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It was never going to be easy October 24th 2018

It was never going to easy.

After Amsterdam we had done 17 half marathons and 7 in a row. On Wednesday 24th October I did a talk at Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club on our experiences so far.





I was nervous but got good feedback and everyone liked the content. With a lack of technology I reverted to old fashioned methods and it seemed to work. It was far from perfect but I think I just got away with it and can certainly improve on what was a first time effort.

Then our first major problem



I hadn't been feeling great and on Wednesday 24th October I went to the doctors and he did a blood test . I got a call on Thursday 25th saying my kidney function had fallen from 90 to 40 . Nothing to worry about but he booked me in same day at North Manchester Hospital for further investigation and further blood tests . We waited nearly all day at the hospital and the outcome was that they wanted me to return the following day for a CT scan . Another full day at the hospital revealed a large kidney stone (1cm) blocking my right kidney , which was swollen and not functioning . The stone was stuck in the ureter between the bladder and the kidney and showed no signs of moving . Before knowing what was going on I had needles in my arm and shortly after was told I was being admitted as an emergency as it was a "life threatening condition"




Nothing happened over weekend but the Urologist told me he intended to perform a nephrostomy.


Image result for nephrostomy
A nephrostomy is an opening between the kidney and the skin. A nephrostomy tube is a thin plastic tube that is passed from the back, through the skin and then through the kidney, to the point where the urine collects. Its job is to temporarily drain the urine that is blocked.
They would then tackle the stone later when the kidney had settled . I was disappointed . We were due to fly to Ljubljana on Saturday 27th October so that was cancelled and we were booked for Prague on the 8th November . On Sunday morning the Urologist was passing by my bed and I managed to get a quick word in and explained I was going on holiday on 6th November , does he think I will be able to travel (no mention of running! )  To my surprise he took me on was concerned and offered to try to remove the stone with laser and put in a stent on Tuesday 30th October to give me a fighting chance of going on holiday . True to his word the procedure was carried out on Tuesday , it was successful and I was allowed home on Wednesday . The only downside was I couldn't pee and I had to go home with a catheter , which I hope to get removed before we go to Prague . I am now feeling better ,the trip to Slovenia should be the only one we miss and with having completed 17 already time is on our side and we should be able to slip it in at a later date , and we claimed off our travel  insurance . I do feel I have been lucky with all of this . The challenge is still on !  
     

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