I had a strange, intense experience immediately following the recording of Invocation. I had not even made it home from the recording session, in fact, when it happened. The experience of what is often considered the most painful thing a man’s body can do to him will always be attached to the positive memories of recording this album. Hopefully everyone drinks more water after reading this! Here is a document of what happened:
07/03/09
KIT finished recording our second album Invocation with Phil Elverum in Anacortes
07/04/09
KIT played Jonny X and the Groadies’ 13th anniversary show in Portland
07/05/09
We were driving from Portland to Oakland. Feeling pain in my lower back, I mentioned to George that I was considering visiting a chiropractor for the first time. Several hours later I suddenly felt like I needed to use the restroom but nothing came out when we pulled over. Weird. Fifteen minutes later I demanded we pull over again because I really needed to go this time. It was so painful that I ignored the Hell’s Angels waiting in line at the gas station bathroom and ran in right past them. Nothing came out of me again. WTF!
Extreme abdominal pains, short breath, nausea, and cold sweats set in shortly after we got back in the car. Eventually I was consumed with pain beyond anything I had ever experienced. I waited to pass out but it did not happen. In all seriousness, I tell my bandmates about my symptoms in case I lose consciousness before getting to a hospital. We were in the middle of nowhere. I had no clue what was happening to my body. Absolutely nothing was on my mind besides the pain. My mind had never been so focused on one thing.
We made some calls to friends in Sacramento and they gave us directions to an emergency room outside of Davis. I got scanned and gave them some bodily fluids. They gave me an IV drip with pain killers and nausea medication. They had to give me more hardcore pain medication because the first one wasn’t working. Finally I felt great. Still nervous. After a few hours in the hospital, I left knowing I had a medium sized kidney stone that might be able to pass naturally.
07/06/09
Parts of the stone came out but I was still in pain. I did nothing but sleep on my brother’s couch. I woke up feeling like I was going to puke but nothing came out. I don’t eat. All I wanted was water.
07/09/09
My physical condition got really bad over the past few days. All I have is the state medical insurance which only seems to cover emergency room visits. The night before I kept waking up from pain and nausea. The meds might be causing it. No real sleep. At 12:30pm I arose covered in sweat yet feeling a lot better. I went to the bathroom and passed a pretty large stone plus some fragments. Almost instantly after passing the stone my sweats stopped and I suddenly had energy for the first time in days. The free clinic couldn’t make an appointment for about a week.
07/18/09
It turns out that kidney stone experience was sort of a refresher. I started appreciating the “little things” much more.
07/30/09
I got the results of my kidney stone analysis. It was a calcium oxalate stone. The number one contributor to these things is dehydration. The best way to prevent another is by drinking a lot more water. I should also intake these high oxalate foods sparingly:
* Dark green vegetables, such as spinach.
* Rhubarb.
* Chocolate.
* Tea and cola.
* Wheat bran.
* Nuts.
* Cranberries.
* Beans.
* Coffee.
I continue eating beans and nuts as usual since it’s my main source of protein. Reducing chocolate and dark green vegetables is sort of a bummer. I don’t really care about the others.
This sucked at the time. Now that it’s over, I think the experience did some good for me.
