2013 in Books

A while back, I started a goal of trying to read 10,000 pages a year. I first had a goal of twelve books a year, but I saw how quickly that made me want to read smaller, easier books, and not try to tackle larger books. And why wouldn't I? Why read The Fountainhead (727 pages) when I can read Shopgirl (130 pages) and reach my goal faster?

I thought of the pages goal after I got my Goodreads account (goodreads.com) and saw that it gives you stats on everything you've read through the year, breaking down how many books, pages, and also a chart of different genres (or shelves). It calculated ten books and 4375 pages for 2011, and this wasn't logging every single book I read either.

Suddenly, twelve books seemed small.

In 2012, I started out the goal of trying to read 10,000 pages, and my stats were 36 books, and 8850 pages. Great number of books, but just shy of my page goal. Last year wasn't as good as 2012, but was still good. 25 books, and 8078 pages. Eleven less books, but only 772 pages less.

In 2012, the average size of the book I read was 245.83 pages. But, the average size book I read in 2013 was 323.12! Which means that even though I read less, I was reading bigger books!

IMPROVEMENT!!!

I decided to add a new goal this year. I will also write a quick summery/review of every book I read. Since I haven't written anything for the books last year, I'll do a quick rundown of all 2013 books.

My brother David bought me The Walking Dead Compendium 1, which contains the first eight volume's, and I was hooked. When I finished it, I went out and bought every single volume, and whenever the next one comes out, I buy it. This issue introduced a new antagonist, a position that has been missing since the Governor. While it's exciting to see someone come along who has to potential to be as bad, if not worse than the Governor, it came at the demise of one of my favorite characters, and it wasn't pretty. This one had a great ending that made me mad that I'd have to wait another five months for the next book to come out.

Bone is one of my all time favorite books. I have read it at least three times, which is a huge commitment, since it is 1344 pages long, and weighs as much as an encyclopedia. Michelle got me the 20th Anniversary Edition for Christmas the prior year, that comes in a hardcover and slipcase, and is printed in full color. I was afraid that the comic being in full color might take something from the story, since there was still some imagination of the mind in what the color of everything is, but instead it added a greater depth to the story. One of my favorite scenes from the book is when some of the characters are hiding from Rat Creatures during a lightning storm, and one frame shows them hiding in the dark, the next frame shows the lightning lighting up the sky to see all the Rat Creatures surrounding them, with the next frame going back the them hiding in the dark, and I was afraid that some of the power in that shot would be lost if it wasn't in black and white. No. It was better. I think I'll read this book again as part of my exercise routine.

I borrowed this from my brother Daniel, and I'm reminded that I need to buy it. This is a reimagining of Batman's origin story, and Bruce isn't the only person to get revamped. Alfred sticks out more as not just Bruce's father figure, but mentor. Focusing more on his Special Ops background, they made him someone who has the necessary physical and emotional scars to have the respect of a young man who just had his parent's taken from him.

Another one I borrowed from Daniel and need to get. This is the second part to a reimagining of Superman's story. He's younger, and trying to find his place in this world, and also what he is capable of. There's a part where he fantasizes about what he could do to a dictator before walking away realizing that violence isn't the answer to violence. 

"The Hobbit"
J.R.R. Tolkien

This is a special edition of The Hobbit my sister Katie got me a few years back. It's a leather bound and slip case collectors edition. I wanted to read it before the movie came out, but still haven't seen either Hobbit films. Reading this a second time, I was remembering critiques that I learned Tolkien had about the book from my philosophy class on The Lord of the Rings that I couldn't not think about. I won't tell them to you here, because I don't want to ruin anything for people. But ask me about it sometime, and I'll tell you. But please don't hurt me.

"Building Stories"
Chris Ware

This is the most unique thing I read last year, if not ever. Technically, it's a graphic novel. Physically, it's a box filled with 14 Books, Booklets, Magazines, Newspapers, and Pamphlets, all telling a singular story. They aren't numbered, so where you began and end is entirely up to you, making each reading a different experience. I became a fan of Chris Ware after reading "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth." With a single page of artwork capturing more emotion than 20 pages of words, Ware's style isn't just changing literary comics or graphic novels, but literature itself. 

"Forgotten God"
Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski

I read this book to lead few group studies at church. I blasted through it in a matter of days, but then reread every chapter as I was going along in the study. Chan is known for being convicting is his preaching, while also pointing at himself as an example, and this book is no different. I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, since most studies of The Holy Spirit tend to be overly charismatic, but not in this case. The basic gist of the book was that if we claim to have The Spirit in us, then we should be living as people who have Christ in us, and be Christ to the world. Worth rereading.

"Red Letter Revolution"
Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo 

I picked up this book having read "The Irresistible Revolution" a few years back. I saw this book at Barnes and Noble a while back and gave it a shot. Years ago, Campolo coined the term "Red Letter Christian" for people who were Christian, but didn't agree with the politics usually attributed to Christianity, mainly being Republican. This book is a dialogue between Claiborne and Campolo about various issues ranging from Community, the Church, and Missions, to Economics, Immigration, and Politics. This book had a lot of good points to it, but felt more like they were finding Biblical reasons to have the opposite stance as the "religious right." However, agree with them or not, this book starts a much needed dialogue about why we have the the political beliefs we have, and what we should be. Be warned though, if you read this, you better have thick skin. You will be offended.

"Love Does"
Bob Goff

I first heard of Bob Goff from Donald Miller's book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" when him and his family jumped into a lake with all their clothes on to say bye to Don and his friend while they were leaving their cabin. Bob Goff embraces whimsy like no one else, and encourages you to live a life worthy of the love we've been given. Just go get this book.

"Start"
Jon Acuff

I first heard of Jon Acuff from his Stuff Christians Like site, and I loved how he was able to write something that was as funny as it was convicting. He started writing career books, the first being "Quitter," where he talked about the steps you can take to leave your job for the career you want. This book, "Start," is like a 288 page pep talk. Much needed for anyone wanting to finish a book, start a business, or switch careers. I liked Quitter better, but both books need to be read multiple times.

"Love Is an Orientation"
Andrew Marin

Almost every book I've been reading cites this book when talking about Homosexuality, so I finally decided to pick it up. This has to be the most important book I read last year. Marin doesn't take a stance on whether being gay is a sin or not. Instead, he stands in the middle and wants to build a bridge between the LGBT and Christian communities, and he gets arrows thrown at him from both sides. This book helps lay the groundwork for a conversation between two groups that would rather shoot arrows at the straw man instead of knowing the flesh and blood person on the other side. Every Christian should read this book.

Vol 18 came out, and due to the popularity of the TV series, they now sale the latest books at Target. I got this and read it in a matter of hours. Nothing much happened in this issue. Mainly it focused on Negan, the new baddy who will beat someone's head in with a baseball bat, keeping a smile on his face. Yeah. He's a sick man, and this volume showed more of how evil he really is. Vol 17 got me excited. 18 just frustrated me because I really just wanted something bad to happen to Negan. But I guess it shows you that you don't want him gone because you don't like him, but because he is pure evil. 

"Cloud Atlas"
David Mitchell

I first saw the trailer for Cloud Atlas on Apple.com (because that's where you go to see movie trailers). It looked like a head-trip of a movie, and when I saw it was a book, I had to pick it up. This book also has some sentimental value since I bought it at City Lights (the bookstore in San Francisco, not the other place in Fresno...). The book is six different stories told throughout time in chronological order, with the first five cutting off half-way through (one story ends mid-sentence, because the next page is missing) until the sixth story, where the stories are then finished in reverse chronological order, all while keeping a forward motion. I still haven't seen the movie. I've herd it's pretty good.

"Torn"
Justin Lee

I saw this book while researching "Love Is an Orientation" and bought them at the same time. While "Love Is an Orientation" is more like a textbook, his book is more of a narrative about Lee's life. He starts out telling his story of when he started thinking he might be gay, how he went about trying to "fix" himself, and how he eventually came to accept himself. It gets a little preachy near the end, but the story itself of how he went into "ex-gay" ministries that offered no help to him because he has a good relationship with his father is enough to make you scream. Again, just like "Love Is an Orientation", a very important book.

"Intellectuals and Society"
Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell is an Economist, Social Theorist, Political Philosopher, i.e., Philosophy. I had a professor years ago who said he considers a philosopher to be someone with an idea and the stuff to back it up (he was saying that Steven Pinker, who is a Psychologist, is basically a Philosopher). This book only took me around seven months to finish. Very dense (I had to stop and look up the meaning to a bunch of big words), very long (600+ pages), but very good (the words and pages matched size of the content). The book basically went into his theory on conflicting visions (or worldviews) and how those with a worldview of having a superior intellect who work exclusively in the realm of ideas, (where the work begins and ends with ideas, not practical application) and their ideas are praised, not because they are beneficial to society, but because they have good intentions, and sound good.* This book changed the way I look at politics, especially the whole "wealthy one percent" argument.

*For a much better summery than I can give, just check out the Wikipedia page for the book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectuals_and_Society 

"Jesus for President"
Shane Claiborne
Chris Haw

If you ever see this book somewhere, pick it up and just look through it. It is a beautiful book. Each page is like a piece of art with words. The book is all about politics, and is more like an argument for Christian's being Liberal. Again, it makes for a good read if you like having your beliefs challenged. Although, some of the ideas feel like they started with the politics and added the theology to back up their ideas. It was worth the read, but I disagreed with a lot of it. I think the main thing I learned from this book is that I need to read more books I disagree with.

"Ender's Game"
Orson Scott Card

After about eight years, I finally decided to read Ender's Game. The movie was FINALLY coming out, and I needed to read the book. I haven't read Science Fiction for a while, so it was fun to dive back into this world. I kept kicking myself that I didn't read this sooner. It has been on my shelf for six years, and I only said "someday I'll read it." Man. The story was great, but the real power of this book is in Card's style. Ender is given the task of saving humanity, whether he likes it or not, and you can feel the weight it puts on his soul. Even if you've seen the movie, this book is a must read.

"Speaker For the Dead"
Orson Scott Card

I then went straight to reading the rest of The Ender Quintet. This book was very different from Ender's Game, but the style was still very much Card. A friend told me that in a way, this is the start of a whole new trilogy, and that had to be the best way to put it. Set three thousand years in the future with Ender only aging about 30 years, and once again, he is tasked with saving the world. This time, however, it's a different planet, and he can better handle the weight of this task. The amazing part of this book is how it is a huge setup for the next two books, but you don't know until you get to the other books.

"Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers"
Shane Claiborne
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

I needed a break from the Sci-fi for a bit, so I grabbed a short read from my shelf. I bought this book at Urbana four years ago. They had a $5 book deal every day and this was one of them. Of course, it was Shane Claiborne. This focused more how to read prayers from the Bible as plans of action. A very new concept. However, after reading other books by Claiborne, this one had more of the same stories and analogies in it, and like the other books, felt more like it started with politics and added the scripture afterwards. It seemed like he was finding a new way to say the same thing over again. I don't know if I'll be reading any new books by Claiborne for a while.

"Xenocide"
Orson Scott Card

I got back into the Ender series, and this had to be the hardest of the four to read. It started dealing with more abstract ideas, while adding a whole set of new characters. This one continued to lay the groundwork for the next book, but also answered questions from the last one. While not my favorite in the series, it was still Orson Scott Card.

Things start to pick up. I liked this one. That's all I'll say.

"EntreLeadership"
Dave Ramsey

I'm trying to start some business stuff (ask me sometime in person. Otherwise I'll keep you posted on here), and I heard this is a good book for a person starting out. The book is half leadership, half business. It basically outlines everything Ramsey did from the start of his company and how he grew it debt free, and also the leadership mistakes he made, and lessons you can only learn from running you own business. It's kind of like, "Learn from my mistakes." Another book I'll probably be rereading.

"Children Of the Mind"
Orson Scott Card

The final book in the Ender Quintet wrapped up everything nicely. I'm not sure if Card had everything planned out ahead of time, or just let things fall into place. Either way, I liked it. You could probably put all three books after "Ender's Game" (Speaker For the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind) into one long book. I also know that this isn't the end for Ender books, because there is another series (the Shadow series) and prequels and other books that take place during these books. I have Ender's Shadow, but I have other series I'm trying to get to (Like the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R. R. Martin).

"RASL"
Jeff Smith

Daniel got me this book for Christmas. Jeff Smith, the author of Bone (the mentioned earlier) just finished his second series about an art thief who travels between parallel universes that runs into trouble. It's darker and more mature than Bone. Took me all of two days to read, but I think I need to read it again. It had a lot to do with Tesla and some of his theories. I'm not sure how much of it is based on some of Tesla's actual theories, and how much of it is fiction, but it made for a crazy trip. I can't wait to see what Smith comes out with next.

The last book of the year that I read. I picked it up at Barnes and Noble for 50% off. If you've heard of The Oatmeal, then I don't need to say anything. If you haven't heard of it, check the website (http://theoatmeal.com/), but be warned, it is offensive stuff. I need to get the other books. It's fun stuff to just pick up and read for a quick laugh.

That's it. My goal this coming year is to do a quick summery/review of a book whenever I finish it instead of waiting until the end of the year to do a long post like this. You get major points if you read every single word of this post. If you didn't, I wouldn't blame you.

Day off

I had a day off from work on Tuesday. I could have spent it at home, sitting down in front of the television catching up on shows on Netflix, or watching one of the many movies I have but haven't seen yet, but I decided I needed to have a couple doctor's appointments.

I had my first appointment with my Gastroenterologist in the morning. He is thinking that my enlarged liver and spleen is because of Fatty Liver. This isn't the first time I have had to deal with this. 

About ten years ago, I gave blood for the first time, and it was rejected due to liver enzymes in my blood. This started some good times with visits to the doctor where I had Fatty Liver, and after some diet and exercise, it went away. Going through the process, I got all kinds of questions from the doctor.
I'll never forget being 18 years old, sitting in the doctor's room, and him asking me...
"Do you drink alcohol?"
"No."
"Have you ever used any illegal drugs, like cocaine, heroin, or meth?"
"Uh. No."
"Have you had multiple sexual partners?"
"Uh.... No. I've never had sex."
"And you're sure you don't drink alcohol?"
"I'm a pretty boring guy."
At least I felt that way.
He asked these questions because Fatty Liver is usually a symptom of Hepatitis, and he wanted to rule out getting sick due to a wild and crazy party life on the weekends
"Like I said, I lead a low-risk, boring life."
So when the new doctor started asking me similar questions, I just laughed.
"Have you ever snorted coke?"
"No."
"Have you ever injected heroin?"
"No."
"Have you ever solicited a prostitute?"
"Heh. No. Not at all"
And I found myself repeating my famous words from ten years ago.
"I'm a pretty boring guy."
The doctor thinks it is fatty liver, and that weight loss will help. He also wants me to avoid alcohol for the next three months. I don't drink much, but he wants to make sure this isn't a cause.
He said the same thing my primary doctor has said: "Diet and exercise should help."

This is where my back issues come into play.

The results from my MRI came back saying that the disc between my L5 and S1 vertebrae is bulging into the nerves of my lower back. Instead of sending me to a specialist, the doctor referred me out for physical therapy, which I started in the afternoon.

I wasn't sure what to expect, this being my first time going to a physical therapist and all, but I expected more questions, which is how my session started out. 

First he wanted to know how long I've had the pain, the location of the pain, how bad the pain was, and all that wonderful stuff. After a deep tissue massage, I had a device strapped on that basically did the same thing an Inversion Table does, without blood rushing to my head. I laid flat on the table, with one belt strapped around my stomach, and the other around my waist, and then the two would separate, lifting pressure from my L5-S1 disc. I sat there for about 30 wishing I had a book with me. 

Afterwards I got some exercises to straighten my core, which will take some of the pressure off my back, give me better posture, and (this is just my hopes) some rock hard abs. 

It all lasts about an hour and a half, by which time I hate everything. But, Michelle keeps reminding me that this will only be for a short while, and the results will last for a long time. I'll try to keep that thought in mind as I'm doing these exercises that borderline on torture.

Firsts

Today was a day of firsts.

After my physical, the doctor said I need to lose some weight, so I thought I should give biking to work a try. I rode there yesterday, but picked up my car on the way back. So today is the first day where I rode my bike to work and back for the first time.
It was also the first time I took a spill.
I was riding on the sidewalk, when another gent in his bike was riding toward me. I got to one side, but not before the bike got stuck in a groove a little bit bigger than the tire. I lost balance, and fell on my left side.
I'm okay. Just a little sore.
My wrist took most of the beating, and my jacket needs to be washed after I landed in a puddle, but I'm still walking.
I'll be taking some Ibuprofen tonight.

Also had my first MRI tonight as well.
I was little nervous going in, since I hadn't had one before. But once I got into the tube, it was just a waiting game.
Of course, I'm letting my imagination run around, and I start thinking of other scenarios where I would be in a tube. First, I'm imagining I'm in an escape pod that was just shot out of a spaceship that exploded, and I'm falling to Earth.
Next I'm in a sleep chamber travelling through space, and the loud beeping is the alarm waking me up telling me we are about to land on the alien planet.
Then I'm taking a break while working on underground pipes, with the sound of cars and trains going by above ground.
Eventually, I'm back at AMI, laying in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine, getting magnetic rays blasted through my body to see just how bad the disc between the L5 and S1 section of my spine is.
Then I was just bored.
I got out, and was able to get a look at the images.
It doesn't look good, but I won't know the extent of the damage until Monday at the earliest, due to the 4 day weekend.
So again, I get to wait.

I rode my bike home afterwards, and that was when I had my spill. Don't worry. I didn't hurt my back. Just broke the seat.

Adventures

I had my first physical in years on the first of the month. Besides trying to figure out what was going on with my back/kidneys, I had to get an overall checkup, which included blood tests.
All the tests came back good, except for the cholesterol test.
My cholesterol is high.
The plan we started was a three month period where I will try to lower my cholesterol with diet and exercise. If that doesn't help, then I'll have to start taking medication to lower it.
This is one of the many adventures I'm currently taking with my health, which leads me to the one I mentioned in a prior post.

I had my CT scan a week ago. Since it was a Renal Stone Study, there was no prep involved. No fasting, no drinking Volumen an hour prior, and no IV contrast. I showed up, changed into scrubs, and the exam took all of three minutes.
I was told by the tech that I could speak to the radiologist and he could go over the exam with me (one of the perks of working in radiology).
After my courier route, I went back to see the radiologist, and we went over my exam.

Of course, when you get a radiologist's report, it only says whats wrong, so when I speak to the radiologist, I know I will only be told what is seen, but any follow up will have to be with my doctor.

The radiologist said I have no stones, but that my liver and spleen are a little big.
I told him why I was having the exam: the back pain, nausea, multiple urgent care visits, medication, and all around fun. So he checks my spine. The CT scan is mainly checking out my intestines, and isn't that good for checking bone. He still takes a look at spine, and can see that I have a bulging disc. He said he'll write an addendum saying that he'd recommend an MRI to better evaluate my lumbar spine.

I had a follow up appointment with my doctor the following Wednesday. He said he's taking the radiologist's recommendation and ordering an MRI. He also noted the enlarged liver and spleen. This may be a side effect of having high cholesterol, or the reason why it is so high, or really have nothing to do with it whatsoever. Either way, he is referring me to a Gastroenterologist (or G.I. Doctor) to further evaluate it.

So here is the breakdown of my current adventures:

• I will be having an MRI for my lower back to see just how bad my bulging disc it.
  I'm a little nervous, mostly because I've never had one, but since I've worked in radiology for the past five years, I know that some people can handle it and some people can't. You don't know until you are being put in the tube.
• I'll be visiting a G.I. Doctor sometime in December. I got a voicemail from the office with a tentative appointment. I just have to confirm the time, and I'll be visiting another Doctor.
• I've been dieting a little. I need to get back in the habit of visiting the gym on a regular basis. I did get a bike, and once I have a couple more things (at least some lights so I can ride at night, and a jacket to wear in the cold weather) I want to start riding my bike to work. It's only a 20 minute ride there, so I'll just have to plan ahead by waking up earlier and packing a lunch.

My first doctors visit in five-plus years, and I've been back twice, and I expect to be back a lot more. At least I get the chance to read more. Still trying to reach my goal of 10,000 pages read in one year. Had a bit of a slump in the middle of summer, but I hope to finish strong by the end of the year.

Otherwise, there's always 2014!

New title for the blog

I realize that most of my blog posts have been about my diet, or health, or some way that I'm trying to improve myself, so I've decided to embrace that and take my title from an older blog post (and song from years ago) and this is now "Building A Better Me" with the subtitle being the old title, "Truth Belongs to God, and the Mistakes are mine."

I'll continue by saying the results from my CT came back. I don't have Kidney Stones, but the radiologist noticed a couple other things (including a bulging disc). I'll post more about it later, because it's a good story. Thanks for your prayers!

My health is like a Roller Coaster

Haven't posted in over a year. I want to get back into the habit of writing something at least once a week.
So guess I'll start with my health.
Over a month ago, I started having really bad back pain. 

This is nothing new. 

I've had back problems for years, but it usually lasts less than a day, and goes away after a couple of Advil's. But this pain wouldn't go away.
After a drive to Exeter to visit Michelle's mom, my back was in so much pain I had a hard time getting out of the car. Sleep was next to impossible.
The next day I drove to Porterville to visit family while Michelle was at a baby shower. My parent's asked me why I was limping when I walked into the store, and I said my back was hurting.
I spent the rest of the day with my dad, where he introduced me to the bank teller as his father, and walked slowly with me as we walked into Mexican restaurant for some Saturday morning Manudo. Sitting hurt, standing hurt, walking hurt: I was in so much pain I was nauseous. My dad and brother both told me the pain must be from Sciatica, which they both had, and I wasn't excited to hear that. The thought of being stuck with this pain for, possibly, the rest of my life made me a little more upset.

Where did this come from anyway?! Just last Friday I was playing Softball and caught the ball coming in from deep left field! The runner hit my leg (and thought I was trying to trip him), but that wasn't the side that was hurting! I only started feeling this bad after sitting in the car and driving for an hour. From what I remember about Sciatica, it usually manifested itself after sitting down for a long time, especially in a car ride, but what was different this time?

After the day in Porterville, I drove back to Exeter. 

The plan was pick up Michelle and drive to Fresno that night so I could play Bass in the morning at church. After the half-hour drive from hell, I didn't want to spend another second in the driver side of the car. I asked Michelle if she could drive home, but she was also counting on me driving so she could sleep after her long day helping with the baby shower. Turns out she wasn't just going to the baby shower, but helping run it, with multiple trips to get last minute items, and the joys of tearing down and cleaning up.

The new plan became one more night in Exeter. I texted Pastor Tom telling him I wouldn't be there in the morning, and I was really sorry for the last minute cancellation, and tried to sleep again. I could go to Urgent Care on Monday, and hopefully find out if this is Sciatica, and how to treat the symptoms. I need to at least know what it is I'm dealing with.

I took some pills, and the pain went away enough to where I could sleep.

The next morning, I wanted to see when the Urgent Care I go to opened on Monday morning, and found out they had Sunday hours! Relief was now sooner! Only a painful hour long drive to Fresno!

We got in the car, and we couldn't get to Fresno faster. The pain got so bad that after a half-hour or so, I was really close to telling Michelle to pull over so I could throw up on the side of the road. I kept it together, mainly because I didn't have anything in my stomach and didn't want to dry heave on the side of Highway 99. 

Is this much pain normal!? Something else has to be going on.

Michelle and I were supposed to go on a group trip to the Zoo Sunday afternoon, but I the new plan had me going to the doctor instead. I told Michelle she should just go, because there's no point in both of us not having fun, and all she would do is wait in the office and think the worst while waiting for me.

I went to the doctor. Michelle went to the zoo.

I drove to Peachwood and signed into their urgent care.

The doctor did a few tests, and said it wasn't Sciatica, but Kidney Stones. The pain and nausea was from the stone(s) moving through my urinary tract.

This made sense.

He gave me some prescriptions for the pain and nausea, and told me I should be passing the stone sometime in the next few days, and these pills will just make life bearable, and if I don't pass anything by Wednesday to follow up with my doctor.
Monday I stayed home.
Tuesday I went to work, but didn't do too much work.
Wednesday I did work, and called my doctor.
This is where the fun begins.
I called my PCP, and I found out that I can't be seen until January because I haven't seen my doctor since I switched my PCP. Of course, if I would have made an appointment months ago when I first got my insurance, or when I said, "I have a week off, I should see my doctor." The quickest way I can see a doctor is to find a doctor who is taking new patients and switch my PCP over to them. I found another doctor, and switched my PCP on my HMO, and found out that it won't take effect until the first of the next month.
This is on October 9.
I'm screwed.
I decided to go back to Peachwood Urgent Care on Thursday after work.
I spoke with the PA on duty and told her my current situation, and she asked me where I got my radiology done for my Kidney Stone. When I told her I didn't get one, she was shocked.
"Why didn't you get anything done? How do you know you have them? We can't know for sure that you have them until you have a CT done!"
So she has the doctor come in, he does some more tests, and says I don't have kidney stones, and it's just lower back pain so bad I get nauseous. He prescribed me Vicodin and muscle relaxers, and told me to make an appointment right away with a doctor.
I switched my PCP, and made an appointment for the first of the month.
I had pain every now and then.
Took the pills a few time.
Didn't like them.
So I went back to using Ibuprofen.
That Sunday one of the ladies at church came up to me talking about Kidney Stones. I said I didn't have them, and she said I might still have it. She has Kidney Stones all the time, and says they get stuck sometimes, and the pain won't be as bad because it only hurts when the stone moves.
So I might still have them.
When I finally had my doctor's appointment, I kept this knowledge to myself, because if this was the case, I wanted the doctor to suggest it.
Which he did.
So tomorrow, I'm finally having a CT to see if I'm pregnant or not.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.
I'll hopefully be posting soon about the joys of giving birth.

Also posted on Michelle's blog

What is something weird that your spouse does while sleeping?