Well, it is a little over a week since I've been using the catheter on a daily basis. Like any new thing, there is some experimenting, adjustments, and getting used to how this whole thing is suppose to work. There have been highs and lows -- and just getting used to living with this thing. In a nut shell, I am glad I did it. I truly do believe that I feel better but at the same time, I am beginning to think and wonder what the future holds in store. I've always been an active person but for the past few months, I haven't had much energy. Since going on dialysis, I feel better. Perhaps I will feel even better in the future and be able to do more things..
I am waiting for a Baxter delivery of supplies. They sent a notice that they would be here between 1:30 and 4:30. Well it is 4:05 and they haven't shown up yet. I guess I'll have to give them a call if they don't show by 4:30. The supplies we have are just enough for one more night and they aren't exactly what we are suppose to have. Obviously I could sit here and worry about the delivery OR I can just go on with typing this entry and making do with what we have.
The Baxter delivery just arrived. The driver was a very nice gentleman. Very professional. He is from Wisconsin. We talked as he worked. He didn't lose any time in getting the job done. He unloaded and transported at least 45 boxes of supplies to an upstairs bedroom across from the master bedroom in about ten minutes. He had a hand truck that climbed the steps. It was interesting! He was a very interesting and nice fellow. He is going to the northwest corner of the state to make one more delivery today and then spend the night. He will finish his deliveries tomorrow and head back to Wisconsin. He was very friendly.
I have to say, I've been impressed with the folks I've met and worked with during this process. When I was initially diagnosed with kidney disease (renal failure?) my primary care physician referred me to a kidney doctor who was very unimpressive. I gt the impression that I was just another revenue source to him and I came away with the attitude that I'd rather die than go through this disease and treatment with him. Finally, I had to tell my primary care physician that it just wasn't working out and I didn't want to see him again. During this period, a very close friend of mind had to undergo a liver transplant. He was very pleased with his doctors and suggested that I see them. I did and was very adamant on my first visit that I was not going to do dialysis. She didn't try to talk me into it but she did suggest that I at least look into the options. Over the course of the next couple of years, she worked with me and monitored my condition on a regular basis. As my condition deteriorated, my doctor kept me informed of how things were going and she finally said that either we needed to do dialysis or call in hospice. Well, as fate would have it, my wife and I visited our grand children in the DC area and I came to the conclusion that we might want t take a closer look at peritoneal dialysis/ The treatment center that my doctor uses is DaVita. Their staff is very caring and they follow-up on our concerns and treatment in a very timely and professional manner. In fact, the head nurse who oversees my training and acclimation just called to make sure the Baxter delivery was made and included everything we needed. She is a sweetheart.
I don't know what the future has in store for me. For that matter, none of us really knows what the future is going to be. I'm surprised that the whole dialysis thing is going as well as it is. When I was the Executive Director of the Council On Aging, I would have to transport dialysis patients from time to time. They looked so haggard and worn out after dialysis, I swore to my self that I wouldn't do that. Well here I am and I'm doing dialysis. Granted it is a different type of dialysis but I am doing it. And granted, we are just starting on this journey! God truly does work in mysterious ways.
Thank you God for one more day on this side of the grass.
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