A TRIP TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM

Matt Hattabaugh
Oct 27, 2017
4 min read

Beirut, Lebanon

A big event, and new experience for us this month was Julie's medical procedure.

She awoke on Sunday, the (22nd) morning at 1 am in pain and at 3 am she woke me up saying, 'something's wrong'. Julie’s pain tolerance is high so seeing her in tears alerted me, something indeed was wrong. We began to pray and it seemed to us that a kidney stone was causing the pain. Thank God for our good friends. We called two dear friends that are both nurses. They told us, based on symptoms and pain, it was likely a kidney stone. By 6 am, the pain had worsened considerably so we went to the ER.

Near the CLUB1040 Mission House, there is a hospital. It is a very nice community, and because it was so close we decided to go there. The hospital was deserted! All the doors were open and lights on, but no one was there. It was like something from a movie!

I called a friend and got directions to another hospital and, on arrival, were seen immediately. Julie’s vitals, blood pressure and temperature were both normal. So, the ER doctor began a battery of tests and a CT scan. A nurse came and gave Julie some pain medicine by IV. Then a staff member came and asked if we had medical insurance. When I said, “no”, they told me the tests would be $500 since the doctor had ordered a CT scan.

After 5 hours, they brought in the Urologist resident to explain the diagnosis and our options. The stone was 0.2 inches wide (which is the size of the canal that runs from the kidney to the bladder) and just less than 0.5 inches long. The CT showed the ureter canal blocked which was causing the pain. The danger was inflammation of the kidney and infection which could be life threatening. Because of where the stone was lodged, it couldn't be localized for ultrasonic fragmentation; and it couldn't be extracted by Endoscopy. The doctor said that though painful, it was good to identify and treat immediately preventing serious illness that results from infection.

Ten hours after arriving at the hospital the Urologist inserted a uterine stent. Because of its irregular shape, usually, the stent bypasses the stone; meaning the stent must remain in place until the stone traverses the canal - about 6 weeks or more. However, in Julie’s case, the doctor pushed the stone back into the kidney. This both unobstructed the canal completely and made it possible for ultrasonic fragmentation. He was excited to report that there was no damage to the ureter canal and by the next morning, the swelling caused by the stone in the ureter had disappeared.

Julie did however have a tough recovery form the anesthesia. Here instead of slowly waking you up from surgery, she was back in her room after 30 minutes. What is more, they wouldn't administer any pain medicine for two hours – until enough time had passed from the general anesthesia. So, nausea from the anesthetic combined with the intense pain from the procedure made for a rough evening. Finally, she fell asleep about 20 hours after the episode began. God is good!

Altogether, including the prescriptions, the cost was $1700 for the tests in the ER and the stent with another $300 - $400 due for the ultrasonic fragmentation. Thank God, we did not need to borrow the money, but it was certainly unexpected and not in our budget. If you would like to help with these costs you can, CLICK HERE.

The prognosis for Julie is two parts. First, since the stone is inside the kidney the doctor can disintegrate it with ultrasound - an outpatient procedure. The second part is to remove the stent, which again must be done while under general anesthesia. The stent itself is quite uncomfortable, so, we want it removed as soon as possible. This will depend on the fragmented size of the stone after the ultrasound therapy.

The doctors and hospital staff were all very professional, though this hospital seemed to have mostly French educated staff, making communication more difficult than what we usually find. The cleanliness of the room and equipment was, in my estimation, USA standard. One point that seemed a little different was the use of masks. Doctors and nurses working in the ER wear surgical masks - all the time, even during paperwork and (my favorite) talking on the phone or to a patient's husband. With all the precaution of the masks, gloves were nonexistent!

Thank you everyone who commented on Facebook, keeping up with us through the procedure. We are so thankful and encouraged by your engagement with us in all we are doing. An emergency medical procedure has made apparent to us the need for medical insurance for our family. A priority now is to identify a reasonable coverage option.

UPDATE - November 1, 2017

Great Report! God is so faithful.

Today we went to a center for the kidney stone to be broken up by ultrasonic treatment. When we arrived, we were told the cost of the procedure was going to be 3 times as much what we expected! We paid, and thanked God for providing for all our needs.

The technician took Julie back for the treatment. After some initial preparations, the doctor began to search for the stone to perform the fragmentation. For nearly an hour he searched, with the help of another doctor and a radiologist. Finally, they said, "Madam, you do not have a stone in your kidney." The doctor asked that we go to a different hospital to have another ultrasound test to locate the stone. Again, doctor searched - but could not find the stone.

After all the tests, the doctor said, "well, all that is left now is to remove the stent. It seems the stone is gone." So the doctor is removing the stent on Friday 11/3.

We thank God for each one of you and are confident that your supply to us is making an eternal difference in the nation of Lebanon; and believe that you are receiving your best and greatest harvest in your life in these days!