Amusement Park or Emergency Room: Which do you prefer?

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800px-invertigo_at_great_americaA bad day at the Amusement Park is better than a good day at the Emergency Room! So how did this happen? Well, it all started about six months ago. You had started saving in the winter to take yourself and your family to Walt Disney World. This was going to be a big deal for you and your family. Everyone was looking forward to the adventure of their lives for the first time at Walt Disney World.

About a week before the big day, you started to notice that you had some lower back pain, seemed to be more on the sides! It started to get worse, but you did not want to have it checked out. Certainly not a week before the big vacation you had so meticulously planned for your wife and three kids. There was no way a minor back pain was going to derail you from your mission.

Of course, a few days before leaving for Walt Disney World, you started to feel a little nauseous, felt like you had to vomit but nothing happened. So doing the most logical thing, take some acid control medicine. That should do it. The back problem, well no big deal, it should pass in a few days.

Then just the day before the trip, you started to have some painful times do something simple like urinating. Now you were starting to get worried. Okay, you will go to the emergency room as soon as you get back from the vacation. A few minor health discomforts would not dissuade you from your purpose. You were taking your family to Walt Disney World! Not going was not an option!

During the drive to the park, which was about 5 hours away, you started having a fever and then felt cold, and having difficulty sitting while driving. Frequent rest stops created about a 7-hour drive. However, you finally made it to Walt Disney World.

You forgot about your pain and your nauseous fever for a second. You saw the look of joy and happiness on the looks of your wife and three children. Your oldest was a young lady who was a junior in High School. She, of course, knew everything about life. The other two children were boys, one in Junior High and one in Grade School.

Your wife of 20 years was as beautiful as ever to you and hoped that whatever was going on with this middle age body of yours was not serious. You decided to the tough it out like a man and make sure that they had the time of their lives.

You did your best to see the attractions but with the physical pain you were feeling, was not sure about riding any of the roller coasters. In the meantime, your kids and wife were having the time of their lives. The excitement and joy you were seeing were worth all the planning and expense that brought you to this day! This, of course, was day one of a 5 day Walt Disney World vacation. This was going to be a tough one!

Around 3 PM, your daughter with that little “please Dad” look in her eyes that you can never resist begged you to ride with her on Big Thunder Mountain. How could you refuse? This was the daughter who was the twinkle in your eye. You agreed only if you could get on the last car, not the front.

You let her know you were feeling a like sick so the front car you thought would create more problems. She agreed and there you were, after a little bit of a wait, strapped into a car next to your daughter. You braced yourself for the worse.

You went on the ride, had a blast. Your daughter hugged you after the ride and you quickly went to the nearest restroom. Urinating was a little easier and to your amazement, you felt great. Your back pains seem to subside. In fact, you went on another ride with you daughter.

What followed were 4 more days of feeling great and having the time of your life! You could not explain what happened. You just know you felt great after the ride. So to not lose the experience, after the vacation, you explained to your wife and daughter how you were starting to feel about two weeks earlier and the pain you had leading up to the big vacation.

Then you explained to them about the ride on Big Thunder Mountain. Your wife and daughter listened intently to your story, then when you finished, they both looked at each other and burst out in hysterical laughter. This went on for about 15 minutes.

You were somewhat taken back. You just described one of the most painful experiences in your life and those closest to you were laughing at you. Should you feel hurt, offended or laugh with them.

Then in unison, they both said, “Honey, you passed a kidney stone on Big Thunder Mountain. Don’t you keep up with the latest research?” Here it is a study done by the University of Michigan. It is about Kidney Stones and Roller Coasters[i]

You read the article with intense amazement. It was a study done by David Wartinger on the ability of a roller coaster ride, specifically the Big Thunder Mountain ride, the last car had the amazing ability to help people pass small kidney stones.  Of all the rides, you happen to have picked the only one and the last car that would do the trick. This was a discovery of a lifetime. You hugged your wife and kids and told them how much you love them. Now, going to Walt Disney World annually and riding Big Thunder Mountain is the precursor to your annual physical.

Now the big question is, how can I get my doctor to write the prescription that going to Walt Disney World and riding Big Thunder Mountain was part of your health care regimen therapy for insurance purposes.

 

Author: betty norris

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