Rowan Tree and Red Thread

I'm back. More or less anyway. I was first in the schedule this morning and
was carted down to theatre just after 8am and went in about 8.45. Don't
remember anything from after they started me on oxygen prior to the
anaesthetic.

When I came round they watched me for a while in recovery (I guess; I'm not
very clear on that part) then brought me back to the ward. I've been in the
observation area by the nurses' station there since around 11.00

Unfortunately I haven't seen anyone from the surgical team yet, so I've no
idea on how the surgery went. There certainly a hole in my neck, so
something was done. I'm still pretty wiped out, but really at this stage I
wish I could talk to someone about the surgery itself and how it went.

However, I've just been given a cup of tea. That makes things much better.

And of course when I paused in writing this on my Blackberry to drink my tea
the team were in and told me that despite the inconclusive scans prior to
the surgery, they found a clearly enlarged right inferior parathyroid gland,
which they removed and saw an immediate 70% drop in the parathyroid hormone
levels. I'm to stay in overnight and they'll check the PTH levels and
calcium levels again then.

Which is to say all's going well. Phew.

I'm off to hospital today for a scheduled parathyroidectomy (an operation to remove one or more of the parathyroid glands). The kidney stones I've had, twice in the last three years, appear to be caused by a hyperactive parathyroid gland. The parathyroid produces PTH (parathyroid hormone; doctors aren't imaginative about naming hormones), which regulates calcium levels in the blood. High levels of calcium have almost certainly caused the kidney stones.

So I'm having it out. Or rather one of the four glands in question if it proves to be just a single culprit. I spent some time yesterday on the Web looking at pages on parathyroidectomies (an example for the strong of stomach here, a FAQ here and the inevitable Wikipedia page here).

Summary: gory but with a good rate of success. Possibly an interesting scar I can later blame on a drug deal gone wrong or an overenthusiastic sabre duel with a rival in college.

Liveblogging from the A&E room of the Mercy Hospital in Cork. I woke up
about an hour and a half ago with an excruciating pain in my lower back over
my left hip. Willpower and the fear of the pain getting worse got me into a
taxi and down the A&E.

I've had a kidney stone before and I suspected this is another one. Easy
diagnosis for a layman in the circumstances but that also means I have a
good idea how long this is going to take and how painful it can be. (Very
painful, in short).

I'm on a trolley in A&E now, calling down blessings on the medical staff and
the creators of Pethedine. More details as I get them.

And be nice to sammywol if you can. She's at home looking after
our daughter, Rowan, and fighting a bad cold on top of this new worry.