Happy Thanksgiving, everyone from Flagstaff, AZ!

Today is an extra special Thanksgiving - it is not only a holiday to reflect upon the things I am thankful for, it is also the fifth anniversary of my beautiful son's adoption. Five years ago today his father and I were in a dark, cold court room in Ukraine standing before a judge who decided we would be a family.

We are thankful for so much, today and every day.

I had my first 'traveling' dialysis today and all went well. The staff and a couple of the patients remembered me from last year. I promised I would write a gossipy post all about the tech Richard in my blog (so here it is LOL).

Coming from a hellish day (which lasted from Monday until the early morning hours of yesterday) of travel I was pretty much exhausted just getting here. AND, coming from sea-level to 7,000+ feet I was even more exhausted. Soooooo I asked to have some O2 (Oxygen) during my treatment and can I tell you? It made ALL the difference. Seriously. I breezed through my treatment without so much as needing an extra shot of saline. I'm going to have to remember this for future trips 'up the mountain'.

Oh, and NOTE TO SELF FOR NEXT YEAR: They have really horrible television channels and no cable! Bring a book!

I just finished my treatment for today and now we (Ken, Alek and I) are getting ready to board a plane to Flagstaff, AZ for Thanksgiving. I have my treatments all set up at the same dialysis facility as last year - Flagstaff Dialysis (catchy name, eh?) - and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there... I wonder if they'll remember me?

As for Thanksgiving, there will be pleanty to do and many people to see :) Ken's brother, sis-in-law and new baby nephew will be flying in from Hawaii where they live. Ken's childhood friend (who is like another brother to him) and his friend's girlfriend and two daughters will be driving down from Las Vegas. Everyone is staying at Ken's parents' house in Flagstaff. Alek is excited to have other kids around to play with and I'm excited to be somewhere OTHER than Florida where its COLD and feels 'seasonal'.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The basic emergency kit for kidney disease patients and The 3-day emergency diet