The most painful part of the procedure at The Ministry of Urology was the extraction of the stent.

It was a procedure in four parts. Maybe more.

First there was the consultation.

I am waiting in an exam room. There are no magazines to hold in your hand and read; Covid is responsible for this procedure. My smartphone does not work inside the exam room. I sit. I wait. I don’t know how long I waited but it seemed like a long time. I said The Lord’s Prayer. Emmet Fox said “The Lord’s Prayer is the most important of all the Christian documents.” Fox was an Irish New Thought spiritual leader and author of the early 20th century, primarily through years of the Great Depression, until his death in 1951. Fox’s large Divine Science church services were held in New York City.

“Our Father, who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever.”

I was at The Ministry of Urology to discuss with the doctor my recent ultrasound. There was soon a knock on the door. “Hello,” she said. “Come in,” I said. We stood at the drawing there on the back wall and she pointed at it and she said: you may not have symptoms until the stones move down the tubes (ureters) through which urine empties into your bladder. When this happens, the stones can block the flow of urine out of the kidneys. I recommend a procedure to remove the stone.”

I am imagining the Connecticut River one block from where I sit with the physician’s assistant; The Flow.

Maybe I should simply write an outline for you.

• Pain in lower right back
• Consultation
• Operation; often called a Procedure
• Stent extraction
• Years past
• Pain in lower right back
• Ultrasound
• CT scan
• Consultation
• Procedure
• Extraction
• Years past
• Pain in lower right back
• Ultrasound
• CT scan
• Procedure
• Extraction
• Follow-up consultation scheduled for September 2023.

The extraction of the stent was the most painful part of the procedure at The Ministry of Urology.