Friday…At Last

I don't have a lot to say about today, except that I am glad it is Friday and that dialysis is sort of behind us for two days! The reason that I say it is "sort of" behind us is that I will have to make a batch of dialysate sometime on Sunday so we will have it on Monday. Our nurse will be back from vacation on Monday and we will stop our 7am starts and go back to 8:30am. "Things" went fairly well today...I only dropped a few things, etc., etc. It's making more sense...but once something starts making sense some other piece of information is added in to once again confuse the situation! I had to give him his iron injection today...it is administered through one of the lines while he is having dialysis...close to the end of the dialysis time. Woody isn't feeling the greatest tonight...he hasn't been getting sick lately...only once last week and then twicr today. I wish I could remember which day he got sick. I am wondering if it was the day that he got iron last week. I'm wondering if that injection made him get nauseous. I will note what happened today and see if it happens again next week on the day he gets iron. We did discover that the barch leaked when we were finished today. It didn't sound an alarm. Now I'm wondering what I might not have tightened enough...the nurse couldn't find the problem. So we don't know if it wqs my fault or just a quirk. But I will be sure to doiboe check every connection that I make to see that they are tight. There are just TOO MANY things to keep track of. We were supposed to get a welcoming call from the folk that make the dialysis machine. The call came through, but we were in the midst of a step that wouodn't let us answer the phone. The nurse called them and arranged for this call to come at a later time today, but it never rang again. I finally decided that they weren't going to call today so made a quick trip to the store down the street and got the ground pork that I use to make Woody's breakfast sausage. Woody decided it was time to move to the couch while Inwas gone and he has been asleep since I got back. He even slept through a visit with Nathan and Kathy. Nathan removed the squirrel from our chimney flue. Yay! Thanks, Nathan! And,mwe stood in the family room looking ar dialysis equipment and supplies and talked about dialysis and to my knowledge, he doesn't know that they were here. I'll find out when I go downstairs...that is, if he is awake. I did actually pick up my stitching and put in a few stitches just before I decided to blog. I haven't felt like stitching since dialysis training/duties began. Hopefully we can both get rested over the weekend on our "break." Once we are on our own we won't have two days in a row. We will choose the days we want to have off. At the moment, we know that we want Sunday off and then probably Wednesday, as that will split the week up best...it's best for a dialysis patient to have fairly regular treatments without a long gap (even 2 days) between treatments. We are on a 5 day in a row schedile now because of the work week for the nurses. Once we are on our own it is up to us how to get his 5 days of dialysis in each week. He is on the dialysis machine for a little more than 3 hours each treatment...but there are a lot of other things that go on before and after that it makes the time longer...at least for me! It is definitely an "experience" that we never dreamed that we would be having. My mind continues to be boggled at all there is to do...from set up to take down to maintenance...and, on and on! Since we are in our own home we don't have to mask the whole time...though, the poor nurse does have to. But I have found out that it is probably best to just stayed masked, because then I don't have to remember the times when I have to mask! One less thing to have to remember! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!