Mike's New Hangout

So ... Mike has a new local hangout. The ER. He has been there twice in the last two weeks. And saw the same doctor each time. I've explained that there are potentially less expensive ways to make friends!

The first trip was not intended to be an ER trip. He had been working on the camper/ice house to prep it for a weekend of ice fishing with his dad. Somewhere in that prep was a need to shave down the shaft of the auger with a dremel. He did all the right stuff - wearing goggles and putting the shield on the dremel. Later in the evening - when we were putting the girls to bed, his eye started bothering him. When I was free from the girls, he checked it out in the mirror and could see a metal sliver in his eye. Best we can figure, it was on his hand and he rubbed his eye.

It was bothering him enough that he headed off to Urgent Care. Unfortunately the eye equipment was in the ER ... so he got routed there instead. Metal extraction went well and other than antibiotic ointment that he had to put in his eye several times a day, it was a pretty easy ailment.

His second trip was not quite so pleasant. Friday night, Declan spent the night in the kid room (and not in ours!). At 6:50 in the morning, I heard lots of giggling from across the hall. I whispered to Mike that I thought the girls had discovered the new roommate. He didn't answer so I asked him something else. Still no comment. I rolled over to find that my roommate was gone.

I found him pacing the basement in pain ... where he had been for a couple hours. The internet told us that it was probably kidney stones. The pain was bad enough that he decided to head in and verify our diagnosis - and maybe get some pain relief. His new friend the ER doc confirmed that he had "the stones" (as Q calls them. Bugs calls them "crystal rocks"). They were small enough that he could pass them on his own. So far, three have come out. He's doing okay, but still has some pain and discomfort.

The gang and I are mostly supportive ... except we can't stop saying "kidney stones" like one of my favorite clips from Friends. Luckily, Mike thinks it's funny too!