I love working. I was taught from early age that Ora et Lavora, work dignifies the men (or in my case, the woman) so the work ethics of doing your best, doing overtime hours, staying late has been a way of life.
After all, there was always work to be done, work never ends, and all that jazz.
But there is a time when too many late nights, twelve hour shifts and endless working days catch up with you, and if you do not slow down, your body will stop you instead.
I did a normal check up and my normal Hausartz mentioned that she had identified some sort of infection in my urine. She wanted more tests, so I peed three different times in that cup and gave it to her lab. In all three there was blood, so she gave me antibiotics as it was just an infection, no big deal.
It was a big deal.
Last Saturday, after an intense week of working, cleaning, setting up Christmas trees, and planning a dinner for some friends, I came come from music classes and was slightly uncomfortable.
So I went to bed early, with a warm water bottle against my belly in the hopes that my colic would pass.
It did not, it got worse.
To the point I was shaking non stop, I could not lay down and I puked Exorcist style in my bathroom.
So I called some friends who I know had gone to hospitals here in Germany in the past, asking for help to go to a ER.
They promptly came to my place, dragged me into an Uber and we drove around town looking for a ER which was open around midnight on a Saturday night.
Due to Covid, they could not stay with me, but they watched as I was admitted to the hospital close to my place and after three unpleasant Covid tests, I was admitted into the triage.
My right kidney was blocked and inflamed, and a 0,4 kidney stone was wrecking havoc as it traveled through my body.
That explained my pain and my sudden urge to sing to the moon. And it wasn't even full moon yet.
So I was admitted to the hospital, they gave me the good painkillers and they left me in a room, alone with me, myself and all my alternate personalities, while they forcibly jump-started my kidney and flushed my bladder in saline IV.
As the days turned into nights and I lived of biscuits and unsweetened tea, I kept observing the bag connected to my catheter fill more and more with urine and blood.
Doctor booked a surgery for January in the new year for the removal of the blockage, until then I am on forced bed rest, not allowed to do any heavy lifting and any trip is cancelled (not that I had any) as my bladder is bruised from the inside and my pee is still a cute pink color.
While I was in bed I had brief flashes of everything I had to finish, all the emails I had not sent, and the applications I had not filed, but whenever I looked down to the tube connected to me and saw the globs of blood drifting slowly to the sac hanging from my bed, I realized that I should have listened better to my body.
Now it put me in forced bed rest, so i need to slow down until I am fully healed.