Real Scare

I was gunning for another three-workout day: run, swim, lift. I did one Monday and of course I slept well that night. Wednesday I got home, changed clothes, and hit the road with joy. Of course I tottered along like an old man about to fall on his face. But I did it, 2.12 miles, and when I started my cool-down walk I began to hurt in the solar plexus region, not bad at first but enough to get my attention. I thought maybe it was indigestion because I had broken my personal rule and drunk coffee after lunch. As I walked the pain increased like someone turning up the heat on a stove a little at a time.

By the time I made it into the house, I was hurting enough to pull my shoes off and go lie on the bathroom floor where I could be close enough to the toilet if I vomited. The pain was bad enough that I was a little nauseous.

Bear in mind, I am not a stranger to pain. I have probably passed 150 kidney stones, almost all of them without medication. That is a conservative estimate seeing that I have passed five to ten per year for the last forty years. Ask any woman who has had a baby and a kidney stone which is worse and they will tell you the kidney stone. This pain was kidney stone level pain.

Of course I wondered if I was having a heart attack. At one point, I was sure I was dying. So this is how it ends, I thought, curled up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor. I texted my wife and asked for prayer. I took my pulse and it was slow and steady. I'm not sure what my pulse would have been like if I was having a heart attack but that gave me a little bit of mental comfort that is was strong and slow. I was not dizzy, but sweat was pouring off me like water when I climb out of the swimming pool. I groaned and thought about calling 911. Then I asked my wife to come home. I was going to get her to take me to the hospital. About then the pain hit the vomit level, and I regurgitated three huge bursts. 

And just like that, the pain was gone.

Now I am puzzled, thankful, but puzzled. Should I be worried? What was wrong? I went to bed after Penny came home and just like when you suffer with a kidney stone and finally get ease, someone turned the lights out. I would like to hear a medical explanation of what your body does when you suffer with severe pain. I always go to sleep afterwards, and that sleep is the best. 

Of course I stayed in bed the rest of the day and night. This morning I awoke feeling like a million dollars and thanking God for life. I always thank God for life, but when you really think you about died, you mean it a little more, a lot more. The sky was prettier today and the prospects of working were pleasant. Than you, Jesus, for blessing me with life and health and things to do. Today I go for two, for two workouts, and I thank God I can do them.