluids and sent me home 4 hours later. Got a script for anti-nausea meds and a few oxy’s if the pain gets severe, but I’m going to avoid those unless the Tylenol Extra strength stops working. I’m feeling much better now but need to see a urologist.

May 6th: Went to the urologist office. They explained that given where the stone is, it will take about 25 days for me to pass it. They also said that during its journey, I will feel it move from my back to the front, and I will notice it moving further south until it passes.  It could be painful at different points but if that occurs, I am to take pain meds and the anti-nausea stuff and call them if that doesn’t help. This will be my first experience passing one, because my only other experience involved a stone that was too big to pass (8mm) and had to be surgically removed. I also have a strainer to use because they want to see what it looks like at my next appointment, scheduled for May 29th. This should be fun.

May 14th: Woke up this morning and my body was on FIRE! Plus, my lower right abdominal quadrant, where I last noticed the stone, is so tender that even touching it is painful. My entire abdomen feels like I’ve done 200 sit-ups. So, I swallowed some Zofran and two extra-strength Tylenol, and an hour later I felt good as new. But the fever came back during the evening, so I took more drugs and was able to sleep. This already sucks more than I anticipated, but at least it appears the end is near. K suggested this was in the same area as my appendix, and that maybe I should ask my PCP, but I dismissed that because it is also in the same place I last felt the stone. One thing to worry about is bad enough, and I don’t want to sound like a neurotic patient.

May 15th: Couldn’t work today. Yesterday’s pain is not back, but the fever is, I feel so wrung out that I had to call it a day after three hours. This can’t end soon enough.

May 16th: Back in the saddle and got a full day of work in, I’m but concerned about the fever that doesn’t want to leave. I’m eating Tylenol like candy.

May 18th:  

9AM. My fever spiked again last night: 102.7 degrees. I think my fever on Sunday when this first all started was higher (I didn’t take it at the time) but something is wrong. I’ve had a running fever of 102+ since Sunday. The Tylenol kills the fever, but it comes roaring back when the meds wear off. I called the urologist and they told me to go to the ED because all the pain meds are doing is masking something that isn’t going away.

10:30 AM. Saw the ED doc. They are going to run the same tests they did on the 30th but need to do a COVID test because of the fever.

1PM. Blood tests came back with good results. The urine too. They did not detect any blood in the urine, which I thought was odd. The kick in the ass was I tested positive for COVID, and I am dumfounded. I do not go into public buildings without a mask (I am in the distinct minority) and avoid crowds. I’ve been out to eat three times in the last month or so, but wasn’t sitting near anyone other than the folks I was with. This is so bizarre, but at least now I understand why I’ve felt like shit for five days. I asked if that rules out the need for the CT scan, but they are going to do it anyway because my abdomen is still tender.

3:00 PM. A different doc just walked into my little room in the ED. A surgeon. He introduced himself and explained the reason he was there is because the CT scan results indicate my appendix needs to come out NOW! I’ve already called K to tell her about the COVID. She scheduled PCR tests for herself, Nidan and her 86 year old Mom who has COPD and lives with us, and now I have to let her know I won’t be coming home tonight. She won’t say I told you so, but she was right. I should have listened to her when she first asked about it. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this. You can’t make this shit up.

May 19th: Going home today. The surgeon said the appendix was extremely inflamed and was not in good shape. I shudder to think what might have happened if I let this go a few more days. One of the questions they keep asking me is if I’m passing gas, and they were happy to learn that my fart glands are alive and well. K later told me when the surgeon called last night to tell her the surgery went fine, he said that while he is not a radiologist, he could not see evidence of a kidney stone when the previous CT Scans clearly did. Don’t know how that occurred, because I have been using the filter and I could still feel it before all this weirdness started happening. But I can say that about of lot of things these past five days. On a positive note, everyone else in the house tested negative for COVID, so I thankfully haven’t gotten the entire house sick.

Postscript: I am four days removed from surgery. I was given antibiotics, an antiviral med for the COVID (six horse-sized pills each day for five days) and some stool softeners. I need to take those twice a day because the last thing they want is for me to be constipated with the three new incisions in my abdomen, which made sense. I did not realize it at the time, but after I was plagued with constant diarrhea, I looked at the bottle the antibiotics came in and discovered one of the common side effects was diarrhea. Swell. I stopped taking those like a bad habit, and at least that is starting to improve. Here are a few things I discovered during this journey.

  • I would not dare attempting to fart without sitting on the porcelain throne because it would result in a mess. When I shared that tidbit with one of my cousins, he called that phenomenon Sharting. I kind of like that.
  • COVID is still thriving. The positivity rate in CT, which is one of the most highly vaccinated states in the nation, is over 15%. My nurse said they have more patients in-house with COVID than they have since the last surge. The vaccines do help prevent significant problems and death, and anyone who can’t see that is a fool. They are playing Russian Roulette with themselves and loved ones. I just don’t get it, and never will.
  • The worst pain I felt after surgery was not my abdomen, but my throat. They inserted a breathing tube during the surgery because of the COVID. I had it in for a little over an hour, and I woke up with the worst sore throat of my life. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like for those who had to be put into a medical coma and survived that lenghty ordeal having had a tube in their throats for all that time.
  • I am still COVID positive, and the worst thing is a metallic taste that is constantly in my mouth. I’m sucking on lollipops and popsicles to try to combat it. This provides temporary relief but that’s all. It also charges the way everything tastes. Even water.
  • I don’t know how anyone who has a full beard can stand wearing a mask all of the time. I don’t have one, but do have a mustache and goatee. I like to keep it trimmed closely, but it got long and bushy over these last three weeks and wearing a mask was really irritating my face.
  • Speaking of masks, I received a number of N-95s from the hospital to take home and find it interesting that they come in different styles and shapes. The one I am using now is definitely not a favorite. I look like Donald Duck when it’s on.
  • My quest to lose weight is over! I weighed over 216 pounds when I started with a goal to get it down to 190. I achieved that by the time all the shit hit the fan on May 14th. Since then, I’d drink a lot of water, but there were days where I ate hardly anything at all because the idea of it was nauseating. I lost six pounds during those five days. This is the lightest I’ve been in over twenty years. Thirty-two pounds gone in almost five months. I’m done!

Stay well my friends.

Author: Steve Markesich

I am loving husband, a doting father, a Red Sox fanatic, an aspiring novelist and MS advocate. Feel free to check out my stevemarkesich.com web site.

32 thoughts on “Dear Diary, You Can’t Make This Shit Up”

  1. Dear Steve

    Thank you for your post and hello from the UK. Re your comment

    “The vaccines do help prevent significant problems and death, and anyone who can’t see that is a fool. They are playing Russian Roulette with themselves and loved ones. I just don’t get it, and never will.”

    The truth is you have got it, Covid 19 or the ‘flu following re-branding in 2020 by big pharma to make more money.

    I used to think vaccines were of some use until I researched properly in 2020. I changed my mind.

    Vaccines do not and never have prevented significant problems and death – death is inevitable, if big pharma claimed that they would be sued by many more than already do.

    However, big pharma have plenty of money to spend on advertising how useful their drugs are (allegedly) and there are lots of people with no morals who love money and are willing to lie for money.

    Anyone who cannot see that by now after 2 years of nonsense is a complete imbecile. Which is why they play Russian roulette with their body; they are quite mad.

    But they are not playing Russian roulette with their loved ones unless their loved ones are as terminally dumb as they are and join in with the vaccine fraud.

    Still, perhaps it will reduce the surplus population.

    Kind regards

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    1. I respectfully disagree. Yes they don’t “prevent” death, but I work in healthcare and I know for a fact the overwhelming majority of patients who have been and are currently admitted to a our hospital since vaccinations were made available, have a very lengthy stays due to COVID and ultimately die from it are not vaccinated at all. Maybe it was a poor choice of words, but odds are if COVID kills you it is because you aren’t you vaccinated compared to those who are

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      1. Thank you very much for your reply. If I may ask, what State are you in and what is the % of people vaccinated. I have noted that the definition of vaccinated keeps getting moved to mean fully vaccinated with all Covid 19 vaccine stages.

        Also who told you ‘…the overwhelming majority of patients…..are not vaccinated at all’?

        I would be grateful to know if you could please.

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      2. “Unvaccinated” in hospitals means “all those who aren’t fully vaccinated, including those who have been injected once and those who have received two doses but are in the two week waiting period before being considered fully vaccinated.”

        Swedish mortality data, after normalization, showed that if you had two categories–the uninjected and the injected–that the injected had higher mortality rates:

        54 per million for the uninjected in Feb. 2021 v. 788 per million for the injected

        54 uninjected v 788 injected

        That difference decreased in April to 40 per million for the uninjected v. 156 per million for the injected.

        40 uninjected v. 156 injected

        Probably the decline is because the older were injected first and the younger later. The injections weren’t good for either the older or the younger.

        Once you relies that the deception is in the definitions, a lot of things become clear.

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    2. Vaccines don’t work?
      Take a look to your left and to your right. What’s that? No one with polio? Thank a vaccine.

      Working on your house and step on a nail? What’s that? No tetanus? Thank a vaccine.

      Get into contact with a rabid animal and you didn’t contract rabies or die? Guess what? Yup, thank a vaccine.

      The list goes on and on that vaccines not only work but are highly effective. Trust the science not your two minutes of googling

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      1. Dear Matt

        ‘Fools rush in where angels dare to tread’. You clearly haven’t bothered to look at my website or troubled to do your own thorough research. I have.

        You clearly didn’t even read my comment properly where I said “I used to think vaccines were of some use until I researched properly in 2020. I changed my mind”. Do you really think this meant 2 minutes googling?? What drugs are you on??

        Anyway, let me enlighten you.

        Polio is a vitamin D deficiency. It is also known as rickets, but renaming something helps big pharma make more money. You see people with rickets, bowed legs, nowadays sometimes. I met an old lady with that condition in 2020.

        Tetanus is rare anyway and always was, but again big pharma exaggerated the issue ‘ the issue to sell people a pointless vaccine. I trod on a nail last year; I haven’t had a tetanus vaccine for at least 30 years. I cleaned the wound properly and look after my body, boosting vitamin D and C (a powerful anti-oxidant). I am fine, no tetanus.

        Contact with a rabid animal is not the issue, being bitten is. But again, if you clean the wound and your immune system is in good order then you should be fine. You might need extra boosting to your immune system with vitamin C.

        But big pharma do like lots of money, so vaccines are justified to them at least and those who profit from them. Do you profit from them, do you work for them?

        I am a technically retired Chartered Building surveyor, now 62 years old. I am degree educated, a BSc. I have spent the last 2 years researching in detail, although I came up with the basic answers in 2 months after intense research whilst on furlough in 2020.

        Perhaps you would care to tell me what your education is and experience, age etc. However, what is obvious is that you don’t bother to do proper double checking, let alone reading people’s comments carefully and using your brain before leaping to a foolish conclusion.

        If you need more information and wish to understand more please do ask, I shall be happy to help.

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        1. Building surveyor….got it, no knowledge of virology. Your opinion on vaccines is obviously the most accurate

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          1. Dear Matt

            Thank you for your very short reply. However, you are not very bright about this are you. You are intellectually lazy, you haven’t answered my question re working for big pharma, so I will put that down a ‘yes’ in the absence of clarification from you.

            As you haven’t bothered to put down your age or qualifications, I will assume for the time being that you have yet to graduate from first grade or primary school.

            I know plenty about virology, and the fact that current virology is, to put it politely, a load of rubbish.

            But thank you for your confidence re my knowledge on vaccines.

            P.S. Note knowledge, not opinion. There is a difference you know. Perhaps you haven’t got that far in your reading skills yet. I sympathise.

            P.S.S. Perhaps you don’t work for big pharma but 77th brigade instead. They are rather dim too.

            Kind regards.

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        2. Rickets is indeed caused by vitamin d deficiency. Polio however is caused by a variant of the poliovirus ergo a vaccine to prevent it vs no vaccine for rickets.
          I don’t know why I’m clarifying this as I’d have a better chance of educating a doorknob

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  2. Hi Steve. Remember me? It’s Kim. From I tripped over a stone. Now I started a new, silly RV blog. I’m reading your post and shutter! Do you realize you should’ve listened to K much sooner? Heh, heh. Just needed to get that in… appendix! Serious. The rest; kidney stones, Covid concerns and diagnosis, all very concerning. I’m so glad you are OK. Starting is a real thing. My husband and I often excuse ourselves saying, “I may shart…” meaning it’s time to sit on the porcelain god. NOW. Good lord, what next? 😊

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  5. “I am still COVID positive, and the worst thing is a metallic taste that is constantly in my mouth. I’m sucking on lollipops and popsicles to try to combat it. This provides temporary relief but that’s all. It also charges the way everything tastes. Even water.”

    Perhaps a fast-acting vitamin D analog will help. We use Fortaro, but there are other brands, too.

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. There, so you have every reason to stay positive now. Right?

    Shoot, Steve, so sorry you’ve had to go through do much shit. Hang in there buddy. It WILL be over soon.
    Ftr I had that tube in my throat for a couple days. A real nightmare. It’s amazing how much the human body can handle, isn’t it?

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    1. It certainly is. Since September, I have had 2 colonoscopies, developed osteoarthritis in my knee (much better now), had a cancerous growth removed from my arm, kidney stones, COVID and the appendix. I think that should give me a healthcare pass for at least five years don’t you? Seriously though I am so ready to get on with living

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      1. You definitely are.
        For what it’s worth, I’ve had my share of bad luck as well. I had covid No 2 in February and still feel the side-effects so yes, it’s nasty as hell.
        Take your time, get rest, and get back to us alive and kicking.

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          1. Better, though, as you said yourself, it’s a long journey ahead. Plus, I still have H. Pylori, another long journey ahead, and excruciating pain in the other leg for days. It literally feels as if sb’s poking inside my flesh. So, it’s always party-time with me.

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  10. Oh bloody hell, Steve. You really can’t make this up. I’m so sorry for everything you’ve gone through, which is just one thing after another by the sounds of it. I’m glad they operated when they did rather than leave it longer, and it sounds like things should be smoother sailing from here on out. I love that “they were happy to learn that my fart glands are alive and well”, there’s another positive! I feel a little jealous that I can’t fart, is that weird? (Stoma and no large bowel means farting, or sharting as your cousin so nicely puts it, is impossible). 😆

    I agree the vaccines are taking the edge off, but I think that’s the crux of them. I don’t think there’s stopping many at all from catching Covid in the first place, hence the need to still be cautious. It’s becoming ridiculously challenging to keep yourself or loved ones safe when governments stop all precautions like here in the UK; 5% wear masks, everyone else acts like normal, like Covid doesn’t exist. I’m confused as to how so many are still hospitalised or dying when we have not only the vaccines but a range of treatments; are they not able to access the treatments, are healthcare services not giving them out quickly enough? I’m pretty sure the situation shouldn’t be like it is in the UK, US and elsewhere where such medicines are technically available.

    I hope the taste goes away soon. I had a nasty taste when I had Covid at the start of the pandemic, really vile, for quite a while. Eventually it wore off but randomly came back in the months later on odd occasions. Look after yourself and rest up, and we’ll all be keeping our fingers crossed that there’s no more drama for you for the foreseeable future!

    Caz x

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