This Christmas, I’m thankful to have resolved some health complications
Thanksgiving and Christmas are holidays that make me grateful. I am thankful for the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus, and how he not only brought me through all the events of this year in one piece, but also made me triumphant in many areas.
One of my favorite victories took place this fall. A few years ago, I didn’t even know that kidney stones were a possible complication of SMA — a fact I now know all too well. Since 2022, I’ve had three surgeries to remove kidney stones.
I undergo ultrasounds of my kidneys every four months to check for stones. Last March, the procedure revealed a large stone in my left kidney. It wasn’t causing a blockage, but it could if it moved, along with considerable pain. The doctor wanted to remove it before it became an emergency.
This surgery would be like my second one, where doctors went in through my groin. This is much simpler than the first surgery, where doctors accessed my kidneys through my back because there were hundreds of stones.
A setback
My third kidney stone surgery had to be canceled twice because I was sick, but I finally had it done on Oct. 8. I woke up from the surgery happy and smiling, but we soon discovered a problem: I wasn’t able to urinate on my own. This complication hadn’t occurred after the first two surgeries, so it surprised me, my mom, and my urologist, who had done all three operations.
The surgery occurred on a Wednesday, and I went home that same day with a Foley catheter to help me urinate. The plan was to leave the catheter in until Friday. The doctor said that my bladder muscles likely needed time to recover from the anesthesia.
On Friday, my mom, who is a nurse, pulled out my Foley catheter at home. But I still couldn’t urinate on my own, no matter how hard I tried. We reinserted the Foley and planned to leave it in until Monday morning, when I was due to have the stent from the surgery removed. My mom and my home healthcare nurse would be able to pull out both at home. Most of the stent was inside my body, but the end of it hung outside of my groin and looked like a piece of string.
On Monday morning, the unexpected happened again. The Foley catheter and stent became stuck and wouldn’t come out. This was a situation that we couldn’t just sit on, so my mom quickly decided to take me to the emergency room. Within minutes, I was in our wheelchair-accessible van, ready to go.
I didn’t have to wait long to be seen in the ER, and the staff soon removed the Foley and the stent. Much to our dismay, though, I still wasn’t able to urinate on my own.
We decided that instead of leaving a Foley catheter in for days, my mom and home healthcare nurses would insert a catheter every few hours, empty my bladder, and then remove the catheter.
Resolving the problem
This would give me a chance to practice urinating on my own when I didn’t have a catheter in — something I wouldn’t have been able to do if I had a Foley catheter in all the time. It was frustrating because I’d never had problems urinating on my own before. We wondered what had changed with this surgery.
Thankfully, as the days passed, I was able to regain my ability, drop by drop. Two weeks after the surgery, I was able to urinate entirely on my own.
We still don’t know what caused the problem, but I don’t regret having the surgery. I’m also not trying to scare anyone else away from this kind of procedure if it’s necessary for your health. Otherwise, a dangerous and painful situation can occur.
I thank God it all turned out well in the end. Stay tuned in the new year to read about other triumphs in the face of challenges. Let’s soar together into a hopeful 2026. Merry Christmas!
Note: SMA News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of SMA News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to spinal muscular atrophy.
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