I love kayaking during high water. For me, the health department advisory to stay off the river due to sewage concerns is a magnet.
I did one such trip down the Clarion into the Allegheny. My son was 16 at the time and I explained why he might not want to join me, but he did. All day, when he saw anything floating, he’d point and ask.
Kidney stones and gall stones were the absolute most painful for a short time. Arthritis was the most painful over an extended period of time.
But the one that came closest to killing me was a cholera vaccination. Two shots, a week apart. No prob with the first one. The second one nearly took me out. A friend who had a key to my apartment came in and found me unconscious on the floor of the bathroom. I woke up in the hospital and the doc told me what had happened and that I had apparently been unconscious long enough to seriously dehydrate. A couple more hours and I would have been toast.
I"m lucky, I’ve had no really serious health problems so far. Here’s why I can remember:
[ul]
[li]Most blood: cut my fingers on broken glass, once as a kid, once last year.[/li][li]Most disabled: sprained ankle.[/li][li]Sickest: had some sort of stomach flu once; couldn’t keep down water, had to suck on ice cubes. Stayed up all night because only a conscious effort was preventing heaves, and I was afraid I’d vomit in my sleep and choke.[/li][li]Most Pain: several really bad episodes. I’ve had rotator cuff injuries to both shoulders; sprained back muscles 2-3 times; and two absolutely breath-taking instances of abdominal pain that may have been iliopsoas cramps.[/li][/ul]
Colon cancer, appendicitis, arthritis, a blood clot and lots of pneumonia :rolleyes:.
Still, here I am.
79
My kidney stone attacks were the worst, and the most painful. I finally lost my right kidney.
Injury: Probably a minor avulsion I suffered at about age 12. Had an unfortunate encounter with a shard of glass. It’s the worst of the maybe 4-5 scars I’ve accumulated over the years.
Illness: Mononucleosis one year during winter break from college. Other than getting up for the bathroom and to force some food/water down my throat, I slept for probably four days.
Injury: Fell getting on a boat, my left foot ended up next to my hip. For two years I hobbled around, while doctors were telling me it was just a sprain. Turned out I tore my ACL, only had 1/4 of it left, tore the meniscus, too.
Illness: Polycystic kidney disease. My kidneys, together, weigh between 24-28 pounds, no longer function. I’m on dialysis. Have been on the transplant waiting list for over three years. Hauling the weight around causes pain in my back. When a cyst ruptures, the pain is absolutely miserable.
Worst injury - probably a torn labrum and rotator cuff in my right shoulder. It took a full year of painful rehab after surgery to get back to 100%
Worst illness- a case of salmonella a few years ago. The intestinal cramping was bad enough, but having to be within 5 minutes (tops!) of a bathroom for a week made for some interesting drives to and from work!
Hemorrhoid surgery - The anesthetic before surgery was heavenly, my legs were floating and I could finally sleep. I was in mild discomfort going home. That night, my wife called at my request for more pain meds. The kind (of) healer refused, so I spent 6 hours in pain where I couldn’t get another thought in my head. It broke at 2am where I could finally think tiny thoughts amid the pain, and slowly got better.
Shingles - Right side of the head only. Some bumps that ended right on the face at the mid-line. How strange. It felt like an ice pick in my ear. Had to drive myself to the ER. Afterwards I have permanent sight damage in my right eye - fuzzy vision even with a corrective lens. I don’t remember how I shot before, but I’m right-handed and do riflery/archery left-handed and it feels totally natural.
Fell off an airplane (steps) - Rush delivery to the plane from work, I had dress shoes on. Slipped off the ladder and hit the tarmac. I got up and was brushing the grit from my chin when they yelled “Stop!”. Apparently I was flapping the tear under my chin. I felt fine - for half the walk to the hangar. Then things started to brighten and I felt woozy. They drove me in to town and I got to pass all the people in the waiting room. I felt the tugs as they sewed the inside and then the outside back together, but no pain.
Back gave out twice just reaching for something on the floor. Had to crawl around for an hour before I could pull myself into bed. Getting out was the reverse and took about 30 minutes. Lessened over a few of days.
Asthma/pneumonia multiple times. Some nights had to prop myself on pillows in a sitting position and sleep(ish) the night on the couch.
Illness - A bout of pneumonia that had me in the hospital for nine days.
Injury - Broke a finger when I was drilling a hole through a wall and it caught on a nail. Only bone I have ever broken.
Mental health - A several year long struggle with ventriloquism. I’m much better now, but it’s still one day at a time.