An un-fun day; an un-fun night

Yesterday, I got to thinking that the creek might have been down far enough to allow access to beaver dam number one -- the one running along an old horse path through the trees about 1/10th mile downstream of number two which is visible from the Cherry Creek Trail. Along the way is a swamp/pond which are the results of a much older dam, now gone. I cautiously climbed the berm but didn't see any conspicuous wildlife. Then I noticed a cat-tail leaf moving along the surface much faster than creek flow would allow. It was leaving a bow-wake behind! I had something, so out came the camera -- turn it on and there's no ready beep. Hmph. Try again, still no beep. Ah! Memory begins to function. The battery is still in the charger from the time lapse experiment. @&$#!

I continued to watch the reed as it turned and headed towards the berm bank, then dive under the surface. I caught a glimpse of a brown head and eyes. Figuring the encounter was over I walked to the end of the berm. There I saw the animal which had been piloting the leaf just moments earlier. It was brown and looked to be about 10 inches long with a thin tail of equal length. A muskrat, I think. The second one I've see at that vantage point.

I walked on along the path to the jumping off point of the target beaver dam. I was encouraged by the lack of visible stream flow to the side of the path as I approached. Off I went into the creek bed and I was surrounded by clumps of cat tail plants and tall grass. As I pushed my way through them the seed heads of the grass poofed a smoke-like cloud into the air. Pollen, how interesting.

The dam proved to be inaccessible as the main stream channel was still flowing well. Soon after returning to the path my eyes began to bother me. Ah yes, the pollen had turned on my allergies. I somehow managed to get back home without rubbing my eyes -- a miracle.

The first thing I did there was to rinse my eyes out and wash my face and hands. Then I rubbed. What a mistake! It became imperative to rub my eyes in spite of the fact I knew what was going to happen. Then I took a Benadryl. That usually does wonders. This day it took an hour to calm my eyes down, so much pollen had gotten in. At times it felt like I had sand in them, and it wouldn't come out even with repeated rinsings. At one point Fran said, "You look like you've tied on on." That was surely true; the whites were entirely bloodshot.

Note to self -- next time check the seed heads before advancing!

---

The night started innocently enough, brushing the teeth and reading for a bit. When the lights went off I began feeling very uncomfortable in the area of my kidneys. This same discomfort had hit me the previous two nights in a milder form. Last night it didn't go away, or lessen. Around midnight I couldn't take it any more. I got dressed and asked Fran to drive me to the hospital.

There they took very basic information, name, address phone number and complaint. As we waited to be called the pain migrated to my belly. Nothing I did would lessen it, and it seemed to be getting a bit worse. A male nurse walked us back to an examination room and took more information about the pain, and about existing conditions. I saved a lot of time and trouble by producing a card I'd printed and carry in my wallet containing all that information. William seemed impressed.

It wasn't until three hours after I'd turned off the lights at home that they gave me some pain medication. That helped considerably though it didn't take it completely away. They asked about parent's conditions and I mentioned that Dad died of an aortic aneurysm. That got me a CT scan and knowledge of a clean aorta. Next was an ultrasound looking at my gall bladder. It is the culprit. There are gallstones and sludge in it, and it will have to be removed sometime soon, sooner if I start running a fever.

Fran was in the examination room the whole time freezing her butt off. It was downright chilly in there. Even the doctor said something about it when he first entered the room. Fran had cadged a warmed blanket from one of the nurse's stations. The doctor brought me a pair to add to the one I got in the CT scan room. I hadn't realized just how cool it was until I got that first blanket.

We left about six hours after getting to the hospital. It seemed a lot longer, at least at the start.

I'm to contact my doctor Monday and get a referral for whatever kind of surgeon will be doing the removal. It will be done on an outpatient basis with a lapraroscopy. I'm a little concerned about the two nights before I see my doctor, though I do now have a supply of pain reliever which should get me through it.