As a nurse, I have a lot of book knowledge about health, pathophysiology, pharmacotherapies, diagnostic tests, blah, blah, blah. I do not have a lot of personal experiential knowledge with these things. Yes, I have taken care of many patients, but there is something to be said for personal experience. Thankfully, I am rarely sick. I have never been hospitalized except for during my three normal pregnancies. I do not enjoy going to the doctor. In fact, I am pretty bad about it – making appointments and all that. I know this comes as no surprise since many of us know nurses make terrible patients.

Well, I have been a good one recently. For the most part. This week has been a whirlwind of ambulances, diagnostic tests, physician appointments, pharmacy trips…yuck. Turns out I have a pretty large kidney stone that thinks my ureter is its new resting place. Fun times.

New personal experiences this week include calling 911 for my personal illness, IV fentanyl, IV ketorolac, a CAT scan, around-the-clock pain meds, magnesium citrate, and meeting my annual insurance deductible in three days. Score. [Read: Book knowledge was doing me just fine thank you very much.]

By the time you read this post, I will be in pre-op, preparing for much-needed Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). It requires general anesthesia. Put two more “new experiences” in the book, boys. Who knows how many more will pop up today. And who did I call yesterday when I wanted to learn more about the procedure? Yes, I talked to my doc, but I called a friend who has actually experienced ESWL to get the real scoop. No doubt these experiences will flavor my nursing education in the future.

I am going to chalk these experiences up to the “This Will Make Me A Better Nurse” category. Oh, and the “Soon-To-Be-Pain-Free” category…at least in a few days.