A Stark Reminder

This past Tuesday, I gave everyone a little scare. I’m in Florida for a few days at my company’s headquarters. My trip had been delayed for a day due to spending the weekend in bed with a stomach virus. I did a short morning run on the hotel treadmill to try and get back into my usual routine, but I didn’t feel great afterward. I figured I was rushing it, decided not to run the next day, and headed to work.

About two hours later, I collapsed in pain and my co-workers sprang into action. I was pretty quickly being wheeled out on a stretcher to a local ER. The verdict was a kidney stone that was now on the move, most likely thanks to my morning run. So, while it was very painful, it was relatively minor. I was discharged and I’m finishing my trip under the Sword of Damocles as I wait for the stone to complete its journey.

In the ER, they ran all the usual battery of tests: CT to verify the stone, labs to make sure there was no infection, vitals just because they always do vitals. Everything was great. I can’t speak for the labs, but my vitals were better than they had been at any time that I can recently remember.

This was my reminder of why I’ve really been doing all of this — the running, the working out, the changes to diet and lifestyle. Two or three years ago, I’m not sure I would have bounced back from a virus and the kidney stone episode so quickly. Marathons, Spartans, and other deliverables are fun, but they’re not really why I’m doing this.

What we put into our bodies and how we use them matters so very much.

As of this writing, the stone hasn’t completed its journey and I’m wondering if I want to run again to get it moving. I’ll be happy to have it out, so that I’ll be free of that particular cloud. As painful as this episode has been, it has strengthened my resolve to keep fighting the war.