Of all the afflictions that plague humans, kidney stones are amongst the most painful.  It is estimated that 10 percent of all people in the United States and Canada will have a kidney stone at some point in their lives.  Men tend to be affected more often than women.
A kidney stone develops from crystals that separate from urine and build up on the inner surfaces of the kidney.  Normally, urine contains chemicals that prevent or inhibit the crystals from forming.  In some people these inhibitors do not work and stones are formed.
For some unknown reason, the number of persons in the United States and Canada with kidney stones has been increasing over the past 20 years.  Caucasian people are more prone than are people of other ethnic origin.  Stones do occur more often in men, but the instances in women is increasing.  Kidney stones strike most people between the ages of 20 and 40.  Once a person gets more than one stone, they are likely to develop others.  Donald L. Winfield fit the description, but what happened from there, defies all current medical knowledge.