Week 2 Report

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right? That has been literally true in my case.

I don’t have a lot of fears when I travel alone on my road trips, but one of the biggest ones is getting sick and needing medical care or even hospitalization. Inconvenient, to say the least, and with Sadie along things can get complicated quickly. So I pride myself on taking pretty good care of my health and have always managed to outrun a cold or flu before the symptoms forced me into seeking medical help. I thought I could do it again, but denial sometimes will only get you so far. At some point, the reality of a potentially serious situation takes over.

My sorry saga began the Saturday that Kim and I left the Mammoth Cave National Park (almost two weeks ago at this point). She went on to Memphis directly, but I took a detour into rural Kentucky to visit some cousins and aunt and uncle. On the way there I noticed some twinges in my abdomen that were unpleasant but came and went so I didn’t pay a lot of attention to it. (The visit was great and I’m so glad I stopped to see these relatives that I don’t see often enough.) But over the next several days the spasms continued to come and go. By the time Tuesday rolled around I realized I needed to have myself checked out. We were in Cullman, Alabama staying in a Brewery parking lot and in the morning I went to an urgent care close by. Urinary tract infection confirmed. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and sent me on my way.

*This meal at* *Big Bob Gibson’s* *in Decatur, Alabama, did me no favors, but may be the best barbeque I’ve had on the trip so far.*

In Alabama the dominant BBQ sauce is white, which you see on the table. It was interesting, but not sure I would prefer it over a traditional red or vinegar based sauce. The white sauce is made with mayonnaise and vinegar.

I assumed that the antibiotics would work their magic and so I continued to do everything according to the plans we had made. BBQ, breweries, camping, walking with the dogs, a tour at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and some hiking in Dismals Canyon in Alabama. All good, all enjoyable except for the nagging pain that just didn’t totally go away.

Fast forward a few days and by Saturday I could no longer pretend I was getting better. Kim and I were traveling along the beautiful Gulf coastline. Stunning views. Great BBQ. Delicious brews. Good camping. And much as I tried, I couldn’t enjoy any of it, and completely lost my appetite. Kim and I had adjusted our plans to book a hotel and stay an extra day in the quaint and beautiful town of Port St. Joe so that we could go to their Saturday farmer’s market and downtown music festival. After trying to partake in the downtown festivities, I checked into the hotel and spent the afternoon curled up in bed, writhing in pain. Kim was able to enjoy the beautiful sunny day, sampled a local brewery that we had both planned to visit, and took her dog Beamy to romp on the white beaches. (which I insisted she do when she offered to stay by my side. Why should both of us suffer?)

As luck would have it, a regional hospital was right next door to the hotel, and I decided to visit their emergency room that Saturday afternoon. In contrast to most city emergency rooms, this coastal, somewhat off the beaten path location had no waiting whatsoever. I was grateful. Shortly after my arrival, the uti was again confirmed, but the doctor wanted to do a CT scan, which confirmed a kidney stone. Ughhh!!!

The doctor prescribed a different antibiotic and a pain medication intended to help ease the spasms that I was feeling. At least I had an explanation for all the suffering, but I continued to feel pretty lousy.

*Sadie and I managed to get a peak at the beautiful blue waters of the Gulf before we drove out of the area.*

Kim kindly wanted to help, but the reality was there was nothing she could do except make us popcorn while we watched a movie on the hotel TV, which was much appreciated. She stayed close by to make sure nothing more serious was going on, and I hopped on the internet to see what I could do to make this stone pass as quickly as possible so I could get on with the road trip.

As it turns out, there is no shortage of information about UTIs and kidney stones and after checking out various sources I discovered that I could do a lot to speed things along (and prevent another one) if I did the following:

Move my body - easy to oblige since I am traveling with a dog who needs regular walks, and I’m staying in places that beckon me to explore;
Drink lots and lots and lots of water, but not the fizzy stuff - ok, so I stopped drinking all the sparkling water I had loaded into the camper and switched to the regular stuff;
Lemon juice and citrus - easy peasy. I had a bag of clementines in my frig and started eating them as if they were cookies. I also had a jar of lemon juice, presumably for the cocktails I imagined we would be making after visits to distilleries. Added some to every glass of water;
Calcium rich foods - great! I had a big container of Greek yogurt in the frig;
NO eggs - so much for all the hard boiled eggs I brought along…;
NO nuts - mmm… there goes the large quantity of trail mix I brought along for snacking (my healthier alternative to chips);
NO sardines - rats! I had brought along several tins of fish to have on the go;
NO organ meats - oops! I had fried chicken livers at a diner in downtown Corinth, Alabama, just a couple days earlier;
NO alcohol or caffeine - WHAT???!!! These had been my staple beverages since the trip began.
LIMITED protein, especially red meat - Phooey! Guess I shouldn’t have had those ribs in Memphis or the brisket and pulled pork at Big Bob’s in Decatur, Alabama;
LIMITED salt - guess I better throw out those corn chips and all those crackers I brought to go with my salsa and cheese;
LIMITED chocolate and sugar - REALLY????!!!!
NO oily or fried foods - Arrrggghhh!!! I had just had one of my favorite southern meals, fried oysters, the day before I went to the emergency room.

So basically everything I had been eating and drinking before the original UTI diagnosis and since, merely served to make my situation worse, culminating in my ER visit last Saturday.

On Sunday Kim hit the road early to her brother’s house near Jacksonville, Florida, where I joined them later after picking up my new prescriptions. It was a long drive on crowded interstates and I had to keep stopping because of all the lemon water I was drinking. Not fun!!

Kim and I have separated for a few days while she visits her brother, and I continued up the coast. Sunday through Tuesday are kind of a blur for me, as I was in pain, sleeping a lot, moving slowly, and not at all sure I was going to be able to finish the trip. I pared down what I was ingesting to pretty much only yogurt, large quantities of lemon water, and clementines. Plus the antibiotics and pain killers.

Today is Thursday. I am happy to report that I have been pain free for two days. My body is tired, but my spirit is rising. Kim and I plan to meet up on Friday at Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Hemenway, South Carolina. I now think I will be able to continue the tour.

Stay tuned!

First Week Adventures