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?