Time to get rid of the kidney stone.

I posted [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/GenX/comments/1pm1900/the_one_ive_dreaded/?ref=share&ref_source=link) a long time ago. It has been a long stupid saga. Suffice to say, there are many smaller stories that would explain why it took me from December 14th to March 27th to have a formal diagnosis and treatment plan, but I have that plan today. My kidney stone, not long for this world, is hanging out in the lower lobe of my left kidney, and he is a healthy boy at 9.7mm. My urologist gave me the expected options - lithotripsy to smash it and then pee it out, or surgery up my pee hole to smash it and vacuum it out, with a 10% chance of needing to get up in there twice, the first time to put in a stent, then a wait. Fuck. So I did what I did when I had my heart stuff - I asked her - what would you do if you were me? I got the same answer as my cardiologist - I'm not you. (aside: is it a liability thing?) Me again: what would you choose for your treatment if you had my exact diagnosis for yourself? Her: I would do the one that does not require anesthesia. And I hadn't expected that. As horrifying as the idea of using my peehole for surgical access sounds, that process is DONE when you wake up. There is conscious sedation for the lithotripsy. I asked how small they smash it - to dust was the answer. It's still a significant volume of dust, and there is also the fun fact that due to it's location, it might just not come out. But you know, I didn't go to medical school. So maybe she's right. Anyhow, I picked one, and it's on Tuesday, and of course I'm waffling, but there's really no good choices here. Did I say fuck yet? Fuck. FUCK.