A Different Type of Delivery

Well, it doesn't take a semi-truck to deliver supplies for home hemodialysis. I hadn't received any word about today's delivery so I called today and found out that UPS would deliver our order before 7pm tonight...so no need for anyone to be here for the delivery...they just leave itnon the front porch! And, luckily amongst these boxes only one had much weight to it...but it was still picking up each of these boxes and getting them into the house and into the correct pile. But it is nice to not have the vast amounts of boxes delivered every month. Hemodialysis has more medical supplies...syringes (5 kinds), gauze pads, tape, alcohol wipes, cleansing swabs, etc., etc. All those boxes fill up the shelves in the downstairs "coat" closet and the top of the card table. And, there are a ton of books that go with this treatment...too many to remember which one has what information in them! I keep saying that I need to copy the pages that I use the most and make my own notebook...but so far am too tired, or is it lazy, after the treatment is over to do anything else that has to do with the treatment once it is over! Once it is over, I don't want to think about it till the next time! We have had a nice "day off." It was busy, but at least there wasn't any connecting or disconnecting or concern about what alarm might go off on the machine! I did have to make another batch of dialysate, but that is going quicker...it should since one batch only lasts for two treatments. We've had our day off and now we will have three days before our next day off. Today, we got in the mail the labels for our next blood draw for labs. That is supposed to be the first Monday of the month, but since the first Monday in September is Labor Day, we will be doing it on Tuesday. I have to do pre treatment labs and a post treatment draw that day...oh, boy! Can hardly wait...not! But these are all drawn through his access ports so it isn't that bad...no sticks...but lots to remember and do before and after and then get them ready and call for a FedEx pick up. Too much talk about dialysis on a day off!! Woody says that he is starting to notice that his arm is healing. He can now touch the bottom part of his arm. He doesn't want to bother the stitched area above his elbow or the stitched place farther up, but he has touched in between and says he can feel the tubing! I asked him of he could feel the blood flowing through, but he said he hasn't pressed on his arm that much to feel that! And, he doesn't want me to touch his arm! Here I am talking about dialysis "things" again! Guess that is our life now whether we are having a day off or not! I was determined to do some stitching this afternoon. I sat down and put about ten stitches in before I fell asleep. When I woke up I put about ten more and finished one tiny object on the ornament I am stitching! Maybe I will get this ornament finished and move on to another...eventually! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Woody Did It!

At the end of Woody's treatment...literally less than five minutes from being finished. Woody jostled his dialysis lines and caused a red warning. I was not happy with him...especially since something like this happened yesterday at the end of the treatment. Between me and a phone call with our nurse, we got it stopped and I was able to do the rinse back (the machine uses saline to clean the lines of blood, putting what isnleft in the lines back into him...reason it is called a rinse back...this way he doesn't lose blood in the dialysis process. And, as I say after each of these crises, I guess we didn't mess up too much...he is still alive! Hopefully I can convince him not to touch those two lines while the treatment is going. Maybe he will remember. I guess truthfully we are lucky. The nurse told us that some people's lines when accessed the way Woody's are currently can cause alarms just when the patient turns his head. Woody's access doesn't seem to be super sensitive since it hasn't caused too many alarms...but just the ones that it has are too many! I did our grocery shoppung this afternoon. I wanted to take advantage of Tennessee's tax free food days that we have had for the month of August. Tomorrow's the last day of August, I needed to go today since we are supposed to get a supply delivery, though we haven't heard anything about a time for the delivery. I would like to be here when the delivery gets here so the delivery person can bring them in the house...if not, I will be lugging them in from the front porch. I just hope they do come tomorrow. Another case of "time will tell!" Woody is still bothered by pain in his arm, but I think it is a bit less. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Monday! Monday!

I was just sitting here thinking that I would like to go take some pictures...my cameras must be feeling neglected! A couple of barn photos showed up when I was looking for something so I am just posting one that I may have posted before...and, this one I didn't look at closely when I chose it...I will see it when I publish tonight's blog. I decided to blog early when I realized that it is Monday and it is prayer meeting night for Woody and his group. I will need to be transportation for Woody so I will go on and blog now. Not a lot has happened today except for dialysis. We did have an alarm right at the very end today and I just kept it going...guess it was okay...at least he is still alive! Once again, I spent a good part of the afternoon napping. I am attempting to uncover my sewing cutting table. It got covered up again, when I got my new chair and I still need to find a new place or throw out some of the things that got placed on the table! I have been woking slowly at that. I am still hoping that I can find the energy to do a little sewing...one of these days. If the cutting table is cleared off that will help when the energy arises! Woody says that the pain is lessening in his arm. When it was time for his last Tylenol, he chose to take only one. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Saturday Doings

Today has been a day of doing a little of this and a little of that. Of course, our main "duty" of the day was dialysis for Woody. We were through by noon. I headed off to the pharmacy as soon as he was finished to pick up one of my prescriptions and get Tylenol for Woody. He still doesn't feel all that great, but he is starting to improve. His pain seems to be easing up some. I also ran into the grocery store down the street and got the ground pork that I use to make Woody's breakfast sausage. When I got home, I got our lunch, finished cleaning up the dialysis area, and by then I was ready for a nap! I think that Woody napped some this afternoon, too. He also did a bit of dozing during his dialysis. I have done some wash. Have put one load away and have another about to come out of the drier and another to go in. I decided to get ingredients together for making a pan of enchiladas. I have made the enchilada sauce and the gravy. Now I have to decide if I want to put the enchiladas together the rest of the way so their flavors can meld until it is time to cook them. Will have to grate cheese if I am going to do that. I did nap this afternoon. One of these days I won't be so tired after finishing up with a dialysis session...at least, I keep telling myself that! Woody is watching his St. Louis Cardinals play the Atlanta Braves...so he is occupied for a couple of hours! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Tiring Day Off

I think we are both so tired after our day off from dialysis. We plan days off from dialysis around appointments...Woody had two today. The first was with the surgeon who took out his PD catheter two weeks ago. Today he got the stitches out from that surgery and he also took out the two stitches up on his neck that are from his temporary hemodialysis catheter...he had two wiry stitches at the base of his neck on the front side. Dr. Thomason had asked about them at the time he removed his catheter, but got busy and didn't do it so we asked him to today. Dr. Thomason hadn't done that surgery, but happily took stitches out today. Woody is glad to have them gone. Dr. Thomason is just the nicest and most considerate doctor/surgeon. He was concerned that Woody wasn't feeling the greatest today and asked if there was anything he could do. Woody just asked for sympathy and he readily agreed to give Woody some! I just sit there and watch this doctor who I taught when he was three or four years old. I think of the math and reading skills that we shared through the Montessori method and know that he got a good foundation in his education at that young age, as I was a part of it...very proud to have been able to give that foundation to him and many, many other children. I will always be in the Montessori method's corner! Glad that both our children went to Montessori preschool and that I was able to share this method with hundreds of children including our grandchildren. When I get to see my school children as adults it makes the memories of their early days all that much more special. As I mentioned at the start, Woody still isn't feeling the greatest after his Monday surgery to put in the graft for his hemodialysis, He is still having quite a bit of pain. After his stitches were removed, he decided that he really didn't want to wait at the Oncology office till it was time for his appointment. So we came home for a little over an hour. He had lunch and then we headed back for his Keytruda appointment. His oncologist said that he had never seen this type graft surgery. I left Woody at the Oncology office and got gas for the car and then headed home till they called to say he was finished. I usually try to do some cleaning in Woody's room, but today I just sat and read and texted with Cheryl, my favorite/only sister! I think that I may have dozed a little, too. Woody chose not to take anything to his alpointment to read today. He said that he just wanted to close his eyes during his treatment. It is hard for him to transfer from chair to wheelchair to car and back again. Only having one arm (and one leg) to be able to really use makes it very difficult. He does use his graft arm a little...but that causes him quite a bit of pain. And, he uses his bad leg, but as little as possible. Having so many trips in and out of the chair and car today wasn't easy for him. I think he will be glad to stay home and "just" have dialysis tomorrow! We will attempt to go back to our planned days off next week = Sunday and Wednesday. Of course, that could change if an appointment should pop up. But for the moment the only thing on our calendar is dialysis supply delivery and all we have to do for that is be here...and I even think that they will leave this delivery on our front porch so don't absolutely have to be home. So day off today, dialysis tomorrow, and then day off on Sunday...then two days of dialysis...a day off...then three days of dialysis and at that point we will be back to the start of another week. I did make Woody another meatloaf after he got home from Oncology so he had a meatloaf sandwich for supper. He's wanting apple crisp so I may try to make that tomorrow. At the moment all I will say we will definitely do tomorrow is dialysis! Dialysis has to be done...everything else is optional...will happen if strength can be found to do "whatever." Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Wishing the Happiest of Birthdays to Our First Grandchild!

Wishing a very happy birthday to our Erin Elizabeth, our first, and thus, oldest grandchild. We became grandparents 29 years ago today! And, here we are holding her for the first time...all three of us have changed quite a bit in 29 years!!!! Looking back through her scrapbook is making me feel old! It doesn't seem possible that we have been grandparents for almost 30 years!

We've had a pretty good day. Woody's dialysis treatment went well today. I got in touch with our hemodialysis nurse to tell her about some supplies that we are getting lower in and asked her a couple of questions about his graft surgery. One thing that I am to do is feel the vibration of the flow of blood through his graft. The nurses at St. Thomas said that they couldn't feel it...the feel is called a "thrill." But there is also a sound to listen for called a "bruit" (they pronounce it "brewy"). That sound can be heard through a stethoscope. At the moment, Woody isn't too fond of the idea of anyone touching his arm to try to feel the "thrill." And, I didn't have a stethoscope...yet. So nurse asked if she could come by and check how his incisions and arm looked and to try to feel and listen to the blood flow through the new graft. I feel much better now that she has come and said that all is doing/going well. He has some swelling, but not much and she was able to both feel and hear the flow of blood through the graft. She brought me a stethoscope, but I still can't hear it. I was a little concerned because he seems to be in more pain as the week goes along. She said that it may be due to his nerves healing and reconnecting. But she said that all seemed to be going well. She was also pleased where the graft had been placed. She said that should be easy for me to access when we start using it for his dialysis treatments. She said that it will be a while till we start using it...first he has to heal amd then second she has several patients training to use their graft or fistula...that they are extra busy at the clinic at the moment. They have moved the other nurse off to another clinic for a couple of months so Davida is on her own in the hemodialysis part of the clinic. You will not hear me complain about not starting the new way forna while...I dread the time when I have to stick him twice for every dialysis treatment! Tomorrow is a day off from dialysis...but not much of a day off. Woody has an appointment late morning to have the stitches taken out from his PD catheter removal that happened two weeks ago today. Then he has his appointment at TN Oncology early afternoon for labs, see his oncologist, and have a Keytruda infusion. These two appointments are literally right next door to each other. I think that Woody is thinking about just moving from one office to the other...just bring a bit early for the 2nd one.

Third Day?

Woody hasn't had the best of days. I'm trying to decide if this is considered the third day...which is often said to be the worst day after surgery...not sure when you start counting...does the day of surgery count as day 1 or not! Anyway, he has done a lot of dozing today. And he even decided to take a couple of Tylenol a little while ago...the first pain medicine that he has taken after this surgery. His dialysis went well today. I gave him his anemia subcutaneous injection after his treatment. He said that all he felt was a little prick...so guess my third attempt passed! We also removed the dressings from the two surgical sites today. I got my hair cut this afternoon. When I got home I got another dialysate batch going...that job comes around all too often! This one will get tomorrow's treatment and then Saturday's. We have the day off on Friday...so Woody can go to two appointments! He will get the stitches out from his PD catheter removal surgery on Friday and also have his TN Oncology appointment...labs, doctor, and Keytruda. I did call Dr. Gowda's office today to get an appointment for two weeks after his surgery on Monday. Two weeks from that is Labor Day...his appointment will be later in the week. I think that tomorrow is "just a dialysis day" for us. It's a big day for our oldest grandchild. She'll be 29! How can that be?!? Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Day After Surgery

Well, today has just been a day of mostly sitting around trying to recover from a day of surgery yesterday. Woody seems to be doing well. He is having some pain, but nothing that he feels the need for pain medication. He dreaded having to walk into the bathroom using his walker since he would have to put pressure on the arm operated on. We experimented and found that the wheelchair can go through the bathroom door, not easily, but it does fit through, so he can wheel in instead of walking from the couch or chair into the bathroom with the walker. His dialysis treatment went well today. I had to give him his iron "injection" which goes in through the saline line during his treatment. It isn't easy for me to draw the iron medicine from the vial into the syringe...tiny vial and not a lot of medicine so a vacuum seems to form and it is hard to pull back on the syringe plunger...at least it is hard for me. It took me a while to get it drawn up, but did manage not to make it spurt all over the table like I have in the past. Our nurse laminated the iron-giving instructions so they could be wiped off! Iron giving is over till his next labs tell whether he needs it or not. Tomorrow I have to give him his anemia subcutaneous shot...not a favorite task of mine nor does he care for it too much. I did a good job the first time and didn't hurt him much, but then last time I didn't do as well! Perhaps the first was just beginner's luck! I'll try not to hurt him tomorrow, but it is another one of those "time will tell" moments! I found out that the reason our tap water had to be tested again is because FedEx lost the first sample taken and sent. I was just glad that it wasn't a lab that they lost...not fond of doing those either and don't want to have to do any extras because they get lost in shipping! That task was done very quickly by the nice young man who had done the first one...in and out. I decided that I wanted macaroni amd cheese so I made some while I talked to Connie on speaker phone...made the task go by more quickly! The only part of the task that is left is the mess...I will attack that as soon as I go back downstairs. I had to take a nap after I got through with fixing and eating my lunch, which was eaten quite late...as a matter of fact lunch was really "lupper." I got Woody's supper after I came downstairs from my snooze. Then I went outside and watered. Pretty humid outside which made it feel quite uncomfortable to me. I ended up letting the mist from the hose get on my arms to help me cool off a little. Woody said that he didn't sleep very well last night...hoping that he sleeps better tonight. He has pretty much stayed in the recliner as it takes more effort to get up off the couch...couch sits pretty low. So far he seems to be adapting to being careful with his arm. I don't know how many of these restrictions will be lifted once it heals. Tomorrow the bandages come off the two surgical cuts. Friday he will get the stitches out from his PD catheter removal. It will be two weeks on Thursday since he had that surgery. Speaking of getting stitches out, I need to remember to call for an appointment in two weeks to see yesterday's surgeon. I liked the way the post surgery nurse for his PD cath removal made an appointment for us. I'm not fond of breaking through red tape to make appointments. Most of the time these days you don't get a real person and automated calls are not my favorite. I guess I will find out what kind of call this will be once I make it! I didn't think about calling today except for when it was way too early to call. I'll try to remember at an appropriate time tomorrow. Well, dishes are calling! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Home Again! Home Again!

I'm going to go on and blog early today since we are home and have settled in for the moment. Nathan ended up being able to drive us to and from Woody's surgery today...a very big help! He ended up running some errands for Kathy in Murfreesboro and also did some supply shopping for the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry). He had to find belts the right color for Isaac and Joseph for their Fall Ball uniforms. Next week begins Fall Ball in Tullahoma. Isaac and Joseph are on the same team, Bama...so crimson belts were needed. I think that Nathan ended up settling on red belts. Things kept moving once we got there. There wasn't a lot of waiting for any length of time in any one place. They kept us moving...main waiting room, same day surgery waiting room, the preop room and then on to surgery for Woody and back to the same day surgery waiting room for me. The surgeon was able to place the graft ( a piece of tubing under the skin that connects to a vein on one end and an artery on the other. The tubing is placed in an upside loop...upside down "U" on the inside of his upper arm on the left arm. They gave Woody a nerve block...and he is still feeling "no pain." His arm is of no use to him at the moment. He is to keep it propped on a pillow or two to keep down the swelling. There's not much more to do for swelling as he shouldn't put ice on it because they don't want the graft to clot off! I'm blogging now as Woody is determined that he is going to the Furnace Room Prayer meeting this evening which means that I have to go, too, as he can't drive for 24 hours after anesthesia and has all pain meds out of his system. We will be putting a sling back on his arm when we head to the church. If he is true to form, he won't be taking any pain meds, but we will see. The nurse indicated that it was probably going to hurt quite a bit once the block wears off. I'm pretty sleepy all of a sudden. I don't know about Woody. Of course, he did get a bit of a nap while they operated on him. He, once again, woke up really easily. And, this time didn't have the shakes after surgery. We are glad the doctor was able to put the graft in his weak arm...just hoping that it will be easy to access for me. We had funny reactions from both his preop and postop nurse when they discovered that we are doing hemodialysis at home...both were quite surprised and hadn't realized that home hemo was a possiblity. It is good that they surgeon was able to use his nondominant arm as he really won't be able to use it for a lot of things...and he really uses his dominant arm since the nondominant isn't of much for a lot of things...guess it is proving its worth as an access site for his dialysis. Not long after I sat down in the waiting room after I left Woody in the preop area, I got a call from one of the Fresenius workers, Jerry. He needs to come check the quality of our water, again...guess it has been a month. He is going to stop by tomorrow afternoon. Always something! Well, we have one of our days off this week...pretty filled! We will do dialysis for the next three days and have our second day off on Friday as he has an appointment to get the stitches out from the removal of his PD caetheter and also has his appointment at TN Oncology for labs, see the doctor, and get his Keytruda infusion. Another day off that will be pretty filled! Just wanted to report successful surgery before it got too late tonight since I will be going to prayer meeting with Woody. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Fruit of My Labor

Today went very smoothly...pretty much a normal day...guess...the new normal! I made Sourdough English Muffin Bread. Tonight I am enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich made with this bread...pretty good! Today I made the bread while Woody's dialysis was happening. It came out of the oven just a little whilje before I disconnected Woody from his treatment. I also got a load of wash done during that time. I'm about to take that load out of the drier and go put it away. So I accomplished something once again during the three hours while I stay close enough to trouble shoot the treatment...if necessary. This evening I out together another meatloaf so Woody could have a meatloaf sandwich. That about sums up my kitchen duties for the day. I just remembered that I still have a dialysis duty...need to out together packs of supplies for the coming week's treatments. If I don't it won't be that big of a deal as I can gather them tomorrow after we get home from church. Having the supply packets made up just saves a little time. I'll see if I feel like doing that task after I get finished with a couple of other things that I need to do. Woody has had a good day. He is watching a baseball game at the moment...not "his team" playing, but perhaps he will hear updates about his team's game! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

We're in the Loop

I guess one could say we are in the medical loop. Woody's dialysis went well, once again. I'm banking on the statement that "if one does a good job with the set up then the treatment will go well." I am very careful to do all the steps in the set up and attempt to do them well each time. And, our nurses have put together a very good notebook of step by step directions. And, they suggested that even when familiar with the steps that I still refer to the directions all through the setup. They claim that they still refer to them? So the first medical loop today was doing dialysis routine. We had lunch. Then we got an unexpected delivery by FedEx. It turned out to be renal vitamins that Woody's nutritionist had ordered for him, but hadn't told us about. So guess we were sort of out of the loop for that. I texted our nurse and she told us what they were and that he should start taking them...a renal D-3 vitamin. I heard on TV today that iPad and iPhone users needed to do the latest update for security reasons. So I did them on my iPad and iPhone and then checked with the nurse to see if I should do the update on the hemodialysis iPad. I was told to go ahead so did that update too. My next dialysis duty was to make the dialysate batch for the next two days. I was just getting that task started when the phone rang and it was the hospital telling Woody what time to be at the hospital on Monday...time we had been originally told had changed and now we have to be there 1-1/2 hours later than originally told...so won't have to leave at dark thirty! I got my dialysate batch going and it's still going...takes around six hours to make...a total of 50 liters of water and dialysate concentrate...as each treatment uses 25 liters and it has to heat up to body temperature. During today's dialysis 3 hours, I did get quite a bit accomplished...I made a big pot of soup, Spicy Vegetable Beef. One of our soup recipes that sounded good to Woody. We both had that for lunch. I will admit that it is still a little too warm for me to really enjoy soup...it did taste good...Woody enjoyed it...maybe he felt a bit warmer than usual after he finished his bowl. I also washed and dried a load of clothes and read a couple of chapters in my new book. That's what fit into that three hour period of dialysis today. After I got the batch going, I worked on cleaning up the mess that I had made in the kitchen. At that point I was ready to go upstairs and rest in my comfy recliner. I read and dozed a little until the doorbell rang. I headed down to find the UPS delivery guy at my door asking if I had a package for him to pick up. I did...just didn't know what I was supposed to do or when the pick up would happen. The pick up was for the defective water leak detector. I had it all in bubblewrap and in the box that the other one came in...but hadn't taped it as I didn't know if there would be instructions to put in thr box. Well, the UPS guy said he would tape it and he had the label and he gave me a tracking number to keep. So we are on the fast track for getting packages delivered, picked up, etc., etc! By the way the water leak detector worked fine today and only alarmed when I tested it during setup. So hopefully this one will behave itself...but I do know to take the battery out if it won't stop alarming! Learn something new just about every day! Some of this learning I could do without! Woody seems to continue to feel much better. I'm sure that he will feel even better if we can get his hemoglobin built back up! Anemia is something that dialysis patients deal with. Also some vitamins and meds are washed out with dialysis. I guess we need to ask when to take this renal vitamin. Wonder what kind of a medical loop we will be in tomorrow! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Day Off…Sort Of…

Today was one of our days off this week. The trouble with days off is that you have to cram in doctor appointments and other things that need to be done. Today was our first monthly visit at the Fresenius Kidney Center here in Tullahoma. We saw Woody's nurse, the social worker, the nutritionist, and his nephrologist, Dr. O. Everyone was happy with our progress. The doctor said "an I told you so" to me in regards to the fact that he had told me a month ago that I could be the care partner so Woody could have hemodialysis at home. We also said good bye to Woody's PD nurse, who is moving to Louisiana. He is getting trained to be a nurse for home hemodialysis. I told him that PD is easier! Another interesting fact about today's date: we bagan peritoneal dialysis training two years ago this date...and, have now moved on to the next phase of dialysis. These appointments at the center that involve the doctor end up being long...starting with waiting in the car till they call you in. There is no waiting room in this part of the building...so our cars are the waiting room. I chose the earliest appointment that we were offered hoping that the appointments wouldn't be too backed up. But we were still away from the house for two hours...and our travel time is only 10 minutes there and 10 minutes back...the rest of that time was either spent in the car or in the center. I learned that I needed to contact the company for my supply order...funny thing about that...my phone rang while we were with the doctor and I ignored it. Come to find out it was the supply part of the organization calling for my order. Just as Woody sat back down in his recliner upon our return, the phone rang and it was the hospital in Murfreesboro ready for him to answer all the questions that they need answers for prior to a surgery. That took a "few" minutes and when he had hung up, I called to make the supply order. It's handled a bit differently than PD supplies are handled. This was totally an automated call. I have mixed feelings about that as I couldn't ask questions. But it is nice not to have to be left on hold for long periods of time! I had to tell them to the piece what we have on hand...not number of boxes. That was different and at this point I don't know exactly how many are in a carton. These are just the large supplies that go with the dialysis machine...no not a large number of items in this order as there were in the PD orders. The medical supplies are handled by the nurses. Once we had lunch, I headed off to the grocery store. Shopped, came home, put groceries away...and...then napped!!! I'm still liking my new chair! We have had supper and our day off is waning. Dialysis duties will greet us once again in the morning. I will say that it is nice to have two days off out of seven to use to order our lives around. And, it is nice that these days off are flexible. We will do dialysis tomorrow and Saturday this week. Then next week will start off this time with a dialysis day on Sunday (a day we plan to usually have off). We will do his dialysis after we get home from church...probably after lunch since he isn't supposed to eat during dialysis. I can get to the point of getting ready for him to be connected, feed him lunch, and then get him connected after lunch. Then it's three hours of monitoring the treatment (I'm not supposed to do any dozing! So much for a nice Sunday afternoon nap!). But nice that the treatment doesn't have to be at an exact time...we do have some flexibility as long as we fit it in. We are doing the treatment on our usual planned day off so we can get up at dark thirty and head to the hospital in Murfreesboro...approximately a one-hour drive. Then who knows when the surgery will actually be. We were told that it is about a two-hour surgery. We "could" be back home at a decent hour in the afternoon...but knowing how things go in a hospital we WON'T hold our breaths!!! We'll get home when we get home! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Cooler Wednesday

Another day that gives a promise of Fall. The high was right around 80°...pretty nice for a mid-August day! We'll take any days like this that we can get. We are through another dialysis day...and once again we both survived! Today I can actually say that we had no reason to call for tech support. I forgot to tell about yesterday's experience (guess I was too focused on my new chair!). I was at the point of changing the dressing on Woody's access site and all of a sudden there was an alarm. I couldn't figure out where the alarm was coming from. At this point we are still in setup so no stress in getting it taken care of...except that it slows down the set up! Woody thought it was coming from the cycler...but there weren't any red lights in the display. Finally I located the sound...it was from a little "box" that sits on the side of the machine. It is the water leak detector. And the place was totally dry and there were no stop buttons to push on it to shut off the alarm. I decided that I would immediately call the tech number. They are so helpful and so far I haven't stumped them...very knowledgable in what they do! His first statement, after I told him where the alarm was coming from, was "Let's take out the battery." Once I figured out how to open the battery compartment, I did just that and it got much quieter. He asked if I had another 9-volt battery and we did. So I changed the battery...alarm started again. Then he had me remove the battery and clean off a couple of places with a damp piece of gauze and then dry with a dry gauze and put the new battery back in...it still alarmed. At that point, he said he would send me another one. I asked if I could go on with the treatment without this water leak detector. He told me to fold up a paper towel and draw lines on it with a dark magic marker and we would have a visual alarm...that if the paper towel got wet the magic marker marks would become rainbows. Interesting solution! We have done two treatments without the detector. When I went outside to get the mail this afternoon, there was a UPS delivery with the replacement on the front porch...water leak detector is already back in place on the machine. I am supposed to get directions on returning the one that isn't working so they can check out why it failed. At this point, I haven't received my instructions for returning, A pick up is supposed to be arranged. I will just wait...I have it in the packaging that the new one came in. Isn't it amazing how they take care of every little detail...and, how quickly issues are resolved! I'm impressed at this point. And, the techs are so pleasant to deal with. Woody and I both took it easy today. I will say that I have discovered that my new chair is good for sleeping and napping...slept well last night and had a very good nap this afternoon. Woody rested on the couch this afternoon. Guess not a lot was accomplished today except for dialysis and a lot of resting! Tomorrow is a day off from dialysis. Woody has an appointment in the morning at the Fresenius Kidney center with his hemodialysis team and Dr. O. I have a container of sharps to turn in to the center. Can you imagine that in these few weeks we have been at home, we have already filled up a container with syringes!?! Obviously, we go through a lot of syringes everyday. I never thought that I would be making that statement! I'm wondering when we will hear from the hospital about Monday's surgery...guess we don't have to hear as we have the time to arrive...pretty early in the morning! Hopefully that means we won't be there the whole day! But time will tell...on Monday! It will be just another day...another procedure! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Nesting!

For the last hour or so I have been nesting...getting my new chair settled in so I can settle into it! After Woody's dialysis was finished and we had lunch and I got the next dialysate batch going, I headed off to the furniture store. I sat in a dozen or more chairs and this was one of the last ones that I sat in and it was what I was looking for...I wanted it to be cushy. I wanted the arms to be wide so I can use them like end tables for my iPad and phone, etc. And, after getting Woody a power chair, I decided that I wanted a power one and, if possible, one that had ability to adjust the headrest. And, voila! This one met my wants! I quickly called Nathan and Kathy to arrange for pickup amd delivery! And, Kathy said that they could do it! I came home and moved things out of the path so they had a straight shot to take out the old and bring in the new. Elijah was their very capable muscled helper! I am finding it very comfortable as I sit here typing the blog. I will say that I was once again deceived as to the color of the recliner...in the store it was very beige...just like Woody's looked in the same store. WHen I get them in our house, they turned greige or stone or whatever the neutrals of "the day" are! It's fine. I think it is the same color as Woody's...same manufacturer so probably...just looked up the model # and the color is driftwood...guess my greige description fits...Anyway, I am grateful that I found a chair to my liking and that Nathan and crew were able to pick it up and bring it here! I am looking forward to a good night's sleep for a change. Today's dialysis went well. I had to give him his iron...not the easiest of tasks! It is given through the saline line during dialysis. Let's just say I managed...not without a lot of mess and a bit of hair pulling out! But hopefully he got the dose he was supposed to get! Today I had to make another dialysate batch...it was doing well till just a minute ago and I got an alarm...I "think" I fixed it! So far silence. Will go check on it as soon as I post this. All I can say about home hemodialysis so far is that at this point we are still both alive!!! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Monday

The days are sort of blurring together...now I seem to see days as dialysis days and days off from dialysis. Yesterday was a day off from dialysis. Today was a dialysis day and a blood draw day. Both happened and went fine. Today was an extra day for a lab because Woody is so anemic and had a blood transfuson so his hemoglobin needed to be checked to see if the transfuson has brought his hemoglobin up some...hoping that it stops its downward trend and starts on an upward one, The blood is drawn prior to his dialysis treatment...but drawn from his hemodialysis access...so no sticking! Lab day just adds an extra step and changes another step. It is stored in the fridge till I have time to get it packed up and sent off by FedEx. After I had his dialysis going this morning, I got his lab test tube packed up with an ice pack, called FedEx, arranged for a FedEx express pickup, and put it on the front porch. I was told it would be picked up before 5pm. I checked about an hour later and it had already been picked up. We had no alarms this morning so "things" went a little smoother...no hiccups! And, we pray daily that there will be no hiccups! It is becoming more routine. Woody is sleeping better now that he isn't connected all night long, I'm sleeping better (well, sort of...more in a minute about that!). Woody isn't "paging" me in the middle of the night to help him with his treatment/machine. Woody is eating better and has gained a little weight...weight that he needs to gain. All in all Woody is feeling a lot better. We do know that his blood is being cleansed sufficiently...I'm not sure about what the numbers are or stand for, but the nurse said that they want the number to be at least 200 and Woody's was 300...which was good. I know he will feel even better if we can get a handle on his anemia. We'll see what the doctor and nutritionist say on Thursday. Thursday is our only appointment this week. I think that will be out other day off as the appointment is fairly early. We could do the dialysis after the appointment, but it just seems like that is a good day to take off. Now about my skeeping...at the moment I'm not sleeping as well as usual because my "bed" aka recliner has bitten the dust and no longer reclines...so I am pretty much sitting up most of the night. I can put my feet up but the back won't recline. I need to go recliner shopping! I meant to go today, but just didn't have the energy to head out to look today. I look foreard to the day that most of my energy isn't taken up with dialysis duties! I will get used to the routine eventually...but at the moment the dialysis duties are about all I have the energy to do plus a few other necessary tasks! This will pass! But, today, the thought of going shopping for a recliner was the last thing I wanted to do! I took a nap on the living room couch instead. Maybe tomorrow I'll find the energy! Woody didn't go to Monday Night Furnace Room Prayer meeting as he was the only one in the group who was in town. So he prayed here at home. He's already asleep on the couch. I'm sitting in his recliner. I started my sour dough starter again...it had been dormant in the refrigerator. Today I used the discard to make sour dough waffles...breakfast for a few days! I did that after I got the lab package ready for FedEx pickup. I can do some cooking while Woody's dialysis is going since the kitchen is so close. But I have to stick pretty close during the three hours that his dialysis takes so I can respond to any cautions or alarms that might happen. So most of the morning is taken up with dialysis...either set up, treatment, taking off, and tearing down. It's usually a little after noon when we are finished. I begin setting up while Woody is eating breakfast...so the treatment stretches between two meals...but that is a lot better than 12 or so hours that PD took! Woody is much more free now...only confined to treatment for a little more than three hours. I watered this evening and now I am heading in to add dishes to the dishwasher and call it a day/night! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! Learned yesterday that two more very good friends have Covid. Feel better quickly, Jo and Larry!

Happy Late 22nd Anniversary, Kathy & Nathan!

Yesterday was the big day for Nathan and Kathy's 22nd anniversary. I had every intention of wishing them a happy day last night in the blog...but realized after I posted that I had neglected to put that in the blog. I snagged these photos from Kathy's Facebook today so they show the happy couple on their little getaway trip to the Great Smokies/Gatlinburg area. They were so wise in the year they chose to get married in...2000...The current year is always how many years they have been married...very helpful, for the husband especially, I would imagine! We made it through another day of home hemodialysis...I heave a sigh of relief every day as we aporoach the ending of the treatment without any significicant problems. We got the one warning again in set up and I had to call tech support...that's three days in a row now. And, we had it during training in the center and several times when the nurse was here in our home. I don't think that is something that I am ar am not doing. Tomorrow we have off. It will be nice to have a day off! I will have to make the dialysate batch (each batch lasts just two treqtments) and make up packets of supplies for the week...but no dialysis. Woody is feeling pretty good. He says he only hurts when he moves a certain way. He just took off his bandage from his surgery site...he was to keep it on 48 hours. It looks fine...he was surprised to see blood on the dressing (insert eye roll here!). There was hardly any! He has stitches that will be taken out when we see Dr. Thomasson in a couple of weeks. Woody will have another surgery before he sees Dr. Thomasson! This coming week his only appointment is at the Fresenius Clinic to see Dr. O...Woody's first appointment with Dr. O since he became a hemodialysis patient. The appointment is fairly early in the morning...we can either do dialysis after the appointment or have that our other day off this coming week. And, taking the day off that day may be good, as we are going to have to do dialysis on Sunday because we have to take Monday off for his surgery to get the graft put in. I continue to urge safety, wellness, and caution each day at the end of my blog. Today I have found out that one of my best friends has Covid...my stitching/sewing cohort, who now lives in Alabama. Feel better quickly, Connie. It's still out there so...Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Bit of a Hint of Fall?

I stepped outside a little hile ago and the lessened humidity and a bit cooler temperature gave me that little hint of Fall...I'm sure that we will have plenty of hot days this summer, but it's nice to feel this break in the hot summer days. We both survived our first day on our own with dialysis. I did have the red alarm when setting up, but managed to disarm it on my own...well, I did put in a call to the tech folk, but by the time Infot to talk to a person (and, that wasn't very long)our machine had moved along. At the end of Woody's treatment I cleaned what is called a "blood detector," a little mirror inside the machine and a concave place across from the mirror. We will see if that lets us avoud the alarm in the morning. The set up alarms don't bother me as there is no time limit on getting the problem figured out. What I dread is an alarm that happens in the middle of the treatment...red alarms stop the pump that is pumping the blood in and out of Woody and through the machine...a stopped pump for any length of time can mean that clots form...then treatment has to be stopped. I was very happy when today's treatment got to the 30 minute till the end...at that point I felt that we would make it to the end! I'm trying not to dwell on red alarms during treatment, as I have been told that if I do the set up correctly and carefully that red alarms will likely NOT occur. I'm banking on that! So we have one day under our belt on our own...and, we are both alive! We will do another day of dialysis tomorrow and then have the day off on Sunday. His dialysis lasts a little over three hours. The set up takes a while, at least at this point with me being new at it. I expect that I will be able to shave a little off of it as I get into the routine of the process. It already takes me less time to draw up the heparin into the syringes. Often the thing that takes me the longest is getting the gloves on...and there are multiple changes of gloves through the process! The take down is fairly quick. I'm not exCtly sure what time I got underway setting up today, so I'm not sure exCtly how long it took. But the actual dialysis got underway around 9am and he was finished at noon. I was carrying out the medical trash bag around 1pm, but I had stopped to get Woody some lunch before completing the cleanup. I want to say that setup and tear down took about the same time when added together as did the dialysis...we were at it about 6 hours today. I still think that the time will get shorter. Woody is doing well after his surgery. He knows that he had some surgery when he moves certain ways, but not in a lot of pain. He has taken it easy today...sort of his norm! I also took it easy this afternoon...a nice nap helped. Tomorrow is another day! We will begin it all again tomorrow. We both are looking forward to a day off on Sunday! Be sFe! Be well! Be cautious!

Nine to Five!

Checking in with you after a long day at the hospital. We left our house at 8:30am, got to registration a little before 9am and didn't walk back into our house till 5pm. Once Woody got taken in for surgery, it didn't take long...he was back in his cubicle 45 minutes after leaving...and fully awake or so he seemed. The doctor said that it was an easy surgery. We just had to wait quite a bit beyond our given time to finally have the surgery. Then once he got back in the room, the nurse was getting ready to give him a blood transfusion. We were so glad that they worked with Dr. O and made the actual transfusion happen while we were there. We wanted them to type his blood, etc. today, but thought that we would have to go back tomorrow for the actual transfusion...but they did it in one fell swoop...made a long day, but also saved us going back for another long day tomorrow! At the moment we are pretty tired. Woody was dozing when I looked in on him last. He isn't having much discomfort...maybe a few twinges. Our hemodialysis nurse checked in on us via text. She also gave me orders for a blood draw on Monday to check his hemoglobin. Well, I won't think about that added duty till Monday! We've got to get to Monday first! Tomorrow is the big day...I fly solo with Woody's dialysis...well, not truly solo, since Woody is there to help me! Woody got the nicest letter from a co-op college student, who worked with Woody out at the center years ago. Woody and he are big Cardinal fans and with a few big Cardinal wins lately, he got to thinking about Woody, so decided to try to find out what he could about Woody online and found my blog...and, I guess our address! Glad to know that a search for Woody will tag the blog! Welcome, Greg,...your letter was timed perfectly...I handed it to Woody just moments after getting home from the hospital. I am none the worse for wear after my fall yesterday. Between my shoulders is a little achy, but that just may be sitting at the hospital all day! Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Once again, God has seen us thorough another procedure! And, as Woody says, "To God be the glory!" Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Fairy Garden?

Tonight's photos show the results of quite a bit of rain over the last days...the mushrooms/toadstools abound! To me it looks like some little fairies may have taken up residence in our garden...moved in and put up their shelters!! Interesting shapes and sizes! We got an abundance of rain today...very welcome...another day that I don't need to water! The last day of training went fairly well. I did get an alarm during the set up, but I didn't take the time to figure it out, I just called the tech folk who are on call 24/7. He walked me through the problem quickly and effectively...no more alarms after that. And, we were almost up and running when our nurse got here. I guess I wanted to give our nurse a bang-up send off as just when I just about had Woody disconnected...well, he was disconnected...I just had to do the last step...intecting heparin in thr line to keep it clear for the next dialysis. I had turned and was stepping toward the little table that has the supplies that I need for a treatment, I guess, I got my foot caught in Woody's throw and I went flying across thr room...non too gracefully, I might add! I didn't get hurt...perhaps a bruise or two, but was able to get right back up. I scared the nurse half to death...as I guess my head came pretty close to the corner of the TV stand. I completed my last task with the nurse's help as I had dumped all my supplies...not many at that point, but had to get anothrr syringe to draw up the heparin. She took pity on me and drew it up and helped me get the few other things that I needed to complete my task. At this point in thr day I hardly know that I fell...I may realize it more in the morning! But none the worse for wear at this point! We bade our nurse goodbye for our home training for the time being. She will be back to train me on how to stick Woody when his graft heals. We did learn today that Woody's hemoglobin levels have dropped enough to require a blood transfusion. We are hoping they will type his blood and whatever else they do prior to the transfusion while we are at the hospital tomorrow for his procedure. Then he will get the transfusion Friday. Thr preop call finally came after lunch. It was a looooong call! I guess he is good to go for tomorrow. It's not a super early appointment which is nice. Linda brought back some books that she had borrowed from our church library. I twisted her arm to join me for a grilled cheese sandwich. We also tried one of Nathan, Kathy, amd family's home frown watermelon. Very tasty and refreshing! Later this afternoon, my "barn crew" stopped by with supper...really a smorgasbord! We both enjoyed tasting a variety of dishes and will be enjoying their cooking efforts for some time! Thanks, Marie and Carolyn! Once again, we are pretty tired. It will be nice to have the day off from dialysis...just wish that we weren't having to fit a day at the hospital in on that day off! I think that we are both done in for the day. Woody is already dozing on the couch and I'm ready to head upstairs. It has been a long day...or so it seems! I'm afraid that tomorrow will seem even longer. I guess I need to pack my bag to take to the hospital...things to occupy me during the waiting. I have plenty of reading to keep me occupied...but have a feeling I will have trouble not dozing as I wait! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Calendar's Filling Up

Today we got to add another surgery to our calendar, We met with the vascular surgeon this afternoon. It looks like his graft access for dialysis will be put in a week and a half away. It could have been this next Monday but Woody chose to put it off a week since he is having the procedure to remove his peritoneal dialysis catheter on Thursday. We don't know exactly what that entails and it sounded like it may be a bit more involved that we thought at first. So Woody decided that itnwould be best to give himself a chance to recover and heal a bit form that before heading in for another procedure. I was surprised when I read the papers after getting home that the graft will be done at St. Thomas Murfreesboro hospital. I was under the impression that it would be done at the Murfreesboro Medical Center surgical center...what do we know!?! This morning I was going through emails trying to get rid of a lot that have piled up since I haven't had a lot of time lately to go through email! I found an email from Vanderbilt about an estimate. Incouodn't figure out what we had had done at Vanderbilt that they were telling us the cost of a procedure. I opened it and realized that it was from our local hospital. I have trouble thinking about it as Vanderbilt since it has been Harton Hospital ever since I moved heree! It was giving us information about Woody's procedure on Thursday. I learned that we will be getting a call in the morning to give us information and for us to give them information. I found forms that Woody could sign ahead of time and forms to fill out which we successfully did. So hopefully that will help with registeation. Dr. Thomasson's office also gave us an automated call with a time for an appointment so maybe we know when the surgery is supposed to happen Thursday morning. So medical "things" are piling up around us once again! Tomorrow is our nurse's last day to come to the house for training. I am feeling more comfident, but hate that the first day we will be on our own will be the day after Woody's surgical procedure. Today we got a call from the company that makes our newest dialysis machine. She was very nice and explained that they were there to help us...even give moral support if needed! Today I gave Woody iron through his access. Tomorrow I will be giving him his anemia shot...the nurse forgot to stop by the clinic to get it this morning. When the nurse left this morning, she found two packages on the front porch...one for his next anemia shot that she ordered yesterday and our rolling stool...to add to our dialysis "clinic!" I put the stool together a little while ago so I could recycle the cardboard. I think that it will help me some when I need to sit down to do certain procedures...when I am sitting on a chair, I always want to move a smidge that way or a smidge another and hopefully this will help. It doesn't roll real easily since the room is carpeted, but I figure that is good so it won't roll out from under me! Well, tonight, I think that we are both pretty tired. I look forward to not having to get up so early as we have been this week in order for me to have dialysis up and running before thr nurse gets here. The alarm going off before 5am is a little too early for me! I don't think that we will have to be up with the birds on Thursday since the time the doctor's office gave is late morning...guessing two hours before the time told us. At least whatever time they tell us all we have to do is travel about ten minutes down the road to be at the hospital. Now for the dialysis graft that will take some more getting up with the birds as it is at least an hour away and probably more with morning rush hour traffic. I will say that today's appointment went very quickly. We were told to get there a half hour ahead of our appointment time. Instead we got there right at our appointment time and were called back fairly quickly and thr doctor came in very quickly...a plus in our book for this doctor! I think that Woody convinced him to try to put the graft in his non dominant arm...not ideal...but given that he only has one good arm and one good leg (luckily on opposite sides), it would be better if it could be placed in that arm. I think that there Re some restrictions on what all you can do with the arm that it is in...and he needs to lean heavily on that arm when he is getting up and when he uses his walker. Guess time will tell if the doctor decides to try that arm...but it seemed like that was the way he was leaning. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Lab Draws & Fed Ex

Today's new learning experience for dialysis training = pre and post treatmrnt labs, using the centrifuge, packing labs for shipping, and arranging for FedEx to do an express pick up. Every day seems to be a new experience! This morning when the nurse got here, I was ready to draw labs. The lab draws aren't all that bad since I use his dialysis lines. Tomorrow I will give him his iron and give him his anemia shot. Now the anemia one is given as a shot...it wasn't too bad the first time I gave it so hopefully it won't be any worse this time! Wednesday is the last day our nurse will be here. In some ways I look forward to that as then the dialysis can be more on our timing...but I also dread her not being here as a guide! She is coming early again tomorrow as we need to leave by noon for an applintment with the vascular surgeon in Murfreesboro. We were off in plenty of time today so hopefully we can do the same tomorrow. Tomorrow I can continue setting him up until dialysis is running even if she isn't here yet. I had to stop at the point where pre treatment labs had to be done this morning so the nurse could coach me through. interesting to have a centrifuge...when i visited a lab in a hospital I was intrigued with labs and the centrifuge. Well, now I am the proud owner of a centrifuge...be careful with what intrigues you!! Not exactly what I want on display in our family room! Today's treatment went very well. I got the labs ready to be picked up by FedEx. I called the FedEx number provided for express pick up. The automated call went well and I was told it would be picked up between 1 and 5pm and that pick up happened a little after 4pm. It is packed with an ice pack so I can leave it on the porch to be picked up and not have to watch for the truck. It will be interesting to see if my labs pass the muster and give proper reads! Once again...time will tell! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Saturday

It has been a busy day off. I did sleep in a little later. I got Woody's breakfast and then worked on a grocery list. I headed off to the grocery store a little after 9am. I attempted to add in a stop at the Credit Union, but it was closed inside and I do not like the way they changed their drive-up windows. They were closed inside due to renovating. I was still in the produce department when Nathan called. He was calling to see if he could get our car to take it for an oil change. We arranged that I would call when I got through shopping. He said that he would meet me at the house and carry our groceries in for me. That worked out and he was parked in front when I got home. He took the car for an oil change and then when he got back, he did a couple of "sonny-do jobs." He rehung the clock in the kitchen. I had to take the clock down to change the battery and the nail came out of the wall. So he pounded the nail in better and rehung the clock for me. I was glad he was there as it is hard to get the hanger on the back of the clock over the nail in the wall. He also repositioned the new antenna so Woody's TV programs come in a bit better. Woody is glad that Nathan took care of that as he wouldn't have been able to watch the Cardinal game jon TV tonight. He is watching now so the fix must have stayed at least for the time being! Thanks, Nathan! I got all the food put away and then it was about time for lunch. The mail brought a package that had some things that ordered for our Dorrell Dialysis Clinic. We needed some clocks with second hands as we have to time several things...so got one large one that is now on the mantel. And there is a smaller one in the bathroom so I can time washing my hands (just a bit of a pn eye roll!)I had to time my hand washing when doing PD so guess I should be used to it! I have used Alexa for a hands-free timer, but sometimes she isn't cooperative and we end up wasting time! I also have a new floor lamp...I haven't put that together yet. But the clocks are running as I managed to out the batteries in. I rested for a while this afternoon, talked on the phone with Connie, and then came downstairs to make soup...a kind that sounded good to Woody. I think it is a bit hot for soup right now...but we both had some for supper and I must admit that it tasted pretty good! Woody enjoyed his, too. I think that this is the first time in months that he has had three meals in a day...lately he has been having two and then sort of a snack in the evening. But today he had eggs for breakfast, a meatloaf sandwich for lunch, and then soup for supper. He is definitely feeling better now that he us on hemodialysis! I'm in the same position at this hour tonight as I was last night...facing a mess in the kitchen! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Finally!

I was finally able to have Woody's dialysis treatment up and running before our nurse got here this morning. His treatment ran very smoothly today. He was finished before noon. Which was a good thing since he had an appointment at 1:45 for his every-three-week Keytruda infusion. I made banana bread while he was at TN Oncology. It wasn't quite finished baking when it was time to go get Woody...so...I decided to just turn the oven off and leave the bread in till we got back. And, it was baked perfectly when we got back. The best part about that baking session...Woody wanted some of the bread! His appetite is definitely picking up and he is back to liking more things. And, at the moment he has no restrictions. There are less eating restrictions eith home hemodialysis than with in-center hemodialysis because he has it more often. Another "finally" for me was that our five treatments for this week are finally over and we have the weekend off! Our nurse plans to come Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and then we are on our own! I will say that I am getting a little less anxious in the set up and taking off. We got a shipment today from the folk who do the labs...so we now have a centrifuge so we will be doing labs on Monday...oh, boy! Well, I have done the labs before so maybe there will be some recall! I just told Woody that I will not be turning on an alarm for in the morning! I imagine that I will wake up early anyway since I have gotten used to rising early. But at least I can go to sleep tonight with no thouhts of HAVING to get up! I continue to be pretty tired once our training session is over. One thing nice about being on our own will be not having to be on an exact schedule. Times for dialysis can vary for treatment as long as he gets it 5 times a week. For example if a bad thunderstorm is predicted, it is suggested that we wait till storm has passed even if it means skipping the treatment and waiting till the next day. We plan on taking Sunday and Wednesday off when get started on our own. But next week we will take Thursday off due to having his PD catheter taken out at the hospital. The three days the nurse comes next week we will start at 7am because she has another patient to train in the afternoon. Hopefully i can get up early enough to have him already going when she gets here. That may be stretching things and have Woody fed before dialysis starts! Hopefully we can be done early enough to get to his vascular surgeon's appointment by 1pm in Murfreesboro...a 45 (at least) minute drive to get there. We'll see how efficient I am on Tuesday! I watered this evening before dark. And, now I have a big mess in the kitchen due to my banana bread baking foray this afternoon. I was working so quickly trying to be finished with the bread before Woody was ready to be picked up, that I didn't keep up with my mess...I put a couple of dishes to soak and now I guess it's time to load the dishwasher and do a few dishes by hand. Woody has settled on his couch/bed with the TV going and his laptop and book nearby...things to occupy his time in case he wakes up in the night. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Another Day Down!

Woody's dialysis treatment went fairly well today. I got started with set up well before the nurse arrived, but I still was only at the point of finishing up the dressing on his access site. I had had several warnings during the set up. I did manage to figure out what to do...but it included repriming so that added time onto the setup. I got a couple of others, too...one had us do one of the routine maintenance jobs after Woody was finished. These warnings weren't scary since they all happened pre hooking him up for his treatment. The alarms that I dread are the ones that might happen during his treatment. The "red alarms" automatically shut the pump off and you just have a few minutes to figure out what to do as his blood could start clotting! At the end of each treatment you can see how well his blood has been cleaned and how much clotting there has been. Today, he had more clotting than usual. There is a possibility that the clotting was a factor of him not getting heparin yesterday because we thought he was going to have the procedure to remove the PD catheter. If the filter shows clotting again tomorrow, we will add more heparin at his next dialysis treatment. Lots to figure out! The nurse plans to come to the house through next Wednesday. We will then take one of our days off from dialysis on Thursday...the day he is to have his PD catheter procedure at the hospital. We've also had another appointment thrown in...the one to talk to the vascular surgeon about placing graft. That appointment is Tuesday afternoon in Murfreesboro. Hopefully we can be finished with dialysis early enough to get to that appointment...30 minites early! This is the place that kept us waiting so long at several different times when he got his hemodialysis catheter placed and had his veins mapped. I had understood that we would have a different doctor, but I believe that this appointment is with the same doctor. I'm not totally sure because he never introduced himself to us that day...Oh, well, we won't quibble...it needs to be done and as Woody said, he has had to wait before so can wait again! He's not too sure about arriving early as they wish us to do! Early will just mean more waiting time! Anyway, the appointments are stacking up! Tomorrow is TN Oncology day...his day with them for labs, see the doctor, and have a Keytruda infusion. We will probably just be finishing up with dialysis...maybe we can be finished a little earlier, if I can get through setup with less problems in the morning. Time will tell! Woody slept the best last night that he has in a very long time. Hopefully that is due to his blood being cleansed better. I believe that he actually slept through from when he fell asleep last night to when he awoke this morning...around 5:45...I was ready to make his breakfast when he woke up. Then I got started with the dialysis set up by 6:10am and was still only to the point just before getting him connected by 8:30 when the nurse arrived. I know that given time it will get shorter...but for the moment...Last night we experienced a momentary power failure...which made part of the machine shut off and took me a bit to get the one part of the machine that holds the dialysate to get turned back on...again, I did figure out what I was supposed to do...thanks to the books. That machine is running all the time as it has to run to keep the dialysate warm...or Woody would be freezing during his treatment. These are just a few of the things that have caused us a problem so far! But at least I was able to use the books that I have here to solve the problems. There is one warning that we get fairly frequently, that if we get it again tomorrow after trouble shooting it today, then we are going to call the tech support to see if there is a problem with our machine. Oh, I also learned how to do two of the maintenance jobs that I have to perform periodically. Our centrifuge has not arrived yet. It's just fun and games around here! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Happy Birthday, Esther!

Look who will be 15 officially in a few hours. Everyone except for Abigail stopped by a little while ago. Her official birth tume is a little after 11pm...sounds like a bunch of them are planning to stay up late tonight to wish her a happy birthday when she is officially 15. She is planning on getting her driver's permit soon. Joy has been their reluctant driver...I was figuring that Esther would not be reluctant! And, it looks like I was right. Woody was a bit disappointed with the outcome of his appointment to get his PD catheter out. It can't be done in the office. He has to have it as an outpatient at the hospital. We got a day pinned down...next Thursday...but won't know time till we hear from the hospital the first of next week. Woody was looking forward to getting it out as it itches...due to the tape that holds the dressing on. Because we thought he was going to have this procedure done today, we withheld his heparin during dialysis. We gave him bolises of saline every 30 minutes to help keep his blood from clotting. But we discovered that it was starting to clot towards the end of his treatment so we had to force stop the machine. I guess it was a lesson learned! I think that the nurse is planning to come a couple of days next week since I am still a little confused about the take off process called "rinse back." It is making more sense, but still a little confusing. I did a blood draw today to check his hemoglobin. I still can't do all the blood work as I still don't have a centrifuge. Yesterday I ordered a rolling stool and also another light for the back of the family room near the dialysis machine...it is in a bit of a dark corner. This light is one that I have had my eye on to use for cross stitch and reading...so if it doesn't do its job in our "clinic" I have another use for it! Woody is settled onto his couch/bed for the evening. I think that our extra jaunt to the doctor today tired him out a bit...plus the disappointment of not getting the catheter out today. One of our friend stopped by today with some fresh peaches and a canteloupe. Woody said that canteloupe sounded good. At this point in his dialysis he is not being limited on foods. He was told that if something sounds good that he can have it. They would like for him to put on a little weight. And, at the moment he us not retaining fluids, which can be a problem for some dialysis patients. But so far that has never been a problem for him. We finished early today because we started early and then had to force stop 40 minutes early. I was reading one of the MANY books thst come with the various machines. And, I asked a question and the nurse said that we could do it and not bother the treatmrnt. We did it and never got it back to how it was and we realized that it probably was having a problem due to clotting...so we quickly got him off. Not too big of a problem...so I have stopped the machine early a couple of times now...one just to practicr and thrn today when there was a problem. Tomorrow the nurse comes at 8:30 and I am to get as far as I can before she gets here. I have to decide how long before she gets here that I will start grtting set up. I'm pretty tired tonight. I think that we will both sleep well tonight. Tomorrow is another day...with dialysis and whatever else comes our way! it was nice to be finished before 11am today. There's probably something that I could do tonight to make things little eSier in the morning...but I'm too tired...all can wait till tomorrow. We're watching Master Chef at the moment. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious.

Ready?!?

"Things" must be going well. Our nurse is planning to release us to be on our own...after Friday...maybe even Friday...not exactly sure...and, not sure how "ready" I feel! I guess time will tell! Today went well...I guess. This afternoon I made my third batch of dialysate...finally I managed to get it made without having to call for help in getting me out of a mistake that I had made...closing a door when I shouldn't have. I started to set up at 7:10 this morning and completed what I was supposed to do just before the nurse arrived at 8:30am and I finished with my last dialysis duty at 2:10pm. I told Woody that we were trading places...I would have the long part of the dialysis and he would have the shorter time! I've had more duties added on to what I'm supposed to do before the nurse arrives in the morning and she is coming at 7am...I haven't decided when I need to get up and get going!!! We had our supply delivery this afternoon, too..."only" 28 boxes...and, that really is a lot less than we had delivered on our first supply order for peritoneal dialysis...only on two walls for hemodialysis. The reason the nurse is coming early in the morning is to help accomodate us as Woody has an appointment to get his PD catheter removed tomorrow afternoon. So that is the reason for the extra early beginning of our day tomorrow. She had wanted me to get it most of the way set up including getting him connected just before she gets here in the morning, but then we remembered that he has to have a lab drawn tomorrow and I'm still not really sure about doing that so I will stop setting him up at the point when it is time to draw his blood. All I can say it is still very overwhelming! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!