Free at Last, Free at Last

........from kidney stones, that is. Okay funny story, Sunday night I received a call from my friend Julie LaForte. Check her out at http://www.sweetmemoriesphotography.blogspot.com/ and soon her new children's store in the plaza. She was calling to give me her at-home solution for kidney stones. She has had them twice and this method worked both times for her. I'm pretty sure she said she even paid for this.

2 six packs of coca-cola (must be the real stuff)

6-8 oz. of pureed asparagus

Drink the "coke" within two hours. Within 30 minutes after finishing the last coke drink the asparagus puree.

When I got off the phone I was prepared for Bryan to laugh and in the most loving way tell me to jump in a lake. However, he did not. Much to my surprise after reading a few other success stories on the web he headed out to Newtown Foodland to purchase everything we needed. Once he returned home with 2 liters instead of cans of coke (he made sure he had enough), 2 cans of asparagus (since the store did not have any fresh), and lemon juice (he thought it would help the taste of the asparagus...not sure why he thought that) he sat down and started chugging the "coke." Keep in mind that Bryan hasn't drank any soft drinks in over a year. He downs half the bottle in about 30 minutes and says he can't do it. He keeps telling me there is no way he can drink that much "coke" and that he's going to throw up. I try to encourage him to keep going. We then cook the asparagus and puree it. I love fresh asparagus (grilled), but Bryan can't stand it in any form. So, I knew that this would be interesting. He starts gagging from the smell, but manages to get about 1/4 of it down. Picture this: A grown man holding his nose drinking pureed asparagus from a blender doing the pee pee dance because he has just drank 144 ounces of coca cola. I was hysterical! Bryan stops drinking the puree and says I can't drink anymore. (Did I mention that I read not to go to the bathroom until everything has been consumed?) After some serious bribing, we make a deal. He said, if I would drink some....then, he would finish it off. No problem, right? Wrong! He has added about half the bottle of lemon juice and it smelled (and tasted) horrible, but we did it. And the even better news is...he passed the kidney stone. I know it's crazy that it worked, but all we know is.....it did. YIPPEE! I sooooo wish he had let me video this. :)

Bryan said later, "Well, Doc, there's your 20%! Thanks, Julie, you made believers out of us.