I guess I got blogged out as I have nothing very dramatic to share. Nevertheless I’m not back to normal yet. To wear out an old phrase, “It is what it is.” We just have to learn how to live with it and try to smile while doing so. Smiling is the really hard part. […]

There’s no place like home! My last entry was Tuesday 10/21/2014. We had made the momentous decision to wait a while longer for the bleed to stop and not institute more invasive procedures. It was the right decision. By 10:00 PM Tuesday my urine was running clear. Needless to say by 6:00 AM Wednesday I’m ready […]

I went home Thursday afternoon in good spirits and apparent good health. I relaxed and recovered all day Friday with normal urinary and bowl functions returning. I eat and enjoy solid food and think I’m moving a little slow but this is not so bad. I’ll be good as new in a week or two. Saturday I […]

My last post was Tuesday. Here it is Thursday already and I’m sure most of you have been wondering what’s going on with Kratzer. So here is the story with more detail than anybody needs to know. Wednesday was a day of waiting for that gas to pass, punching the Morphine button and flirting with the […]

Here it is Tuesday evening 7:00 PM. I woke up about noon yesterday but haven’t been up to computing till now. Seven holes and 3 hours is all it took to remove gall bladder (1 hour) and the growth on my right kidney (2 hours). No biopsy results yet so don’t know for sure if it […]

So I went to bed last night thinking I was coming down with a cold and that the surgery would probably be postponed. My head was stuffed up and getting worse. I want to get this over with and not have to do another round of pre-op appointments. Besides the longer we wait the more […]

I’ve had a follow-up X-ray and the blasted stone is no where in sight. Strained pee only revealed a few fine grains of sand. Don’t know where the rest of it went but the doc says all is well and we are a go for dual surgery on Oct 13. I had a pre-op appointment […]

In at 10:00 AM out at 12:30 PM. 3/8 inch stone in left kidney blasted to bits. Now I need to strain pee for a week to catch pieces for analysis. A bit groggy from anesthetic and a little sore on left side. Follow-up X-ray and appointment in one week. If all is as it […]

So I did a little research on what this little adventure might cost. Did you ever try to read a government document? Anyway what I glean from the 300 page tome “Annual Notice of Changes” from AARP Medicare Complete is that my maximum out of pocket expense can’t exceed $6700. That’s encouraging. Not as bad […]

So here it is a week & a day since I left the hospital. Exit instructions were explicit about making appointments with my primary care doctor (PCP) and the two surgeons to get all things approve and scheduled. Last Tuesday I saw my PCP and brought him up to speed. A $50 copay to tell […]

Then I think “Who cares?” I can spend a lot of time writing about my minor medical issue when there are thousands out there, including some very close friends, with issues that make my bit of kidney and gall bladder malfunction look like a hangnail. Then I get an email from a friend with this […]

I began an unexpected medical journey on Sunday 9-7-14. I initially thought if I blog about this then my friends can go to one place and keep up to speed. Then I thought that would be a lot of work to keep the blog up to date. Then I thought I’ll put it on Face […]