Tim Carter’s Kidney Stone Story

Posted on January 20, 2015.

On October 7, 2014, I flew to Los Angeles with my youngest daughter for a week of vacation.

We were staying at my good friend Russell's house and he has a special connection to Disneyland. My daughter had never been there, so the morning of October 8th, off we went for a fun day.

By 11:30 in the morning, I was feeling very bad and had to be driven back to my friend's house while he and my daughter stayed at Disneyland.

Sometime between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., I hit the wall and was in terrible pain. The life squad came and took me to the opens in a new windowhospital. I had no idea what was happening, but the pain was so great I passed out numerous times.

They discovered with a CAT scan I had a kidney stone. The stone was so large, 7mm, the urologist did a procedure where he inserted a camera and laser-blasting tool up my you-know-what. Yes, I was anesthetized.

One of the dangers from a large stone and the procedure is you can get a tear in the ureter, the tiny pipeline between your kidney and bladder. I was one of the five percent this happens to.

Sometimes scar tissue grows and closes off the ureter. I'm that guy. My left kidney is not draining. If you don't correct this, the kidney dies.

It's possible that the same procedure and the laser might be able to cut through the scar tissue. So says my NH urologist. But if there's too much, it's time for Plan B.

My urologist hasn't told me what Plan B is yet, but I have a feeling I know. I'll keep you posted.

The bottom line is you may have written with good wishes and included some of the medical trials you're going through. My situation, compared to yours, is like me having the smallest paper cut in the world.

If you're having a medical issue, I wish YOU the best! This is one reason I try to do so many things like my outdoor ham radio, the train conductor gig in the summer, and kayaking. You can't do those things if you feel bad.

P.S. Want to avoid kidney stones? Just drink an extra liter of water a day, The extra water helps flush out the impurities that otherwise collect and turn to stones in your kidneys. I'm not an MD, so I can't give medical advice.The advice above is shared from my California urologist.