Hey BFDude; maybe you can find some way to link this to the high lead levels at the range and this can turn into a workers comp issue and God only knows how long you could extend this little vacation.
I know you have to know some guys who would think like that, we had a couple on our department.
Get well soon. My buddy has problems with gout, when it flares up on him it knocks him down for days at a time.