GERD

In March Kyle woke up at four a.m. one night with such severe stomach pain that I rushed him to the emergency room. While there the doctor started talking with us about different things that could be causing the pain and he started throwing out scary phrases like gal bladder disease, ulcer, kidney stones, etc. When we left the ER five hours later, they thought it maybe was a kidney stone because of the amount of blood in his urine, but the results were inconclusive since no stone showed up on the CT scan. We were, of course, totally freaked out by the whole experience not knowing what was going on. It definitely gave me a reality check on how much I love my husband and how lucky I am to have him provide for me and our boys. I was grateful for the collective power of prayer as many people were praying for us at that time.

In the weeks following the ER visit Kyle saw a Urologist, who confirmed it was not a kidney stone (which was what we believed), and ruled out other scary things, like prostate cancer. Then Kyle got to have a bladder scope (ouch!!) and an upper stomach scope. I was Kyle's ride to get his stomach scoped since he was given anesthesia for the procedure. I am glad I was there when Kyle was coming out of the anesthesia because he unintentionally confirmed how much he loves me. He was very forgetful and kept saying the same things over and over. Four times in a row he smiled at me as if I had just entered the room, then motioned for me to come kiss him, and then told me that he loved me. It was very sweet.

The stomach scope showed that Kyle had developed Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), and so far it seems to be the correct diagnosis. Now, after managing it with prescription anti-acids and minor lifestyle changes, his stomach feels back to normal.