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I am glad to say it's Friday -- the Friday after Memorial Day. 'Cause let's just say, the holiday didn't turn out as we had planned. We were supposed to go to Cago to visit with family, and friends and instead spent the entire weekend -- through Monday -- at the hospital.

I started to feel crummy Thursday night. But I thought I had just overdone it. Being 24 weeks pregnant, I get tired quickly. And let's face it, the pregnancy has been far from easy. So like any other woman, I ignored the pain. Work went OK in the morning. I was still sore, and I wasn't feeling 100 percent but that was nothing new. Ma called me, and was immediately concerned because she said I sounded sick. My boss asked me if I was OK. She thought I looked sick. I knew we were planning on a huge weekend. I wanted to -- I needed to -- go to Chicago. But something inside me told me to call my OB. It made sense, I would call them, get some reassurance and continue with my plans.

30 minutes later I was on my way to the hospital. They were worried I was in labor. 16 weeks early. Yes, I drove myself. This is when it becomes a blur. My parents wanted to come up right away but I was still thinking we'd make it to Chicago. Our friend -- who was supposed to go with us to the C -- came over to watch Jack. I am not sure when Husband got to the hospital. I was just worried about Rex. As soon as they determined he was fine, and I wasn't going into labor, I lost control of everything. The details are disgusting. You can imagine. I fell apart. The pain was greater than when I had Jack. And Jack was 9 pounds 6 oz. 21 1.5 inches ... pushed out in 38 minutes. No drugs.

Apparently I talked to people on the phone Friday and Saturday. If you called me, I am sorry. I have no memory of our conversations.

So there I was hooked up to all these baby monitors feeling like I may not make it. And Rex wasn't happy either. He didn't like the monitors pushing on his area. He kept kicking them. Again and again, we were trying to listen to his heartbeat and we just heard, POUND, POUND, POUND. A good sign, really. He was in there, staying in there and didn't want visitors or interruptions, damn it.

Tests came back. Kidney infection, likely a stone. I would have to have surgery to see what was going on in there. I can't begin to tell you how much kidney issues hurt. I feel for all people who have experienced what I have experienced. I feel for the people who will someday experienced it. It's just so bad.

It took them two days to stabilize the pain. I had my surgery Sunday morning. My parents came up Friday and went back and forth between in our house and the hospital. Poor Jack didn't really know what was going on. He took it well. He's a very good boy and tried to understand why Mama was sick.

Did you know having a general anesthetic when you are pregnant can cause the baby to be aborted? I didn't. 15 minutes before going into surgery, I learned that tidbit. So, I opted out. Though the percentage was small, I wasn't about to lose Rex. So I opted for a spinal. That means I was awake. I was numb from the waist down, but awake. It's blurry how it went. All I know is my stone was huge and my infection was great. The doctor told me that if I hadn't gotten my surgery, the infection would have spread to the baby. My God.

I got out Monday. My arms are completely bruised. I found out my veins don't agree with IVs. Every vein they tried collapsed. Literally, collapsed. I made quick friends with Ruth the IV specialist. She was the only person who could get anything to work. Failed veins makes it difficult to get drugs... this causes more pain. You get what I am saying here. I now have a stent in my kidney to help with function. The doctor told my dad it hasn't worked properly for at least 6 months. It could be a problem for me post-baby.

I went back to work Tuesday afternoon. It was too early. I went back Wednesday for the morning. The nurses had said I would be a new person and could back to work anytime. But I am not a new person. I still feel like crap -- better than the weekend but far from good. Thursday I was home with bleeding. Today I am sore, still bleeding. My stent is poking me, and my baby is having fun kicking me.

But the baby is fine. And that's all that matters.