I know it's been awhile since I updated - I've been so amazingly busy. I've been getting more involved in both my favorite research topics - kidney disease and adoption and I've also been trying to take care of some personal business including applying for medicare, disability, etc. I don't have a lot of free time since I'm still working on my non-dialysis days (Tues & Thurs). Dialysis is going OK. My treatments are in the middle of the day and then I'm wiped out for several hours afterward. So, Monday, Wednesday and Fridays are just a big waste. I'm going to try to get on an earlier dialysis shift so I can at least avoid doing nothing on those days. I had a bad treatment for the first time ever, a week ago Friday. As it ended up, my whole family had the stomach flu after I was sick so it wasn't the treatment that caused it. Let me tell you, though, throwing up in front of 30 or so people hasn't been the shining moment of my life! I know everyone has bad treatments sometimes so I wasn't too embarrassed. Just miserable (feeling.) I've also been asked to serve on the local board of AAKP (American Association of Kidney Patients.) This is a big deal to me and I'm excited! I've SO MISSED volunteering with an actual organization that it will be fun to be involved with one, again. I'm hoping to go to the annual national conference, too, later this year. That's about it for now - I'm off to dialysis!

Last week's treatments were lousy. Monday I started off with 4 needle sticks. The arterial line went in fine. But, the first venous just wouldn't work, the second infiltrated and the third finally worked, but slowly. It had to be put below the other two because they ran out of vein up above. I'm told my fistula vein is like a snake... crooked. For my troubles, I got a bruised arm again. Wednesday I felt crummy. Not from the treatment, just from feeling tired for some reason. I was supposed to do some work while on the machine, but I just didn't feel like it.. didn't even feel like watching TV. Slept the rest of the day and all day Thursday, too. Friday, with my already bruised arm, the nurse stuck the arterial line in about an inch above where I'd put the lidocaine cream. Yeah well, the lidocaine doesn't numb anything other than what it's on... Of course I really felt the stick of those 15-gauges for the first time... It hurt like a MOTHER. Besides that, the needle was pressed against the side of my vein (or something) because it hurt the entire treatment. Felt like a bee sting (more like an infiltration, but it wasn't...) even until this morning. I don't know what happened, but my arm is all boogered up again. Hoping next week will go more smoothly...