NCCo Executive Paul Clark treated for painful kidney stone

New Castle County Executive Paul Clark was treated at Christiana Hospital today for a painful kidney stone.

Clark was beginning his remarks at a morning event in Newark when the pain hit, which Clark likened to “someone hitting you in the kidney with a baseball bat.”

Clark, 55, was treated at the hospital, where the kidney stone apparently passed, and drove himself home around 3:30 p.m.

The county executive was with Gov. Jack Markell and others at the Newark Municipal Building to celebrate the town getting a Great American Main Street Award. The national award was given for the success of the Downtown Newark Partnership, a public-private initiative that focuses on downtown improvement projects.

Clark had to cut his speech short. He tried to drive himself to the hospital, but the pain got so bad he had to pull over and call county paramedics for a ride.

He said he now understands why even women who have experienced childbirth have called passing a kidney stone one of the most painful things a person can experience.

“When I was a kid I had a broken arm reset without anesthesia,” Clark said. “That was nothing compared to this.”