Well, this turned out to be a pretty good week. I was able to accomplish a couple computer related problems that made me feel pretty good but i also had a problem this week. It turns out that i have a UTI. Now for you more medically inclined people I'm sure you know exactly what that means. For the rest of us it is a medical situation that an old guy like me could find somewhat embarrassing. Let me give you the whole story and you decide. On Monday i was feeling pretty good, albeit tired as usual, except that i had to urinate more frequently than normal. Not to much of a problem, i am getting older and that is just something older people do. I even did my exercise routine after work. Monday night i probably woke up five times to go to the bathroom, and i was just thankful that i woke up. I know that is not unusual for an older person but i normally wake up maybe once. I hope this is not TMI but is all leading up to my UTI. Tuesday the symptoms continued and every time i tried to get some work done i had to go to the bathroom and i had a headache. Now what little medical knowledge i have this was beginning to sound to me like a prostate problem. This concerned me a bit but i thought my numbers and exams in the area were always very good. Not that the exam was very good, that i find rather personal, but that is another story. At this point i think i still had not mentioned anything to Kim because i was not overly concerned and she worries about me a lot. Tuesday night was the same as the night before except that i was noticing a bit of discomfort during my many bathroom visits.
Wednesday things got even worse and without going into to many details, what if a child should stumble onto this page, i was starting to feel really crappy. When i got home home i felt rather weak and had a headache and the bathroom thing was not getting any better. Now i said something to Kim and she confirmed that i was looking rather crappy. She took my temperature and found that i had a slight fever. I took a couple of Ibuprofen, put my feet up and just chilled out for the evening, as much as i could while going to the bathroom on a frequent schedule. I even asked Kim about the possibility of having a prostate problem and was there any products she knew of that would help. She said she would check into it and i settled in for the night and went to bed. I didn't sleep very well and Thursday morning i was concerned enough that i called Kim at work to tell her this problem was not getting any better. As i think back on it, I realize how God is so good in our lives. The Doctor's office where Kim works was closed for the week and she was there to answer phones and do paperwork. If the office was open she would not have been able to take the next step, except knowing her she probably would have anyway. She called me back a little while later and said i was not going to be happy with her, and she was right, but she made an appointment for me with the doctor for 1300 hrs. but i had to be there at 1200 to get some lab work done first. The first thing was that the appointment was for the middle of the day and the second thing was that our doctor was away that week and i was going to be seeing his assistant who just happened to be a woman! Don't get me wrong now, i have a lot of respect for women and know they are just as capable in medicine, business or whatever. But remember where on my body the problem is and for an old guy like me that is embarrassing. After a brief discussion about the weekend coming and Kim being concerned that something could happen she said, "you are going", and that was the end of that discussion.
By this time i only had about two hours before i had to leave and there was about two hours of work i had to do before i could leave. I finished what i had to do and at 1100 i headed out to see the lady doctor. To give you an idea how frequently i had to visit the boys room, i was concerned that i would not make it to Fort Walton with out embarrassing myself. With one little prayer and one pit stop i arrived without embarrassment. I went to the lab to pee in the cup and they also told me they were going to take some blood, for which i was not prepared. I did what i had to do and waited for an hour to see the lady doctor. After waiting with apprehension for an hour, hey I'm being honest here, i was called into the office. After a nurse took my vitals the doctor came in. She asked me a number of questions, told me she hadn't gotten the lab results yet but had a plan of action based on what she thought was the problem, a UTI and then started to put on the rubber gloves. Guys, you know what was coming next. She said, "drop your pants and bend over", those six words that bring fear into the heart of all men; well most. She said everything was normal in that area and i just needed to wait for the lab results. I was becoming less apprehensive now since there seemed to be a plan of action. After another wait the doctor called me in to tell me she had the lab results. She said some of the numbers were way off the chart and the lab techs even re-did the tests to make sure but with my CLL the numbers were not that unusual. She prescribed an antibiotic and told me that she wanted me to be sure to do a follow up after i finished the antibiotic because she was concerned about the readings.
Well it is Sunday afternoon now and i have been on the antibiotics since Thursday and there seems to be some improvement, thought i am still getting my exercise by running to the bathroom on a frequent basis. From what i understand, we caught the problem in the early stage but if we had waited there could have definitely been more serious repercussions. I am so thankful for my wife who knows me well enough that when i start telling her there is a problem she does not hesitate to take action. She is such a good caregiver that she will do whatever is necessary to take care of me. I think i am on the mend and i know she is watching me.
