Tuesday Doings

This is a picture of our Tulip Poplar tree. The Tulip Poplar is Tennessee's state tree. This one has an interesting story. Some years back the Hasty's gave us a Tulip Poplar sapling. It was growing, but still had a way to go to be a majestic tree! We had a bad hail storm after a year or two after we planted the tree. The hail storm damaged the siding and roof on our house. While the people we hired put on a new roof and put on new siding, a worker backed over our tree. The company said they would replace it. Replace it they did, but with a young tree much larger than our original tree. This tree is what has grown from that replacement. They grow pretty rapidly. i'm not sure how many years it has been since the hail storm. I just know that we were away and drove through that storm and got home after the damage had been done. Nathan, Kathy and family still lived next door and took movies of the very big hail and it banging against our siding. It knocked very large holes in the siding in several places. It happened not all that long aftrr we had gotten new siding, but we were able to purchase the same siding and it was repaired so no one would be the wiser today...unless I tell! We got a new roof out of that storm, too. I'm trying to remember if we were coming home from NIH or if it was when Woody presented a paper in Knoxville for his work at a conference. If I go back through my pictures I can find out the date, but at the moment, I will just share the memory and not the exact number of years ago! Today has gone fairly well. We did start off with a red alarm about low arterial pressure in the line...instructions on iPad said to check the arterial line and make sure that the clamps were open. I adjusted the line a little and checked about the clamps, which were open. Then started the machine again. And, it kept going...a good thing. Not long after that we got a yellos warning about low pressure in the blue veinous line...again checked and that warning stopped on its own and we were off and running. So I solved the alarm and warning on my own this time. Our nurse messaged me later in the day and I told her what had happened and she said that I had done what I should...I figured that since Woody is still alive!!!! The red alarms for artereal problems automatically stop the pump on the machine and you don't want the pump to be off long as his blood could clot in the lines. During the yellow warnings, the pump continues to go so not as scary!! The nurse messaged that she had ordered a numbing cream that was being sent to us. This is for when we start to stick Woody's graft. The graft lies under the skin so we have to poke two needles in his arm each treatment and they have this cream to help it not hurt. These needles that se will be sticking him with are not the tiny needles that one gets a shot or vaccine with...these needles are quite large. She did say that they still didn't have a date to start using his graft, but was ordering this cream so we would have it when the time comes! Oh, boy! Today was also the first time since we have been doing dialysis on our own that I had to give him a saline bolus due to his blood pressure being low. I don't know if all the low pressures had anything to do with each other or not. There is line that is connected to a saline bag that I can open clamps to allow a designated amount of saline to go in and then clamp them off again. After the saline has been in him for about 10 minites, then we retake his blood pressure to see if it has come up. If it hasn't, then I would bolus again. Today it was back up. That is one thing that we do constantly during dialysis...take his blood pressure. Every thirty minutes...during the 3 hours plus once prior and once after. He leaves the cuff on for the whole treatment. He is very happy to get it off his arm once the last one is taken after treatment. That last one has to be taken before we totally disconnect him from the treatment so I can give more saline solution if needed. Once we know it is okay, I can continue to discomnect him from all the lines of tubing! Interesting process! The part I find most interesting is the "rinse back." Before the end of the treatment, I connect the arterial line under the saline bag and open the clamps and push the add fluid key and saline is washed through the lines sending all the blood that is in those lines back into his body. The tubes are just about totally clear of any blood after that process. They don't want him losing any more blood than necessary. Well, enough about dialysis. We got through today's and tomorrow is another day off! Sounds good to both of us. The winds picked up this afternoon and blew a storm in...but we had only a couple claps of thunder, but did get a nice rain. We are thankful that the possible tornadoes didn't develop! I sat in my recliner and read and stitched while I listened to the rain on the roof. Good to get some much needed rain! I actually finished another ornament. It's just two months from Christmas...got to get the stitching done so I can get them made into ornaments! Time is running out and I still have many more that I "want" to stitch for gifts. But what I want might not happen...will have to depend on the speed of my machine for some. I can't compete with 600 stitches per minute! The kitchen calls....not much to do down there since I didn't cook today except to warm up...but still have a few to put in the dishwasher. Woody has settled in for the night. I'm going to get started on my next ornament and read some. I will recommend a book: The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. I read that some time ago. And, am now reading The Bookwoman's Daughter. I haven't finished, but recommend it, too...but read The Bookwoman first! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!