Superstar gold medal Olympic gymnast, Simone Biles, was in a significant amount of pain and was brought to the emergency room. U.S. gymnastics officials thought she might have appendicitis and were starting to work out how to approach the team event without the superstar on the roster. A CT scan revealed it to be a kidney stone. Very painful, of course, but at least Biles did not require emergency surgery.
Biles nicknamed the kidney stone "the Doha Pearl" and the reigning Olympic gymnastics champion grabbed her stuff and discharged herself from the hospital, telling the staff she'll deal with the pain later.
"I heard roller coasters might help kidney stones," Biles said. "And I'm like 'Well, I'm basically like my own little rollercoaster out there.'"
So Biles put herself back in a leotard at the Aspire Academy in Doha, ready to compete again. Because of doping rules, Biles couldn’t take hard drugs to help with the pain. Instead, to get through the four events, she just had to grin and bear the excruciating pain.
Smiling through each twist, flip and turn, the 21-year-old Biles was nearly flawless during qualifying Saturday. She posted the highest scores on uneven bars, floor exercise and vault en route to a total of 60.965 on a day when the Americans put up a team score of 174.429 -- a staggering 12 points clear of second-place Japan through six of 11 qualifying groups.
The leading cause of kidney stones is a lack of water in the body. Certain medications can increase the risk of developing kidney stones. Kidney stones can grow to the size of a golf ball while maintaining a sharp, crystalline structure.
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The stones may be small and pass unnoticed through the urinary tract, but they can also cause extreme pain as they leave the body.
A kidney stone usually remains symptomless until it moves into the ureter. When symptoms of kidney stones become apparent, they commonly include:
- severe pain in the groin and/or side
- blood in urine
- vomiting and nausea
- white blood cells or pus in the urine
- reduced amount of urine excreted
- burning sensation during urination
- persistent urge to urinate
- fever and chills if there is an infection
Kidney stones that remain inside the body can also lead to many complications, including...
... blockage of the tube connecting the kidney to the bladder, which obstructs the path that urine uses to leave the body.
According to research, people with kidney stones have a significantly higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
Medical conditions such as Crohn's disease, urinary tract infections, renal tubular acidosis, hyperparathyroidism, medullary sponge kidney, and Dent's disease increase the risk of kidney stones.
