Weekend Explorer

Housecleaning and whatnot. I finally downloaded the Blogger app for the ipad. Sometimes I guess I just have to learn some really hard lessons. In other words, I should have downloaded the app from the beginning. :-/

Next week I'll go over some of the stuff I said it was for another day, specifically the initial EMS ride, an explanation of dry weight and when I realized I had lost a significant amount of weight. Yes I really was that clueless.

I am trying to get a photo of a dialysis machine. I know prior to all of this I had no knowledge of dialysis other knowing someone who knew someone who was doing it it. Now I'll BRB while I look for an image.....

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, "The I'm Starting the New Access Point This Morning so I can Only Type With One Hand" edition. More like 1 finger. iPod shuffled to "Get on Up", The Esquires. I recall this maybe elementary school? Listening to Donnie Simpson, maybe? Yeah He was a soul teen reporter before he went to (early) BET. Lol. Typing so slow the songs keep on coming..."Stay in My Corner", The Dells. Close the car windows, crank up the volume, sing at your loudest and then attempt to hold that impossibly long note. ;-)

Thursday evening I get some decent food. I am hungry now. Hadn't been hungry for a few months. I can make it to the bathroom. I can get up off the stool without assistance. Let me tell ya, when the guy nurse came to help me up, he grabbed me under my left arm and heaved. I flew up. Lol. Heh, when you are weak and fairly helpless, you have no modesty. I have none. Later on when I thought I'd sleep, my RN came and made me walk the hall with my walker. She paid no heed to my whining. ;-< I thanked her lol

Friday morning comes, Ms Mattie's doctor comes, and a guy with a gurney for me comes. Off to dialysis I go. I have a different tech. I am in a different bed. She asks me what my dry weight is. I have no clue what she's talking about. She weighs me in kilograms on a portable scale that looks like a high tech dolly. I note the number to do the conversion to pounds. I realize that I have lost about 100 pounds in the past year. I have a story about when I realized I was losing weight for another time..

3 hours pass, I get back to my room around 9:30. I miss out on my bagel because of dialysis, but I got my dry turkey sausage patty and boiled egg. Mmmmmm mmmmm yummy (feel the sarcasm). I am now waiting to go home. I am ready. I still need to nail down my dialysis location and schedule. I also need to talk with a dietician. My meds have also been discontinued and/or changed so I need to get the new scripts. I am excited.

Shawn arrives to take me home. Brian had to work and he had taken off so many days already. <3. Shawn had to bring me clothes and a coat. We got what we needed and rode off in the Shawn-mobile. I was home exactly 1 week after almost dying. I can't thank the people who treated me enough. So many people involved. The EMS EMTs, the triage nurses, the ER nurses and doctors, the ICU nurses, the ICU doctors and residents, the dialysis techs, the physical therapist, my floor nurses and nursing staff, the assorted residents, my primary care physician, the nephrologist, and the orderlies and dietitians and the food service staff that helped me select my meals. I am certain I left someone out, but I thank and appreciate them, too. :)

And Ms Mattie? Her family said , "Stop". They arranged for her to go to hospice care. Ms Mattie and I both left Sinai-Grace Friday afternoon. Signing off with, "Be My Girl", The Dramatic. Excuse me while I try in vain to hit those Ron Banks notes. :-D

The "I Had Lunch With My Old Staff Yesterday and They Still Are the Best!", edition.

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the "I Had Lunch With My Old Staff Yesterday and They are Still the Best!!!", edition.  iPod shuffled to "Sweet Thing", Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan. Who was Rufus and where did he go?  Lol. Chaka did just fine without him. This brings back memories of Mosher-Jordan. Heh heh heh.

I wake up Thursday feeling aces. I watch the news, catch a few cartoons.  Brian brought the ipad so I have that to entertain me.  My breakfast is something other than a dry turkey sausage patty.  Life is good.  Then here comes the orderly with a gurney. :(   He takes me to some area and I am treated by Lindsey.  (For the record, every time I left my room, I took the ipad). She informs me that the appendage in my groin is going to be removed and she will attach a more permanent, yet still temporary access point near my collar bone.  Talk about mixed emotions. That thing attached to the inside of my right thigh was going away, but it was just an exchange for another one.  Lol. You know I am feeling better when I asked Lindsey how often has she done this? She explains the entire procedure to me, she even details the type of anesthesia I'd be getting.  I'm leery, but I have no choice. Sigh.  Sir Mix-a-Lot, "Baby Got Back".  Chair Dance Time {head bob}....

I survive the minor surgery and now I have a new appendage hanging off my right collarbone..it looks like 2 syringes coming out of me.  As a matter fact that's exactly what it is.  ;-(  .  

Get back to my room.  Have lunch.  Dr Kim comes and visits.  He asks about things I like to do.  You know, the hidden psych questions.  I throw him for a big loop when I told him I was an avid gamer, specifically World of Warcraft.  His expression was priceless.  Who knew a retired Black woman was a gamer!!?!??!  Lol. Told him not only was I a gamer, I was in guild with others who didn't fit the mold of gamers and had been playing with them for over 10 years.  Lol. He was floored. He then admitted he had played WoW in his teens.  We discussed a few raids and strategies. Lol. The Main Ingredient, "Goodbye My Love". Cuba Gooding's voice is so distinctive.  Love it.

Ms Mattie is still not talking or eating.  She still utters pleas for The Lord to take her.  He grandson is there everyday.  The doctors keep on scheduling things for her.  No one is happy on that side of the room, especially Ms Mattie. :(  At night when she cries out, I try to comfort her, but I'm not sure she is even aware I am there.  

Not much more going on Thursday.  It looks like I'll be going home on Friday...after getting dialysis.  The nephrologist sets up my dialysis location and schedule.  I wasn't really happy because I was sure my kidneys would recover.  For the record I am not delusional now. Sigh. My classes of assorted medical,students have dwindled, because I am getting better.  Imagine.  A week earlier I was dying.  Now I am going home with a plan for long term recovery.  Life is good, all things considered.

Signing off with "Love on a Two Way Street", The Moments.  Classic 70's Soul.  Some big Afros.  I love listening with the earbuds.  You can hear all the instrumentation.  Strings in one ear, bass in the other.  

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the "I Went into the Basement for the 1st time in 2 Months to Add Songs to the iPod and iTunes did a 35 minute Update, Norton did an Update, as did MS-Windows and Adobe wanted to update also, but I had to Draw the Line Somewhere" edition.  iPod shuffled to "For the Love of Money", O'Jays.  That takes me back to a basement party the spring of my senior high school year. Did you know the O'Jays did not want to record this song?  Lol It became their signature song.  

Why no basement in 2 months?  When one is weak, stairs are daunting, also, the basement was cold. I did venture down in early January to play World of Warcraft with my friends, but I've been AFK since then.  I need to get back to saving Pandaria.  But that's another story for another day, isn't it?

Wednesday morning I wake up to Ms Mattie's doctor waking her up. I'm hungry. That hadn't happened in a while, so I'm kinda sorta looking forward to breakfast.  Well, and orderly comes in with his gurney and announces we're off to dialysis.  ;(   "Baby Come Back", Player.  I have no trivia on the song or the group.  I just like the song. :) I get on the gurney, we roll out the room, hang a right. And at the end of the long hall, we're at the dialysis area (in a few days I could have rolled down there with my walker...that was like driving to the neighbor who live 4 houses down - lol).

This was 1st time I had seen a full out dialysis center.  The previous sessions, the machine came to me.  About 10-12 beds with the machines next to them.  Assorted techs doing assorted stuff.  Some people are already hooked up. Some people look really ill, some are asleep.  I get helped into the bed, the tech hooks me up and then brings me breakfast. Yay. Well I get a dry turkey sausage patty, 1 boiled egg and a choice of cold cereal. "Waters of March", Nicole Henry.  I used to have the radio on at work, and the local station would introduce me to new artists and songs.  This was me of them.  I ate the egg.  I got cold during dialysis and wondered why everyone else could sleep except me?  For the record, even now I can't sleep during dialysis. Oh well. Midway thru, my nephrologist's partner came in to check on me. He apparently knew he was the twin of my primary care physician. Lol. He looked at my data and nicely let me know that my kidneys were not going to get any better.  /sadface.  Yeah, it's sinking in, this is real and this is going to be my life.  

While still in dialysis, my RN brings in a young women.  Apparently because I have such a cheery nature, I get to have my very own nursing student to trail me all day. I just became a real live body for the student to practice on.  When we got back to the room, she vital-ed me like crazy. Lol. Then 2 more of classmates came in and here we go again.  "Superwoman", Stevie Wonder.  Was there anything on Musiquarium that you didn't like?  Stevie was quite prolific.  Well the hospital was a teaching hospital and I really didn't have a problem with the students.  The RN had my number. :). During any given day, I'd have at least 10 interns or residents coming thru and a gaggle of students trailing the doctors.  The medical people I always enjoyed were my very own intern, Dr Kim, out of MSU, and my primary care physician. 

I forgot to mention that Chuck, the Physical Therapist did come to visit me.  He had me walking (with the walker) out the room and a little ways down the hall.  He wasn't trying to hear me say I'm tired. Lol. Taskmaster. He left instructions that I was to do this at least twice a day.  He stopped by and I wasn't on his list.  I really appreciated that.

The days were much better than when I first arrived at the hospital.  Friday I was 2 hours from dying.  Wednesday, I smiling, eating, being sociable, and getting calls and visits from friends.  Signing off with "Something in My Heart", Miche'le.  Her speaking voice sounds like Mickey Mouse, yet her singing voice is fairly deep.  She was a protege of Dr Dre and Eazy E.   lol you'd never know unless you saw the videos.

Weekend explorer.

No one even tried to guess Ernie Isley's mentor.  It was Jimi Hendrix. But you already knew that, didn't you? Since I'm retired, I don't have a bracket group for March Madness, so the family all kicked in $10 per bracket, winner takes all.  I had UM crashing in the 1st round.  Needless to say, I'm not doing too well.  Years ago, I won the whole thing at work because of Gonzaga.  Yeah. I didn't know diddly squat about them, but liked the name.  That year there were enough upsets  that having Gonzaga win a few round gave me enough points to take it. Whoo hoo!!

I'm still having low blood pressure issues after dialysis.  My dry weight is going to be adjusted.  They are trying to take to much fluid out of me.  I know this makes sense only to those familiar with dialysis, but I will explain it soon.

I'm also going to fiddle around with linking this.  Nothing does the same thing twice :(. 

Have a good weekend!

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the "The Robin is Hangin' Out in the Tree Front of the House Looking at Me Like I am Holding up Spring".  If only I had the power. Ipad shuffled to Oaktown 3-5-7, "Juicy Gotcha Krazy".  Yes, I already told you, I like old school rap.  No hating, please.  Oaktown 3-5-7 was a female rap group under MC Hammer's machine.  I think they were underrated. I guess it was at the time of east coast vs west coast nonsense.  I submit that Oaktown predates Salt n Peppa.  Of course Salt n Peppa weren't as rough around the edges.  Oaktown did smooth out...some...eventually. Lol

Ok. I'm in the hospital on Election Day, Tuesday  November 6, 2012.  Lets backtrack about 5-6 weeks.  As we're being bombarded by political ads, I tell Brian that I didn't think I'd be able to withstand the physical voting process.  Moving hurt and tired me out and the voting location had stairs ;(  .  If the scant handicapped spaces were full, and they would be, I'd have to walk to the church and then climb the stairs. And wait in line. And stand to vote an impossibly long ballot.  I got tired thinking about it.  The next day we went to get our absentee ballots. "Tennessee", Arrested Development". Good songs, good lyrics.  Dionne Farris - love her voice. 

Also during this time I was planning to make reservations to spend Christmas in Vegas with my parents.  I kept procrastinating.  I was feeling worse and worse everyday.  Some days I did think I was dying. I just didn't tell anyone. (Note to Carmen..I wasn't blowing you off I really wasn't feeling too well. Let's try again :)   ).  I didn't think I'd  have enough energy to make the trip. Heh. I was right on all counts :(

Back to Election Day ..  A hospital wakes up around 6am. The early wave of doctors come sauntering in, the nurses start taking the vitals, and lights get turned on.  Ms Mattie's doctor was an early guy.  He'd ask her questions. She never answered.  I am not clear if she even understood. If she made any sounds, it would be whimpers or the occasions plea to God to be taken.

The staff was excited about Election Day. And of course some were quite vocal on who they wanted to win.  The interesting thing is I was asked multiple times if I had voted.  Apparently I'd been able to cast a ballot while in the hospital.  Provisions were made for those of us who found ourselves unexpectedly incapacitated on Election Day. Who knew?  The day was fairly uneventful.  My primary care physician found me.  He had his gaggle of residents/interns.  My personal resident, Dr Kim came to visit me.  And I finally met my nephrologist.  Boy he had a reputation. Many people told me he'd be my nephrologist.  I was just waiting to meet him. He was and is a kind and a delightful man.  And a character.  I am trending doctors who are characters..makes visits entertaining. :-D  Anyway, he went over my progress.  The creatinine was slowly rising.  That meant the kidneys were pretty much damaged. Damn. I was going to have to go to dialysis the next day. He asked who brought me to the hospital.  I told him the circumstances and that my husband called 911. He said you need to thank  your husband.  If he had waited 2 more hours I'd be dead.  (!!!!!!!!!!). Well damn. I knew I was ill, but I suppose you never think you are 2 hours off from death.  

"Work to Do", The Isley Brothers.  Did you like Ernie Isley on guitar?  Do you know who he learned a lot of his technique from? I have a grape Jolly Rancher for you if you know.  I know I was surprised when I first found out, but then it made sense.

Later on that evening, visitors are gone, the hospital is quieting down, lights are down, and televisions are on election returns.  (I couldn't watch Fox).  Well apparently I blinked and the election was over...lol. The hospital erupted. If you weren't awake, you were now.  Lol. Who made the noise?  The staff of course..lol. We celebrated for about 45 minutes then life went on.

 Signing off with "The Look of Love", Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66.  I liked them when I was a kid.  Imagine my surprise and delight when my kid "discovered" them. :)

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the "I Went to My First Series of Transplant Appointments and Saw 3 Nurses, 3 Doctors, 1 Dietician, 1 Social Worker, 1 Finance Lady, a Tech who took 12 vials of my blood (!!!!!!!!) :-(  (!!!!!!!!) and a Partridge in a Pear Tree)".  Well I exaggerate on the partridge, but it may as well have joined the party - lol.  And I still have more appointments to go to.  iPod shuffled to "Can This Be Real", The Natural Four. I was in high school when this was out.  It is one of those songs I liked instantly.

The entire exercise was to determine my viability for a kidney transplant.  Nurse 1 and Nurse 2 asked the same questions.  Doctor 1 was the surgeon's intern.  She wasn't sure what to ask. Doctor 2 was the nephrologist. She asked questions, talked about kidney function, explained medications needed after the transplant, live donor vs deceased donor, preferred ages of live donors and scheduled me for more appointments.  (note- this is not my regular nephrologist, so now I have 2 nephrologists).  Doctor 3 was the transplant surgeon.  He felt me up.  Well not really, he was checking for some veins in my groin and poked my stomach and my back and announced I was a good candidate for surgery. He also checked my ears (?really?).  Did I mention Brian was there for all of this?  "Mind Blowing Decisions", Heatwave.  Heh. Another group that could do no wrong. Was it them whose drummer's arm got cut off?  I need to look that up.  The should have had longer staying power.  Oh my.  No one's arm got cut off, but there were plenty of stabbing incidents. (Yeah, I went to wiki them).

The dietitian wanted to know if I was compliant with my renal diet.  She asked what was a typical day of eating was like.  She also wanted to see my blood work scorecard. I had the most recent one in my purse.  Something to be said about not cleaning out one's purse on a  weekly basis.  The good news is, this was the 1st time all my numbers were good.  Sodium, potassium and phosphorus are under control. Yay.  

The finance lady wanted to make sure my medical insurance was sufficient.  So far so good, but we need to check on medication copays.  And she suggested we investigate Medicare. "Funkin' For Jamaica", Tom Browne. "Betty Boop, boop be doop". Who doesn't start moving when this song comes on? :)

The social worker wanted to know about my support network, how I "felt" about my life right now, how mobile I am and some of my concerns.  He also wanted to know our financial status.  After him,the 3rd nurse came in with the blood order and sent us on our merry way.  We got to the office where they take blood another appeared to be a backlog. Eventually I was called.  The tech had me take a seat.  He looked at the order and took 1 vial, then another, then another.....  I'm like OMG, that's enough. He assures me that no, there a few more.  He stops at 12 vials. :(   During the draining of the blood, I wonder if I'm going pass out or just shrivel up because I will have no blood left.  Well I survived. I asked the tech was that a lot?  He replied no, he's taken as many as 22 vials of blood from a patient.  Strangely that didn't make me feel any better. Lol. "Just Gets Better With Time", The Whispers. (When this comes on I go find Brian to slow dance. ;-D   TMI, eh?  Lol)

Ok, well that was my yesterday.  I have a lot of assorted medical appointments, in addition to 3x week dialysis.  That's part of busy doing nothing.  

I want to leave off with where I ended the last entry. I finished out Monday in a regular bed.  The next day was Tuesday, Election Day!!  Signing off with "All Day Music", War. The iPod took me down Memory Lane today. :)  

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the "I Seem to Stay Busy Doing Nothing", edition.  iPod shuffled to "When You Get Right Down to It", Phyllis Hyman.  Saw her when I did an internship in DC in 80s along with Frankie Beverly and Maze. 

The rest of my 1st day out of ICU, Monday, was pretty uneventful.  I still didn't have much of an appetite but eh.  Ms Mattie got a lot of attention.  When they tried to feed her, she'd store food in her cheeks (like my mom), that is, if she even would cooperate (like my mom).  She'd get pain meds. She was also calling out someone's name.  The nurses would also roll her over on a regular basis.  "Black Water",Doobie Brothers.  Who doesn't know those lyrics?  And I admit it, I wasn't clear what Doobie was initially - lol.  

A new class o' residents come to visit me.  The lead guy decides I didn't need the foley anymore (yay!!). My new challenge will be getting out of bed, using the walker to get to the bathroom and finally, lifting my self up off the toilet(!). Trust me.  Standing up is an issue when your knees and legs are weak.  My personal crusade is to get toilet seats raised.  How the heck do medical facilities have low toilet sets when the majority of the clients are senior citizens????  Yes the bars help, but a higher seat is better.  The bars assume you has some upper body strength. ;-/   /rant off.  Lol.   Anyway my new best friend intern is now Dr Kim.  He was the one left when the pack o' residents left. 

Life is different out of ICU, more hustle and bustle in the hall, but not so intrusive.  My family comes to visit.  Their faces look more relaxed.  I smile at them because I love my little family. <3. Brian calls Dad.  I convince him I'm getting better.  He at least sounds relieved. Yep, the corner has been turned.  :)

Signing off with "Cupid's Chokehold", Gym Class Heroes.  Yeah, my kid introduces me to music and has influence. And that's not a bad thing. :)  

Weekend Explorer

My old baby. Just playing around with Blogger to see how it works.  Well, she is actually Shawn's dog. But Shawn is out of town, so this my shadow for the weekend. :)

Yesterday after dialysis, Brian and I went to breakfast.  My blood pressure dropped while at the restaurant. ;-/.   A Detroit Fire Department captain was there and assisted me and called EMS.   Eventually my blood pressure climbed back to normal.  Sigh. It s a side effect of dialysis.  Doesn't happen often, and at least I feel it coming on, so I just don't out and out faint.  Will make sure my tech knows it happened.

Yeah, I was fine by the time EMS got there. :-).

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the Glad my Tech is Back Because when She's not Here Chaos Rules edition. iPod shuffled to "Just Shopping", The Dramatics. Excuse while I crank up the volume. :). I am trying an editor app. Lets see how this works.

Back to the hospital, Monday, November 5, 2012. I'm wheeled into the room. I get the bed closest to the window. The room is pretty crowded. My roommate has 3 visitors and the RN is also in the room. The RN (a guy!...and I pretty quickly get accustomed to the plethora of male Registered Nurses) does his initial assessment and computer check, because all of my records and information is all digitized and follows me all over the hospital. "The Corner", Common. He can really tell a story. Kanye has a few lines on the song. Heh spell check wanted to make Kanye Kenya..anyway..

I settle into the room. I realize my roommate is a very senior lady, Miss Mattie Her visitors are her sister, brother in law and grandson. The grandson is about my age. Miss Mattie isn't very vocal. Laying in bed like she was, she reminded me of my mom. She was about as responsive as my mom was. The grandson was looking grim and concerned. The sister was trying to engage Miss Mattie in conversation. This was so familiar to me. I figured there was a reason I was placed in the room with Miss Mattie. There was, but it wouldn't become apparent until later that week.

 Anyway, I am feeling golden compared to how felt even a few days ago. I'm still hooked up to machines and IVs, but I'm lucid. Lol. Ready to joke and laugh. And watch some cartoons woot!! Signing off with "I Just Wanna Stop", Gino Vanelli. Heh. Who'd thunk he'd be a one hit wonder? Just Say No.

 The editor appears to work, but then Blogger editor looks different now. I am not going crazy. ;(

Pat's Adventures in Diaysis, the "I'm Still Sleepy and don't Feel Like Telling a Story this Morning Edition".  iPod shuffled to Carole King, "Its to Late". I like every song on that album.  Yes I said album. Lol

I'll pick up the story on Friday.  I don't feel like fighting the ipad or safari or google and this blog interface today.  I do want to ask a question.  On the way to dialysis, we were listening to Al Green.  The 1st time I heard him, I liked him.  I liked him so much, that I didn't mind the plaid suits. It was the 70's after all. Lol.  I also liked Joe Tex, Johnny Guitar Watson, and Guns and Roses the 1st time I heard them.  My question to you is, which artist or group did you take to instantly ?

Signing off with "What is Hip", Tower of Power.  Saw an entertainer in Vegas years ago at the Rio, Earl Turner.  His band played "What is Hip".  Gave Tower of Power a run for the money.  The band director was just as talented as Earl Turner. Lol.

Oh oh. I want to tell you about my favorite Vegas lounge lizard.  When my parents 1st moved to Vegas, mom took me to her favorite dive, the old Bourbon Street casino on Flamingo.  I wandered to the back wall to play a slot machine, and then I heard Bobby Brown, "My Perogative".  I looked up and saw     http://www.cookejarr.com/    Every Black person in the casino wandered over there in absolute amazement, then proceeded to enjoy the show.  Cook E Jarr did a full set of R&B and Hip Hop.  Just him and his keyboard.  Lol.  For years after I'd drag Brian around to casinos and dives to see Cook E Jarr.  His shows were always packed.

Ok really signing off with the Originals, "Baby, I'm for Real".  That'll put me to sleep.  Leaving you with the video of Cook E Jarr.  Enjoy.
Cook E Jarr

The "Why Did I Wake Up 10 Minutes Before My Alarm Went Off", edition.

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the "Why Did I Wake up 10 Minutes Before my Alarm Went Off", edition.  iPod shuffled to "Andalucia(Suite Espanola)", Ernesto Lecuona (piano).  One of  my piano recital songs from back in the day.  Piano lessons for 12 years.  My teacher had to have nerves of steel  lol.  I played pretty ok after a LOT of practice.  Never played again after I graduated from high school.  Still love  and appreciate music, but I don't have to play an instrument.

My third night in ICU I left the tv on all night.  I was feeling better, but I was not trying to have another vivid dream - lol.  Backtracking a bit on my ICU nights..I was hooked up to machines and monitors so moving was an issue, but I was also pretty weak.  I woke up thirsty. I couldn't reach the cup of water. I couldn't even reach the call button. "Door to Your Heart", The Dramatics. <3. I crank up the volume, I can't help it.  I tried calling for a nurse, but my voice was also weak.  I uttered some kind of feeble croak.  I did get better each night. And yeah, I had to wait for a nurse to eventually show up.

Monday morning brought Dr McDonald alone and then later on the class.  He told me I was being moved out of ICU and I'd be observed and monitored.  The creatinine level wasn't as low and stable as they would like.  I was delighted to get out of ICU, although I was pretty sure I would miss my cadre of private nurses.  "Babylon Sisters", Steely Dan.  Lol. No one can wail on a note like Donald Fagen.  I didn't realize I wouldn't see Dr McDonald, Dr "Call me Nat" Battinger, or my very own class of residents again.  Well at least that class ;-O

While I'm waiting for the move. In comes Chuck.  Who's Chuck you say?  He's the guy carting around a cane and a walker.  Some kind intern/resident/doctor ordered physical therapy for me.  Well it made sense.  I hadn't been out of bed since before I arrived at the hospital and for a few days prior.  Heck. I cold barely move in the weeks preceding my visit to the hospital.  After a short conversation he decides I need a walker.  He is correct.  He made sure I had those hospital socks on..I did.  He gets a second gown to cover my backside...I didn't care, I have no modesty. :). He helps me out of bed and I walk very gingerly with the walker.  It was hard and scary.  Even though I was feeling much much better, I had a very long way to go.  After the session I asked if he could come tomorrow after I've moved and work with me some more.  He said he wasn't sure if there would be a request, but he
would see what he could do.  The kidney failure had rendered me so very weak.  Getting out a chair was a major accomplishment.


Not long after he left, the orderly came to move me.  All I had was a plastic bag of stuff the hospital gives patients and my eyeglasses.  I was in the new room by 11am Monday, November 5,  2012 Signing of with "Trying to Make a Fool of Me", The Delphonics. Real singers, real instruments, good arrangements. I sound like a curmudgeon. Lol

Pat s Adventures in Dialysis
Archive 3

2-25

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis - the It's So Early it's Dark edition, at least here. iPod shuffled to "Mystic Voyage", Roy Ayers. I used to hang out with the drummer on this song in high school and his band would setup and play outside at the lake. Bonus question one,what's his name? Extra credit if you know the name of his band when he was in high school. 

Ok now I know I have acute renal failure and need to be dialyzed right now. I get moved to a holding area to get transferred to ICU. Heh. iPod is playing "Te Lo Agradezco, Pero No", Alejandro Sanz, featuring Shakira. Shawn lead me to this song. I like it. You might want to check it out, even if it is all in Spanish..lol.

In the ICU holding area, there are very sick people. Of course,I didn't think I was that sick. The guy next to me couldn't feel his legs and had an awful headache and I could hear the panic in his voice. I heard a doctor talking to him. Brian later told me, there a monitor projecting the doctor from somewhere else. Technology!!! Anyway, Next to me Brian was looking grim,and I was trying to crack jokes. A nurse want a urine sample,and the last thing I wanted was a catheter. Brian helped me out of bed, but anyway,the entire exercise was a bust and I ended up with a catheter...I couldn't even walk to the bathroom. 

Now we are at the part where I remember very little. I got transferred to ICU. I sort of remember the ride to ICU. I recall several people transferring me from the gurney to the bed. I have no idea what time it was. The ICU room had more equipment in it that I could ever imagine and I finally realize I am very, very ill. 

Bonus question number two. My drummer friend and his high school band mate (keyboards) toured with Michael Jackson on the Bad tour, which means at least 2 Talented musicians from Detroit toured with Michael. Who is that keyboard player?

Signing off with "Heavens Girl", from Q's Juke Joint. Genius to join up Ron Isley, Charlie Wilson, Aaron Hall and R Kelly in a single song. Naomi Sims is such an afterthought on this song lol.

2-27

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the I just got back from Vegas just in time for snow and ice edition..whee. iPod selected "Going in Circles"' by the Friends of Distinction. Bonus question..."Going in Circles" has been recorded by at least 1 other group and 1 other artist. I have a Jolly Rancher for the correct guesses! Ah, 1 more song before the adventure. "Don't be Late for Love", The Whispers (one of my all time favorite groups...probably been to every Detroit concert they had - lol).

OK housecleaning and an interlude. I want to make sure that it is understood that the story I am telling occurred in early November, 2012. I type this while I am at dialysis...need something to pass those 3 hours in the chair. I am doing much better now and as a matter of fact, I just got back from a week in Las Vegas. I feel well enough to travel. 

I got dialysis in Las Vegas. My home dialysis center was very instrumental in making the trip a reality. 4 social workers helped at one time or another. My nephrologist expedited some issues. My vascular surgeon also expedited some issues. "You Gets no Love", Faith Evans. I admits it's all about the base line - lol. My tech kept a task list of what needed to be done. By the time I showed up to the dialysis in Vegas, they were waiting for me. They took care of me for 3 sessions. Back home now. :). I'll resume the story at my next dialysis session. Signing off with ,"Never Can Say Goodbye", Jackson 5. I played that one on the piano. One of my favorite J5 songs. Shout out to one of my fellow J5 fans from back in the day, Janet. :)

3-1

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the It's Early Friday Morning and Everyone in my Dialysis Module is Asleep but Me. iPod shuffled over to "Summer Madness", Kool and the Gang. This song always takes me back to freshman year at UM. 

Ok. My first night in ICU. Several things happened that I have no memory of, but I have proof that they happened. I know I had dialysis by 8 pm. Remember, I got to the hospital by 2:30 that afternoon. I had a dialysis catheter inserted into my groin for dialysis. I have absolutely no memory of that ever occurring, but it did because the damn thing was there. Nothing like realizing you have new appendages - lol. AND I felt better for some reason ( it was the 3 hours of dialysis that I don't remember, of course ). "Testify", by Common. No much that I don't like by Common. 

Anyway, even though I don't recall much of what happened that 1st night in ICU, I clearly remember the dream I had that night. I was being chased by something I couldn't see. I was terrified. I finally made it to the to of the hill and when I got there, there were fireworks and people cheering. "In the Rain", The Dramatics...my all time favorite group..ever. Bonus question..the brother of a RonBanks was lead in another Detroit group. Name the brother and the group. Bonus, bonus if you can name the producer of the brother's group (no fair if he is reading this -lol).

Back to the dream. I woke up a bit startled and wondered if I was running away from death and got away. 

Shawn and Dianne have steered me toward some blogs, so I'll look into them this weekend. Christa got the correct answers from the last bonus question and added Issac Hayes lol. Signing off with " I Just Want to Celebrate", Rare Earth. I like music. :-)

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis
Archive 2

2-11

Another day of Pat's Adventures in Dialysis. It's Monday. iPod rocking Phyllis Hyman - "When You Get Right Down to It". Love her voice, but her songs are usually so sad. Hated when she died. Mason did apiece on her a while ago. She had a lot of demons. She will be missed,but we have the recordings of her fabulous voice. 

Hmmm. iPod just started "Sex Machine" a Sly and the Family Stone. Lol. I'm changing it, it's 13 minutes long.

Ah, The Detroit Emeralds, "Feel the Need".

Dialysis fun fact. The threat of infection is high. The staff may go thru a box of latex gloves (or what,ever they are ) a day. And whenever they work one of us, we all wear face masks.

Signing of with Detroit's own, Floaters. Bonus question. The Floaters sprung out of another Detroit group. I got some Werthers for you today. Good luck!

2-15

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis - 2 Days After Surgery Edition. iPod playing "Runaway Child Running Wild"' Temptations. What I recall about this song is, when I was in Jr high school, music was played during lunch. This song came on and 500 students started singing - lol.

So Tuesday, I had surgery to adjust dialysis access point in my arm (the fistula ). I was sedated and had a nerve block in my arm. Lol. Ipod jumped to "Baby, I'm for Real", The Originals. I can really hear the strings from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. :) Genius.

Anyway, the nerve block in arm. My arm was like a rubber chicken for about 12 hours. I kept thinking my arm was on my stomach,when in fact, it was just hanging around on my side (really bad pun intended ). So anyway, I dialyzed at the hospital. Signing off with Tina Marie, "Ooh Wee". (My daughter hates this song, because, 'He Got a Cane'. Lol. How did these teeny tiny women have great big voices???

2-18

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis - the It's Monday Already? Edition. iPod selected "I Get the Job Done", Big Daddy Kane. An appropriate Monday morning song, eh?

I've had friends asking how I ended up in dialysis, so instead of the fun facts, I'll tell how I ended up here. Hopefully it will be a cautionary lesson and will help others to catch kidney issues before full on failure. 

Symptoms of kidney failure include little or no urine when you urinate; (song break - "You're on My Mind", Kem ...love the arrangement ). Ok more symptoms--swelling in legs or feet; not feeling like eating; nausea and vomiting; feeling confused, restless or anxious, sleepy; pain in the back just below the rib cage; metallic taste.

I had the loss of appetite and the nausea and vomiting. The nausea was brutal every morning and then it was done until the next day. The loss of appetite was gradual. I didn't notice it until idealized I had lost a lot of weight...go figure. ("Grapevine", Brownstone....again some women with exceptionally strong voices...one of those songs I crank up the volume on). I also had the back pain. In retrospect my kidneys tried to tell me there was a problem for at least a year before I ended up in ICU. The doctors estimate about 18 months. Signing off with "Be OK", Chrisette Michele..I'm be OK, I'll be fine OK, I'm a survivor, OK...lol. That was timely. ;)

2-20

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the " Where in the World is Pat" edition. iPod rocking to "Feels Good", Rahsaan Patterson. I am feeling good. :). Anyway back to how I ended up here. My longtime friend and partner in dialysis , Wendell , added the serious loss of energy symptom. I need to add 1 more. I had fluid accumulating around my lungs. ("Super Freak", Rick James...time for chair dancing). The fluid around my lungs caused breathing issues. Like I couldn't breathe. After the 3rd incident Brian called 911 to take me to the hospital. By this time I couldn't move, from extreme weakness. (Yes I know, after the 1st incident a week earlier i should have taken the hint. ). ("Straight Outta Compton", NWA..yeah ok I like old school rap...that deserves a shout out to Waunese and DeWanica. Hi nieces!!). So I get to ride in an EMS truck, which is another story for another day. So now I'm at the hospital it's about 2:30 PM on a Friday. Signing off with "A Real Mother for Ya", Johnny Guitar Watson...ok everyone bop your head and play your air guitar.

2-22

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis - the Why is it so Late on Friday edition. iPod on "Spinning Around"' The Main Ingredient. I need to add yet another symptom of kidney failure..intense itching....and yes, I has that too. 

Ok. Friday afternoon in ER. I get triage fairly quickly. I notice a mother and young child who were in a car accident. I tell my story the first of about 4786984748 people. I get moved from triage to another area in ER. A resident comes over to ask me (the same) questions. ("Walk on By", Dionne Warwick ..no e. hehe). Anyway during the interview with the intern, I have my 4th and final breathing (gasping for air) episode. That visibly scared the crap out of the intern. Some of my friends will understand that I as I was having trouble breathing,I was amused that the intern panicked. About a half of dozen assorted medical personnel came running. I got oxygen and IV. Someone also came and took blood. Sadly, the intern never returned, I did get 3 RNs, though. :-)

They tried to get me to drink something that I swore came Bath and Bodyworks. Ugh. It was like drinking vanilla and gardenia lotion (shudder). I drank as much as I could, then refused to drink anymore. Around this time a random doctor came and told me my creatinine level was 13. ( A normal creatinine level is 1) I asked what did that mean. He said I had acute renal failure and I would need dialysis immediately. I really had no clue as to what that meant. 

Sometimes the iPod comes on with timely songs.."Dreaming'", Christopher Williams (Don't Wake Me, I'm Dreamin'). Signing off with "Bring it on Home to Me", Sam Cooke...bonus question, who is singing with Sam Cooke on this song?

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis
Archive 1

1-30

Sitting in dialysis...iPod on shuffle...just got a heavy dose of Rick James. So now I'm dancing in the chair hooked up to the machine - lol. "Standing on the Top".  1-30

2-1

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis! iPod shuffle on. Started or with "heavens Girl" from Q's Juke Joint and now "She Blinded me with Science". Sounds right being around these virtual kidney machines attached to computers. The computers are constantly monitoring and recording my data...SCIENCE!!!

Dialysis fun fact..It does not hurt, you are in some kind of industrial reclining chair and you get your own flat screen TV. 3 hours of pure boredom. Signing off with Earth Wind and Fire, "Kalimba". Shout it to my tech, Shirley. :)

2-4

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis. Now playing, "I Just Want to Be", Cameo. That'll wake you up. 

Dialysis fun fact. I got some tubes stuck in me, 1 taking out blood with toxins in it, the other returning clean blood back...you know,my artificial kidney. Ya'll gonna make me lose my mind, "Up in Here". 

O.o I leave it to you to guess the artist. ;-)

See ya Wednesday.

2-6

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, Wednesday Edition. iPod playing "I"m Every Woman", Whitney Houston version. I like it and the video.

Dialysis fun fact. I dialyse 3 hours a day, 3 times a week, for a total of 9 hours a week. Healthy kidneys work 24/7, 168 hours a week.

Sign off song, "Don't Disturb This Groove". You get extra credit if you remember this song and can name the group!

2-8

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the who-hoo it's Friday edition. :)

iPod on After 7, "Ready or Not". 

I always thought Kevon Edmonds ( brother of Babyface) was the the better singer. 

Dialysis fun fact. I have an entire support team,which includes the dialysis techs, registered nurses, dietitians,social workers and the nephrologist stops by at least once a week. I feel the love - lol. Anyway, the all worked together to make possible for me to travel out of state.

Signing off with "Smooth"' , by Rob Thomas...prize if you guess the guest artist on the song. Hint, it's a guitarist.

A little weekend clean up.  I am making an attempt to copy all the Facebook entries over to the blog.  I also want to answer some of the trivia questions I posed.

The Detroit Emeralds morphed into Detroit's own Floaters..  "Float On".  I found a YouTube link of a live show.  I think it pretty much nails the song and the time it was recorded.  ;).
Float On

The two Detroit musicians that toured with Michael Jackson were Greg Phillinganes and  Ricky Lawson.  I also think there was a third Detroiter who toured.  He is the brother of a former co worker I met a few years ago.  I'll try to track that down.

Doug E Fresh, The Show , with Slick Rick as the partner.

The Dramatics Oceans of Thoughts and Dreams was sampled by Destiny's Child, Girl.

I have more trivia coming up.  You just sort of pick that stuff up. Lol.

The "I Heard Birds Chirping This Morning", edition.

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the "I Heard Birds Chirping this Morning" edition.  iPod shuffled to "Stay in My Corner", The Dells.  Who can hold a note that, long?  Admit it, when the song comes on in the privacy of your car, you try to hold that forever note lol.

I wake up Sunday, breakfast comes.  I tried a dry turkey sausage still tasted pretty bad lol. The roaming dialysis guy, Noel, comes in with his dialysis machine.  Now even though I had dialysis Friday night, I have no memory of it, so as far as I am concerned this is the first time I have seen the machine.  I ask questions..does it hurt?  No. How long?  3 hours.  What does it do?  Clean the toxins out your body viathe blood, hence HEMOdialysis.. How does it work?  This tube moves out the blood with toxins in it.  That tube returns clean blood back into your body.  I ask about my new groin appendages as he hooks me up to the dialysis machine.  This is a temporary access point.  "The Groove Line", Heat Wave.  Nice baseline. :)

After I'm hooked up, Noel asks if I am cold, I am not.  Heh about 15 minutes later I am freezing.  That happens when the blood is returned to your body.  Yes the blood goes out, gets cleaned and is returned.  The cold comes on the return trip. The temperature of the blood can be adjusted.  Anyway Noel bundled me up like a mummy.  Lol.  I stayed that way for about 2 hours then I started to fry.  However I was bundled up so tight that it was difficult to get out of there.  Lol. "White Lines", the other song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five..lol. The other side of "The Message"?

After the three hours were up, here comes Dr McDonald and school is in session again.  The good news is after the first dialysis, my creatinine number dropped from 13 to 4.  Yay!!!!  The bad news is they still didn't know what caused the  to kidneys fail.  There is a chance that the damage to my kidneys is not permanent.  I also ask questions to Dr McDonald and the class and they answer. :). DrMcDonald then says something that takes me aback. He says to the class that she is someone who we should focus our efforts on.  My takeaway was that there are some patietnts that don't get the level of  care and effort I was given.  That was a bit disconcerting.  I was glad that I passed the test????

Signing of with, "I Never Loved a Man", Aretha Franklin.  She sang Amazing Grace , accapella,  at a funeral I attended.  No microphone needed in the cathedral.  She is amazing.

The "I Went to a Transplant Orientation Session Yesterday" edition.

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the I Went to a Transplant Orientation Session Yesterday, edition.  That's going to be a journey unto itself.  Ok. I am going to try to type slower and attempt to minimize the typos.

The "I Didn't Go To Sleep Until Shawn Told Me About Her Visit to One of Her Grad School Choices and Now I'm Sleepy", edition.

Pat's Adventures in Dialysis, the I Didn't go to Sleep Until Shawn told me about her visit to one offer grad school choices and now I'm sleepy edition.

Roz correctly guessed Five Special.  The answers to rest of the questions are in the 1st/test blog.  I think you comment on this thing, but it's a work in progress.  iPod on "A Heart is House for Love", the Dells.  We used to insist the Five Heartbeats play every week at the beauty salon - lol. I'm sure the guy who did our hair was more that tired of the movie.  We could do the movie dialogue and emote as well. :-D.  And of course I have the DVD and the DVR.

Ok. So the first night I had the death dream. I woke up to my ICU nurse doing nurse stuff.  Breakfast was brought in,  but hospital food is pretty bad and it's even worse when it's salt free..yuck.  I still didn't have much of an appetite anyway.  Well Sinai-Grace is a teaching hospital, and soon enough a class of residents herded into my room,with the instructor rolling in yet another computer.  They had access to all of  my info and the teaching doctor immediately started quizzing them on my  condition in front of me.  That was cool,because I was getting information about what was wrong and what perhaps the treatment might be.

The instructor, Dr. McDonald, looked like Steve Martin.  I asked him if he knew that...lol. He replied that he got that a lot.  He then started asking me a ton of questions, then would ask the students
questions based only answers..like a speed round on a game show.  He and I then got into why my primary care physician was a gastroenterologist.  I felt like it was mental challenge, and I needed to defend my doctor of over 30 years..wtf!!!!!   Eventually he was satisfied, and remember his occurred inf front of the students.  Lol. Pulled me out of my sick fog, anyway and made me think. :). We both came out of it with respect for each other.  He started quizzing the students on cause, treatment and possible outcomes.  When he got answers he was satisfied with he had the resident get everything going.  I would see  Dr Martin a lot while I was in ICU along with the head resident, Dr "call me Nat" Battinger.


  iPod flipped to "The Show", Doug E Fresh.  Jolly Rancher if you know his partner  on this song.  I never heard of the partner until my nieces, Waunese and DeWanica, brought him to  my attention.
"Auntie Pat, please take us to the concert!!".  Lol I had never heard of the guy before that.  And no I didn't take them to that concert...we went to Janet Jackson, instead. :). Signing off with Rachelle Farrell, "With Open Arms".  Nothing to say about this song except to crank up the volume to max, close your eyes and enjoy. :)

Testing the blog for the blog illiterate

Just seeing how this goes.  At least there is an editing feature.  So to answer the question from Friday,  Bryan Banks was Ron Banks brother.  The name offer group was Five Special.  The groups claim to fame song was "Why Leave us Alone".  The talented producer is my long time friend Tony "T Money" Green.  I'd link the song fromYoutube, however it requires Adobe Flash and ipad doesn't support that .  Apple fail.

Short story.  I kinda sorta knew Tony was into music, but I really found out when my friend Belinda and i started going to Ortheia's Place on 8 Mile (remember that?).  Five Special was the featured group andTony was the bass player and band director. :).  Belinda and I added my cousin Brenda when she came to town and we'd go and see them almost every week.  Don't remember how much later, but Bryan got killed. This was after we stopped going to see him, but it was sad to hear.

Five Special, Why Leave us Alone