Hawaii in Photos, Part 8

Waioli Hui'ia Church, the most gorgeous church I've ever seen.

We went inside.

Ooh, la la!

Oh, hello. I'm just sitting here on this rock.

Lighthouse.

Rocks

Look at the sky! The trees!

Waterfall! We didn't go chasing them.

Swoon!

Colors found in nature.

So many fish in the koi pond!

See them all? They are like ninja fish. We were obsessed with feeding them.

Big guy.

Koi!

Hello up there! The loft at our Kauai condo.

Coconut Grove.

Ok, so here's where things got real crappy. The whole time we've been planning our vacation, I've been excited about getting a massage. "I'm going to get a massage in Hawaii!" The resort we stayed in had a nice package deal with a nearby spa, so I signed up for it--it included a scrub, a masque and a massage. We surfed that morning and went to the spa in the evening (this is Monday of our second week.) When I laid down on the table, my stomach started hurting. I wondered what was going on, but tried to power through it. But it got worse and worse. Finally, I had to stop my massage therapist so that I could go to the bathroom, but once I stood up, the pain hit my on the left side all at once, and I instantly knew what it was--the dreaded KIDNEY STONE! It's been about 5 years since I've had a super bad one that sent me to this hospital, and this one was wreaking havoc. Lucky for me, Fuzzy was also at the spa, so he was called to get me dressed and I asked him to take me to the hospital. I could barely move, I was doubled over in pain, and vomiting a lot.

When you have a kidney stone, no matter how many people are in the emergency room waiting room, they always put you in right away because the pain is so bad. I was given a room and they started me on heavy duty meds. It worked for a few minutes, but then the pain ramped back up to worse than before. It was the worst pain I've ever been in. I couldn't move my hands or feet. I couldn't stop throwing up. On my dream vacation. In Hawaii. That hit during my massage. Jeez louise. Hilarious right? It is now, thankfully--at the time I was really upset about it, obviously. I am happy to say, though, that the Lihue, Kauai ER is the friendliest emergency room I've ever been in (and I've seen my fair share). My nurse, Jae was so sweet--she took good care of me and talked about how much she loves Chicago (her brother lives here.) I joked about how the hospital gowns should be floral and they should sell postcards from the ER, as Fuzzy said, saying "Wish you were here...instead of me!"

ER in the ER

Wooweee!! Look who is enjoying her sexy vacation on a trooooopppicalllll iiiiisssslllllllaaaaand!

After a few hours, I was doped up on narcotics and was given a ton of percoset for the rest of the "ride." You just have to let those stones pass on their own. I was really grateful that our hotel had a bedroom on the ground level next to the bathroom, cause I was in for a rocky next couple of days. I passed the stone at 12:45 am (the paid hit me all at 6pm) and I was relieved for it all to be over. Only I wasn't better. The pain was still there and the vomiting didn't stop. I lost all track of the day--Fuzzy would say "I am going to go get some lunch" and then 5 minutes later practically "I am going to get some dinner." It was horrible. I couldn't eat, I was puking every 2 or so hours, and I was basically living on the bathroom floor. Then at 6pm Tuesday, 24 hours after the pain started, I passed a second stone. I knew it! The little bugger! TWO FREAKING KIDNEY STONES! I couldn't believe it. Then I started feeling better, the vomiting stopped, and I was able to eat a little rice and sleep for more than 2 hours at a time.

For anyone whose ever wondered what kidney stones look like, and for all of you who haven't, here they are:

The larger one was the second one. The bastard.

The rest of the week we had to take it really easy. I couldn't walk very far at a time, I was hardly able to eat, the pain was still bad, and I had to pee literally every 10 minutes. We cancelled our river kayak tour and our cruise of the Na Pali coastline. We just had to take it really easy, so we did some shopping, drove around and spent lots of time at the koi pond.

I have to say, my dear wonderful darling husband was really incredible. He's been through the kidney stone crisis with me before, so he knew what to expect and was so sweet the whole time. He took care of me in the hospital and rarely left my side when I was sick at the hotel. He fed me ice shavings when I was laying on the floor in the hallway. He cleaned me up after I threw up for the millionth time. Our vacation really brought us closer together than ever, just in the romantic getaway sense, but then also in the "better or worse, sickness and in health" aspect. I am so blessed to have such an amazing partner in my life--he really is perfect for me in every way and I love him more than ever. I am so grateful to have him.

A lot of people have said to me, "Well, i guess if you are going to get sick anywhere, Hawaii's not a bad place, huh?" Which is I guess true. I had the time to heal and rest. I just really can't believe it. Hilarious, huh? Aye, me.