The "Dialysis Happens. Or Does It?", edition.

iPad shuffled to Earth, Wind and Fire, "Love's Holiday".  Well I finally got on my machine almost 2 hours late.  I know. You're asking, "Why is that Pat?  What happened?"  I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you.   I arrived at the clinic at my usual time. And the usual folks are there and they greet me with, "There's a problem with the water". Oh. That's a big frowny face. Purified, sterilized water runs through the dialysis machines. If the water doesn't work or isn't clean, then no dialysis for you...er me...er us. From that point more patients were coming in. We, the patients, have staggered chair times. There are 32 of us on first shift, but we don't all start at the same time. Well as we, the first of the first, are waiting, the remaining people of shift one started to arrive. 

The Isley Brothers, "Spill The Wine".  The first of the first group actually know each other. We are the ones waiting for the doors to open.  The people who come after us enter the treatment area when they come in.  But today these folks come in and realize the first of the first are still waiting. Lol. That has to be disheartening. We had to wait for someone to come and service the water issue and the all the machines have to be retested. I finally got on about 1.5 hours late. :-/  There was some suggestion that our dialysis times would be cut. Well, believe it or not, even though dialysis patients bitch and moan about treatment, watch us bitch and moan even more if someone suggests cutting our treatment time. Lol.  Talk was swirling about screwing first shift, but 2nd and 3rd shift would be fine???!!!! WTF?  Because the center didn't want to pay overtime. Oh hell no. You are not gonna deny me my full treatment because you don't want to pay me overtime!!!!!!   Well I was prepared to be Pat, but I didn't have to.  When I finally get hooked up, my tech asks do I want to do a full run. I say yes. And that was that. Lol. So I quickly came down to earth and lowered my hackles!  I usually get off around 8:30 AM. Today it's 10:00 AM. Oh well. Welcome to life on dialysis.  And most patients want full treatment. It's a bit more dicey for those using scheduled transportation.  

Tom Tom Club, "Genius of Love".  I did get an opportunity to get to know some of my fellow warriors better. A couple have been doing dialysis fir 20+ years. That actually makes me fell better. We also discussed how we ended up with kidney failure.  There are so many reasons. Several were high blood pressure, another was a strep infection that found its way to the kidneys. I find it surprising that that folks I was with in Detroit came about kidney failure with diabetes and Lupus. And this not a scientific study.  Just surprised.  Bleah. Just told I have to come off 45 minutes early. But I'll still get the full amount of fluid pulled.  Lol. I had to negotiate the last half hour.  Lol lol. When the tech came over to tell me, the first words out of my mouth were, "I feel like I need to negotiate!"  And I did.  I'm good. It makes all shifts equitable instead of giving the first the royal screw. 

The Natural Four, "Can This Real".  Shawn's vegan friend is here!  Let the new eating experiences begin.  We went shopping at Whole Foods. It was a bit pricey for me, but the food looked good and they had an impressive vegan selection. Even chocolate cakes!  We had lunch at an Indian restaurant. I hadn't been to one before. And it was buffett. I fell in love with Chicken Tikka Masala and Tandori chicken. Yum yum yum. I did pass on the goat dish. But I did try the tamarind sauce. After this morning's  treatment we're heading to a place that sells vegan waffles. (See photos). 

Whodini, "Five Minutes of Funk".  Well, I did the dialysis front. It's cold here now. 37 degrees when we left this morning. But yesterday, even though the temp was in the high forties, a heavy sweater was enough because of the sun.  Jacket in the morning, sweater in the afternoon. And yes, jacket at night. Especially if the wind is blowing.  Anyway. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. I'll be back Tuesday, December 30, 2014.  And will be looking forward to my full dialysis time!!!