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!