The "Sushi Verdict", edition.

 Good Wednesday morning!  This is the last edition for 2015.  Almost a year since I started the training for home hemo. I could go on about our accomplishments for 2015.  But not right now.  I want to tell you about sushi and our plans for New Years Eve and New Years Day.  I may do the year in review on Friday. We'll see.  

So sushi.  Shawn likes sushi.  I've had it and not only have I tried it, I tried in the 80s before it became a thing. So there!  A friend, whose mother is Japanese had a restaurant in Livonia near Laurel Park Place. She had us come and have a sushi tasting party. I recall liking it, but not something I'd drive to Livonia to get.  Time passed and sushi just wasn't on my radar. My child, on the other hand, loves sushi. I think she really fell in love when she lived in Washington DC. So anyway. We're talking on the phone before she gets out here to Vegas and says she wants some sushi. I ask her, hey you live in a college town with a large Asian population, aren't there sushi restaurants there?  She informs me of several facts. First is that Champaign-Urbana is in the middle of nowhere. Insinuating that getting really fresh fish for sushi could be problematic. Second, yes there is an Asian population, but it's mostly Korean and Chinese. And as a matter of fact it's the largest concentration of Koreans in the state.  Maybe I heard that wrong?  

So my job was to find a good sushi restaurant here in Vegas.  So as I look them up, one of the restaurants that got high ratings is very close to where we live. As a matter of fact, I knew exactly where it was because I'd seen it and had wondered about it. The name is Yamasushi and its AYCE.  What is that acronym?  All You Can Eat. From my experience I'm thinking a sushi buffet and that just sounds yuck. But. The restaurant was getting high ratings. I'm clearly puzzled. So we just jump on and go. The place was packed!  And people still just kept on coming. As we sat and ate we watched the line to get seated grow. 

So how does AYCE sushi work?  I guess it's like Chinese dim sum?  You order off a menu, which has an impossible number of items and the server brings you what you order. Eat, repeat.  Until you cannot lift your chopsticks anymore!  Lol. We'd order the sushi, California rolls, tempura rolls, Diablo things, etc., the list was huge. Each plate had up to 10 sushi rolls on it and Shawn, Brian and I would each order something different. (My child likes eel....erm..). I even tried miso soup.  You pay one price and you gave a 1.5 hour time limit, then eat sushi until you burst!  Well I didn't burst, but I got full and I enjoyed it. Even if I fought with my chopsticks. And Shawn had her sushi jones taken care of!  

Will Brian and I go there once Shawn is gone?  I don't plan on it unless Brian has a hankering for sushi, but I won't turn my nose up on it again. It was good and filling.  That being said, I'd still jump for burrito instead!!!  

Friday we're having red beans and rice, with chipotle and  Gruyere cornbread, a salad and a pineapple upside down cake. Pauline and her niece are invited. And Brian and I invited our neighbor's down the hall. They moved in the complex about the same time we did. They're from southern Illinois and are very nice. They bring us (mmmmmmm good) cookies for Christmas.  And it's just time to reciprocate. I know.  New Year's Day is black eye peas. But I can't cook 'em. So it's red beans for us.  My recipe?  Sautéd onions, celery, green pepper and garlic in olive oil.   If I'm doing vegetarian I also add red, orange and yellow peppers and vegetable broth. Add sausage, like Jimmy Dean, then add andouille sausage, if I can find it, if not then smoked sausage. And yes, sometimes I used smoked turkey sausage. Add the jar of beans, add chicken broth and cook. Periodically use a potato masher to mash some of the beans. Gives it a thicker consistency.  Add a bay leaf or 2. Season with salt, pepper a little red pepper flake...or a lot depending on how spicy you like it.  Cook for about an hour then serve in a bowl over rice. Good stuff. 

Well that's it for today.  I'm starting the process to get on the transplant list here.  Yesterday I got a call from UMC, University Medical Center, the only transplant hospital in the state. :-/  So I'll be on the test merry go round again. The good news is my primary care physician has already had me take a lot of the tests to get a baseline. Woot!! 

Enjoy your day and a safe New Year's Eve!  See ya' next year!!!!  

The "Holiday Family Time", edition.

Good Monday morning. Still the holiday and will be a holiday until Shawn is headed back to Illinois.  So. Let's start with Christmas dinner. Most of the meal items were prepared or purchased before Friday.  Dinner was at 2:00.  I know. You say, hey that's rather early. And it was, but for a reason. Dad has to pick up Carl from his assisted living residence. It's literally across town.  If you're familiar with the area, we live near The Westgate, formerly known as The Las Vegas Hilton.  Carl lives very near Red Rock Casino and Resort.  It's listed as a 13 mile trip, about 30 minutes each way. There is no freeway to take there and the lights here are extra long.  As long as traffic is moving, 30 minutes sounds right.  Anyway. The point is Dad wanted to make sure he returned Carl before it got dark. And he did. We were pretty much done by 5:00. And that allowed me to do treatment that  evening. It was a win all around.  

Now. What was left to fix on Christmas Day?  The banana pudding was done.   The cucumber salad and potato salad were done, the candied corn needed to be heated up.   Put it in a pot on low and let it go.  The tri tip was put in oven on low and was going well. The turkey breast was also in the oven. So I needed to do my fancy rice.  What is fancy rice?  I sauté a package of sliced mushrooms, an onion, 1/2 a green pepper and 3 stalks of celery for about 5-7 minutes. I seasoned the veggies with kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder. That day I used 3 tbsp of butter, but I have used olive oil.  Then I added  the rice and sautéd it with the veggies for about 4 more minutes. Then, instead of water, I used low sodium broth. Friday I used beef broth to complement the tri tip.  But I've also used chicken broth or even vegetable broth. I added a teaspoon of beef boullion and then cooked according to the directions on the package of rice. Yum. Yum. And did I say yum?  I also made some gravy. 

The final dish was the oven roasted brussel sprouts. They were perfection. The trial run ended up too salty. I followed Ina's directions, but she just had too much salt. We seasoned before roasting and that was enough. As always there was too much good and as always, we sent our seniors home with goodie bags. We had a great Christmas Day!   

So Sunday is our regular brunch day. Yesterday we went to the House of Blues Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay. I thought Dad might like it. And he did. Remember, he attends the Episcopal church, so the music nowhere near gospel!  Also, the brunch buffet is pretty extensive. There were several stations.  The main knew had 3 Salads, shrimp, scrambled eggs, sausage gravy and biscuits,  Mac and cheese, sausage links, bacon, catfish and bbq chicken. There was a carving station, a chicken and waffles station and the ever ubiquitous omelet station.  And of course deserts. You can purchase mimosas and bloody Mary's .  I know at the Disney World venue they offered fresh squeezed orange juice...but that's Florida!!  

They give you 45 minutes before the show starts, but you can get food until the end.  I won't tell you about the show, but we enjoyed it. The gospel groups are different each week. The group we saw here in Vegas performs every 4th Sunday. The singer was Pat Pennington and she was from Detroit!  How about that?  Dad enjoyed it. Brian, Shawn and I enjoyed it again. I recommend the gospel brunch not only for the food, but the singing is good. 

That's it for today.  I need to reiterate that I am feeling much better. The problem really was too much fluid. Isn't that something. That could have killed me. I guess I was slowly dying. But now I'm not!!  Whoo hoo!  I betcha I'll be more vigilant about fluid accumulation!  Take care. Be careful if you're in bad weather areas. It's just chilly here. So much whining!  They don't know what cold is!  Lol. Have a wonderful day!!!

The "I'm Writing This On Christmas Day!", edition.

Merry Christmas. I didn't really anticipate writing the blog today, but I've got this small window of respite right now. Let's start with Wednesday, shall we?  Brian and Shawn got out early to pick up the tritip and smoked turkey. The tritip tasted great!  Anyway. We left later on to go to my monthly kidney appointment.  Great appointment.  I got a clean bill of health from my nephrologist.  I'm back to dialysis 5 days a week, but can do more if I feel the need. I'll be starting the process to get on the transplant list here in Nevada after January 1. The only hiccup is finances. I'll get into that in a later edition. You'll like this. (Feel the sarcasm). Let's just say that we're fortunate that finances won't get in the way, no thanks to the fucking City of Detroit. Ugh. 

Anyway. I still had to get a hit of iron at the appointment. But I don't need the protein supplement since I'm eating. Also we fax flow sheets (forms we fill out that have data from the  dialysis session). I skipped treatment on my birthday and indicated on the flow sheet for the following treatment that I missed treatment because it was my birthday. When I got to the dialysis center, every one wished me happy birthday, including the doctor!!  Ok. So my initial point was I got the iron. It's introduced through my arterial access. It takes about 10 minutes. And my accesses are causing problems right now, I may have to create new buttonholes. Another story for another time. My point is, I opted out of treatment Wednesday evening because I didn't want to restick the access so soon after the iron treatment. So we did treatment Thursday morning and will probably do treatment again this evening. It's all good. Dinner is early today at 2:00. 

Wednesday Shawn and I finished the potato salad. It went incredibly fast and Shawn showed me shortcuts. Imagine.  This recipe is handed down from my grandfather and it took my daughter to shorten the time significantly!!!  Hooray for youth and great thinkers!!!  Thursday Brian and I did the cucumber salad and banana pudding. That leaves the rice and brussel sprouts for today.  So today!  We sort of went overboard and got Shawn everything she asked for.  And more.  She ended up with a giant box filled with a bunch of presents!  She asked for and received archeology tools. I gave Dad a new fedora. I saw his old hat when he went to church. It looked pretty bad.  Bran received a cut resistant glove, so he may try a mandolin again without ending up in ER. ;-)  And I got bags. I am a an unashamed bad lady. And a kick ass AKA cardigan!!!  

Brian fixed the baileys and coffee and we had sausage, egg and biscuit sandwiches.  We'll kick into high gear in about 1.5 hours. Right now we're just chilling and enjoying each other!!  On that note I'm signing out. Have a great Christmas Day and enjoy yourselves.  I'm looking forward to the rest of the day!!!  

Note the Christmas tree on the speaker!!  And next to the hat is the gift to Dad from my brother and sister in law. Dad asked for a Mercedes. He got one! And the batteries to go with it!!!   Hehehehehe!!!

And for the record there  are other gifts scattered around the living room waiting to be placed under the "tree".  :-)  

The "Holiday Spirit", edition.

Good Wednesday morning!  First things first. Shawn is in the house!!!  So let me get some info out of the way. How does one get from Champaign-Urbana Illinois to ... Well anywhere?  Lol. The city is in the middle of nowhere surrounded by corn fields.  It's true that there is an airport there. It's a commuter airport and she could fly from there, but it would almost $300-$400 per trip. That's out. You can also leave from Springfield, Illinois, about an hour west of Urbana, but it still requires a layover at Ohare. Now Champaign-Urbana is nicely placed equidistant from Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis. How cool  is that?  Well. The only airport that has the shuttle(!) is Ohare. So she leaves from Ohare. For this trip. 

She could drive, but that means paying the long term parking and I just know the cost is prohibitive in Chicago. For the record, she has done the Indianapolis route before, but requires driving. So this time it was the shuttle to Ohare.  It did require a long wait at the airport once you arrive, but you won't miss the flight!!  Anyway. We kept in touch via text. And she let me know when she boarded. I was getting confused by time differences, but finally settled down. She's in Central. 

Brian, Dad, and I met her at the airport and then took her to dinner at the Boulder Station dinner buffet. We get several 2 for 1 coupons for the buffet every month so a Dad and I used those and we used our casino points. And dinner cost us nothing!  After dinner we came home, rested a bit and Shawn crashed. It had been a long day, after all. But the best part?  My baby is here!!!!  

Yesterday we went to the Fashion Show hall on the strip. Brian wanted me to get him some clothes for Christmas and Dillards fits the bill.  Shawn also knocked out some  shopping. Today, I'm starting on the potato salad. Brian is picking up the tritip and smoked turkey today and we'll get the perishables for the rest of the menu today. 

I also have my monthly meeting with my kidney care team today. It'll be much better than last month. No desperately trying to catch my breath this time!!  Not sure about my labs. And I really, really don't want to have to start taking a protein supplement. Ugh.  I think I can hold them off until we do the blood draws at the first of the month. 

That's it for today. I'll be cooking or prepping from now until Christmas dinner. And that's fine. Enjoy your day!  

The "Happy Happy Monday", edition.

Good Monday morning!  Shawn is flying in this evening. Whoo hoo!  Haven't seen her since May.  We've been planning for her visit. Also today is a no dialysis day!  Whoo hoo!  I'll start with dialysis news. I'm down 2.5 kgs from my original dry weight and feel so much better! My nurse wants me to stop, but I feel I can make the final .5 kg.  That's where the nephrologist wants me. I'll wait until meeting with my team on Wednesday to see what they say. It just feels good to feel better.  I still get tired, but nowhere near the tired I was 3-4 weeks ago. I can go into stores and not immediately look for the electric scooters. I can even stand in a line for a while. And the huffing and puffing has stopped. I was rivaling the big bad wolf for a while!  Lol?  

One issue I'm experiencing is my buttonholes, the 2 holes where I insert the needles for hemodialysis, you know one hole for blood in, one hole for blood out, well the area around the holes hurt now. It feels like I have needles inserted in my arm. I know. You're saying, well, yeah. You have needles inserted in your arm. But the buttonholes were/are like pierced ears. I didn't feel anything. I just inserted the needles into the tracks and called it a day. But now, not so much. I'll be bringing this up with my team on Wednesday also. 

Finally I told you I'd tell you my finalized Christmas dinner menu. Brian ordered a tritip from Road Kill Grill.  It'll be grilled there.  We're also getting a smoked turkey breast from Honeybaked Ham. I'm fixing potato salad. Yum yum yum. I tried and succeeded with the roasted Brussels sprouts. OMG. I never knew Brussels sprouts could taste good!  Ive hated them all my life. But the TV chefs made it look good, so I thought I'd try it. The first try was, eh. But this time?  Perfection!!! Brussel sprouts in bowl, toss in olive oil, place in pan, season with salt and pepper. Roast at 350 degrees. For our oven, it was done after 20 minutes. A light char. All carmelization and tasty as hell. Brian and Dad devoured them! So they made the menu cut.  Ok. Also on the menu is fancy rice. Rice cooked in beef broth, with mushrooms, onions and celery. Candied corn, which is already done and frozen..courtesy of The Neelys. And a tomato, onion and cucumber salad. I'm also making banana pudding for desert. I know it sounds like a lot, but the cucumber salad will be made on Wednesday.  Let the pickling take place over a few days. The potato salad and banana pudding will be done on Thursday. The corn is already done. All that's left to cook will be the rice and brussel sprouts. And I have Brian  and Shawn here to assist!  Will also have rolls and a relish tray with jalapeño olives, blue cheese olives, kalamata olives, small dill pickles and sweet gherkins. And rolls, of course. 

Sounds like a lot. And it probably is. I can't help it. And of course the goodie bags.  And I'm done with my Christmas shopping. The entire shebang was done online. Not unlike that Christmas after I was diagnosed with kidney failure.  Back then I was too sick to go out. And this time, I was also not feeling well enough to go to a mall.  I've finally admitted that the symptoms I experienced the past few months were quite similar to when my kidneys failed. It was the fluid accumulation. You can bet I'll never let that happen again.  What I thought was a normal weight gain was I fact an unhealthy fluid accumulation. Ugh. 

That's it for today.  Future plans include the House of Blues Gospel Brunch next Saturday. And Dad wants to take us back to the Brazilian Steakhouse. He's found his heaven at the Brazilian Steakhouses!  Lol. I don't know I'm going to survive until this evening when Shawn arrives, but I have to, don't I?  Lol have a great day!!!

The "Yesterday Was My Birthday!", edition.

Good Friday morning!  Brian is making coffee. He makes great coffee. I am so spoiled!!  And yes, I spoil him also. :-)  Yesterday was my birthday.  I had a pretty good day.  Woke up. Putted around. Eventually headed out to Target. See, I'm make little goodie bag gifts for my seniors.  We got some Santa marshmallow treats, but I wanted more stuff.  So I got some Hersey Kisses and little candy canes.  I figured they liked the Easter candy so Christmas candy should be ok. We also got M&Ms for the house. Plain, peanut and pretzel.  Then Brian suggested we visit the bakery. That's a dangerous place!  We bought some Italian bread and it was sliced for us on the premises.  I also got some more everything bagels, and a cinnamon roll. Brian picked up a pound cake and reasonable facsimile ofHostess  chocolate cupcakes. I also saw a focaccia pizza. The size of a personal pizza. Got a jalapeño one. OMG. Anyway we split it for lunch. Yum yum yum. 

We had an early lunch because we had reservations for dinner at Joe Vicari's Andiamo Italian Steakhouse at The D. Yes. It's the same Andiamo group as the Andiamos in Detroit.  I've been to the one in the Ren Cen several times and the food was great. Brian suggested this one since he hadn't been to Andiamos in Detroit.  As a side note, The D casino has an American Coney Island restaurant and the gift shop sells Louis the Hatter hats.  If we need a touch of Detroit, we can get it here. Anyway, before it was The D, it was The Fitzgerald, owned by Detroiter Don Barden. 

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor of the casino and has an old school, opulent feel. The Ren Cen Andiamos was much more airy, open and modern. The wait staff were in white coats. No appetizers were ordered, but Brian got a wedge salad and I got a bowl of lobster bisque. Just so you know, I'm a sucker for lobster bisque. When we went to Martha's Vineyard years ago, I had it everyday. Anyway. The salad was good and the lobster bisque was heaven. I also had a Bloody Mary. It. Was. Great. It had a touch of spice and wasn't overpowered by vodka. It was damn near perfect.  We left the bread alone.  Why were we taking it easy?  Because we ordered steaks. I am an unashamed beef lover. I make no apologies for my love of a good piece of prime rib or a good cut of filet mignon or as the case yesterday, a 20 ounce bone in ribeye. Mmmm mmmm mmmmmmm.  Brian had a 20 ounce porterhouse.  Yes I could gave ordered the 10 ounce filet mignon, but come on. The bone in rib eye has way more flavor and juiciness!  And I've shifted my doneness from medium well to medium. And yeah, I ate about 1/3 of it!  Lol. And we were served a side of pasta. I tasted it and it was good also. And Brian didn't finish his steak either. 

During dinner, the manager visited us. The servers assistant boxed and bagged our leftover steaks. The server then appeared with a champagne glass with a scoop of mango sherbet in it, poured champagne on it. A birthday treat, they said!  :-)  And I'd never tasted anything like it. It was wonderful!!   And then we had the audacity to agree to look at the desert tray!  Lol. I would have like the chocolate mouse, but the side was covered in coconut and top with mango something.  Bleah.  We ended up with tiramisu. Delicious also. And we probably ate less than half. So full. So good. After we ate, we made it back to the car. And even though it seemed we ate a lot, we knew when to stop so we weren't miserable. Been there. Done that. Wasn't happy. 

Received a call from Shawn, so you know that made my day. Looking forward to her arriving out here on Monday!!!  Dad gave me a nice gift, Brian gave me a watch. I was over whelmed by the birthday wishes on Facebook. And we finally crashed after Jimmy Fallon. :-D  

Skipped dialysis last night but before you fuss and fret, I dialyzed Tuesday and Wednesday. I usually do treatment 5 days a week and only switched to 6 days a week about 3 weeks ago. And I've made it down to my new dry weight...and besides. It was my birthday. So there. Back on schedule today. And I'm banking on being told to return to 5 days when I go to my monthly appointment on Wednesday. So there, again!  

Grocery shopping today. Gonna test drive the roasted Brussels sprouts for Christmas and gonna make the Neelys candied corn and freeze it for Christmas this weekend. I'll let you know the full finalized Christmas dinner menu next week. It's funny. For so long I wasn't interested in fixing a holiday dinner until I got out here in Las Vegas. I found that I'm enjoying hosting the seniors. They enjoy each other's company and it gives them a chance to get together. I'm pretty sure this is something Mom would want me to do!  

That's it for today. Long entry, wasn't it?  It's like that sometimes. Hope you made it to the end. Sunny day out here. Warming up to the 60s soon. And loving every minute!  Take care and have a great weekedn!  

The "Lovin' My Cousins", edition.

Good Wednesday morning!  My aunt, uncle and cousins are still in town.  And we spent time with them yesterday. We had lunch at the buffet at the Southpointe Casino Resort.  Was the food good or bad?  Doesn't matter. I was with family and we had a great time. Dad couldn't make it because he had a doctors appointment. And Uncle George wasn't up to it. Donna and Keith left to go back to Arizona. So it was me, Brian, Rosie, James, Brenda and Aunt Jeanette.  

We talked about Yellow Springs, our kids, Aunt Jeanette's lemon meringue pie, me being wingman for Brenda (lol) and how I'm Aunt Jeanette's 6th child.  Lol. Brenda especially liked that since that made me youngest instead of her and she promptly called herself a big sister.  Aunt Jeanette and I took our binders together. Partners in dialysis. Aunt Jeanette seems to be doing well and I was just happy to see her and be with her. And Brenda and Rosie. Dad wants to go back to Ohio this summer to visit family so we're going to make it happen. He enjoyed seeing Aunt Jeanette and Aunt Marlene.  

I'm almost done shopping and haven't set foot in a store.  I will today for a few items like wrapping paper.  And. I've got a photo of a purse I bought last spring. I went to a Dillards to get a Father's Day gift for Brian. After I purchased the gift, I strolled through the purse section. I'm a sucker for purses.  I noticed a sale area and spotted a red Coach Legacy Bucket Bag. Not only was it on sale, the sign on the rack said 50% off. I asked the nearest salesperson if that was correct. She said it was. The cost of the purse was $109.00.  It was an offer I couldn't refuse. As a matter of fact, I was beside myself with glee! Lol. See way back when, in the 80s, I had one of original iterations of the bucket bag. I paid $180 and thought that was outrageous, but I loved the bag. Me and 2 friends each bought one. The bag got a lot of usage, I even used it as combo purse/diaper bag. But when we moved to Las Vegas, I got rid of all of my Coach bags. I'm not telling how many I had.  And I'd been drooling at the new generation of bucket bags when Coach reintroduced them the previous year. I just could not justify paying $400 for a purse. I draw the line somewhere!!! So. When I saw that beautiful red bucket bag, I snatched it up.  Look, it was better than eating a piece of chocolate!!!!  And on that note I'll tell you about my Onna Erlich purse another day. ;-)

On the dialysis front. No new news. Feeling better, strength coming back, back on schedule with meds.  My last labs were still kinda funky because I wasn't eating. My hemoglobin is still low. The epogen was increased again. I'm eating more protein. My potassium and phosphorus numbers are still below average, but I'm eating the appropriate foods. I need to check with my care team if I should stop the phosphorus binders until the numbers rise.  Heh. I get in the groove of taking the meds and because I know what they're for and the consequences of not taking them I get leary. Well. I meet with the team next Wednesday. 

So it's warmer in the east and Midwest than here. And boy. The whining about the "cold" here is funny. OMG, it's 50 degrees.  They are actually longing for the sets of 100+ degree days. Really?  Lol. Anyway. Have a great day. Call a cousin. Make your day!!!

James, Rosie, Brenda, Aunt Jeanette, Pat, Brian

Pat, Aunt Jeanette 

Best find ever! For now. Lol. 

The "A Wonderful Time with Family", edition.

Good Monday morning!  Saturday we hosted lunch for our visiting family. I ordered the food from John Mull's Meats, also known as Road Kill Grill. What I liked was that I ordered the food on Thursday for Saturday and Road Kill never blinked. Just asked what time will I pick up the order. Ribs, chicken, green beans, slaw and peach cobbler. Renal safe for Aunt Jeanette. 

Saturday morning, we woke up and went out Saturday morning trip to Boulder Station. One hour of gambling a week. Came home and cleaned up and set up for visitors. Left for Road Kill to pick up our order at 11:00 AM. A 12 mile drive. A worthwhile trip. Anyway. We're tickled as we pull into the parking lot and see the line for the prepared food, Road Kill Grill. People are lining up for their lunch orders. And we're not surprised.  We go inside the funky looking cinder block building, John Mull's Meats, and there's a line inside. And still, we're not surprised. Much. We're used to lines around the holidays, but it just wasn't a surprise to see it on Saturday morning. The food is good and they have an abundant list if meats.  And as we leave, the line us longer with more people pulling into the parking lot. 

I get to the inside counter, pay and they direct us to drive around to the back. We did this exercise for the 4th of July. We drive back there and there's Earl grilling his heart out. Just like last summer. Except  it's not 145 degrees. Lol.  He gets our food. Gives us 2 giant pans of their barbecue sauce, regular and spicy and gives us an additional rack of spare ribs. So now we have 4. He packed everything up and even loaded it in the car.  Much love for Earl!!  We head home. And Dad goes to get a bag of ice.  

Around noon, or 1:00 PM, we get the call that they're on the way. We hosted lunch 7 guests and the three us. 10 in total. Our guests finished off the green beans and peach cobbler. We have about 1/4 of the slaw left , 4 pieces of chicken and a bunch of ribs. Because, you know, Earl gave us extra.  Lol.  That's cool. We sent some upstairs to my senior, Pauline.  We had a wonderful time. Dad and Aunt Jeanette grew up together and they enjoyed being together now.  Brenda and I hung out in Yellow Springs and Detroit and we enjoyed being together. And I always considered the others to be my big sisters. Love them so much!!  So yeah, we just had a great time and enjoyed being in each other's company. 

Today, Aunt Jeanette's baby sister and her husband are coming in from California, so we're going to the hotel to visit. And let me put this in perspective. Aunt Jeanette has 2 sisters still kicking it. Aunt Jeanette is 85, Aunt Dorothy is 95 and I gave no idea how old Aunt Marlene is, but I'm thinking 80. And add Dad to the mix at 89!!  How about that!  I'm looking forward to seeing more family. 

Nothing special on the dialysis front. I'm feeling better everyday. I still get tired, but I'm getting out more. It was a slow slide to get to the bottom where I was and its a slow climb out, but I'm climbing out!  That's it for today. It's cooler here than in Michigan and Illinois. For now.  Lol. Have a great day and enjoy your warm spell!!!  

The "Enjoying Visitors", edition.

Good Friday morning!  We were close to 70 degrees yesterday. I guess its unseasonably warm, but the news people sure do whine about the temps dropping to the 40s. Lol lol. Whine to me when the high for the day is 15 degrees. 

My aunt and uncle are in town along with 3 of their 5 kids.  Rosie flew from Texas to Ohio to get them. Brenda flew in from Georgia and Donna flew in from Arizona to be here with them. How fabulous is that??  When I was a kid I spent as much time as I could in Yellow Springs, Ohio  with my aunt and uncle. Their youngest daughter, Brenda and I are the same age and she is one of my best friends. We were in each other's weddings. Uncle George and Aunt Jeanette always welcomed me with love. And Aunt Jeanette introduced me to lemon meringue pie. Donna, Rosie, Tanya and Larry treated me like a little sister...in a good way!  Lol. It was great to me, since I was an only child. 

Years later as I was diagnosed with Acute Intermittent Porphyria and the later when my kidneys failed, I found that Aunt Jeanette was in the same sucky health path as me. Even to the point where our kidneys seemed to fail at the same time. I had hoped to visit Aunt Jeanette in Yellow Springs before we moved to Vegas, but life didn't allow it. So imagine my delight when Rosie called and said she was bringing her parents out here. And thats more than a motion. Both are in wheelchairs. But they are all here to help!  

Brian and I will have lunch for them on Saturday. I know how to provide a renal friendly meal and we discussed it.  Well.  It's gonna be Road Kill Grill!!  Ribs, chicken, green beans, slaw and peach cobbler. Since my aunt is having issues with staff giving her the meds at the right time, we have to be cognizant of phosphorus and potassium. Remember, though, since I dialyze daily, my diet is not restricted.  In fact, I've been instructed to increase my potassium and phosphorus!!!  Potatoes, tomatoes, avocados who hoo!!  

Anyway, I am just delighted to have my aunt ,uncle and cousins in town. And yes, Aunt Jeanette is getting treatment while here....like I used to when I visited. As far as I'm doing, the daily dialysis is bringing the fluid down.  I'm about 1kg from the target dry weight the neph suggested. I've started cramping a little during treatment so I know I'm getting close to what my dry weight should be. To put this in perspective, I was carrying more than 7 pounds of fluid on a regular basis. No wonder I felt bad.  I am getting better. I still get tired, but most days are good. That's it for today. Have a great weekend!!!!

The "Exploring Las Vegas", edition.

Good Wednesday morning!  If you wake up at the right time, you see the most stunning sunrises. This morning, the clouds gave the sunrise a yellow and pink striated effect. And now it's gone. Yesterday Brian was going to run some errands. I asked him if I could with him and I'd like to stop at a bakery I'd looked up. First stop was the library. Brian is a library fiend. Next we went to the post office. Needed to send Shawn her birthday cards. Now it was time to visit the bakery. I had the address and I always look up the map to see where places are and plan the route. We found the bakery with no problem, although it was a ways back from the road.  

So we found Great Buns Bakery. I wasn't prepared for what awaited us. As soon as you walk in, the smell gets you. The heavenly smell. Something(s) was baking. But even better than that.  The left wall had every type of baked good you could imagine. Self serve. Pecan sticky buns, turnovers, cookies, bagels, pound cakes, breads, rolls and more. Brian even found a cupcake that looked like a hostess chocolate cupcake. You could even buy pizza dough and gnocchi. Did I mention the intoxicating aroma?  

We ended up walking out with a pound cake, a loaf of cheddar cheese bread, a loaf of Italian bread (it was the daily special), a pecan sticky bun, 2 everything bagels and the hostess cupcake facsimile. You can bet we'll be back. Did I mention being accosted by the scent upon entering the building?  The place is huge.  Baking is going on while we're there. You can see it!!!  So yeah. We'll be back. 

Moving on. A recipe by the Neelys for corn popped up on my Facebook timeline. That was timely because corn will be on my Christmas dinner menu. The recipe is for candied corn. I read the recipe and ingredients and watched the video. It didn't take a lot of effort so I was in. Of course the Neelys used fresh corn but I went the frozen route. So here it is.  I sautéed one shallot in butter until translucent. Then added the corn. While the corn was cooking I made a paste out of 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Added the paste to the corn , mixed it and that was it. Yes it was good. And no, it wasn't overly sweet. MAnd oh yeah, I added salt and pepper to taste to the corn before adding the paste. The only change I need to make is to cut the cayenne to 1/4 teaspoon. Since I had twice the amount of corn, I doubled the recipe, which was fine, but that was too much cayenne.  Now it didn't bring a big burn, but It could be toned down, especially since my audience will be my seniors. And. Looking through the circulars, I found fresh sweet corn. So. I'm going to get it. Have Dad shuck it, Brian cut off the kernels. Cook it and freeze it. Yeah!!!

Finally, on the dialysis front. Still not feeling 100%, but I am feeling better everyday. I have much more energy. And I look forward to getting out of the house. I've explained some of my dialysis procedures to you, but know I'm posting some photos so you get an idea of our prep. What you're looking at us my set up just before I stick myself and Brian hooks me up.  

The supplie for the night. The "15G" are the needles, the vial is the heparin, which stops the blood from clotting, 2 sets of wipes. The alcohol wipe the use on the heparin lid. Cleaning it. The Bernadine used on my accesses. Again cleaning it. 2 syringes to be attached to the saline bag and filled with saline. It's used to flushed my lines after treatment. Gauze pads used to anchor the needles after the stick. A syringe for the heparin and tape to rape the needles to my arm. 

I wear gloves and a mask for infection control. 

Measuring the heparin into the syringe. 

The "Feeling Better is a Good Thing!", edition.

Good Monday morning!  I'm feeling better. It feels good to feel better. Yes, I doing treatment 6 days a week for a while. And we're slowly taking off excess fluid.  It's making a difference. Because my nephrologist suggested (ordered) me to increase the amount of fluid to remove and add a day of treatment and because I'm feeling a LOT better, I'm really trusting him. The coughing is easing. I'm still coughing because I'm still carrying extra fluid, but it's nowhere as much as a few weeks ago. I have more energy. My appetite has returned. And my blood pressure has dropped.  Yeah. The blood pressure was going as high as around 160/101. Not good. My reading at end of treatment last night was 101/69.  And no, I didn't get light headed.  Hah!  

As I have been dropping the fluid weight, I was concerned because there will be a weight I cannot go below and this will be my dry weight. At that point I'll get light headed, feel cold, clammy and flushed at the same time (how does that even work????) and will cramp and may even faint.  And let me tell ya' the cramping is freaking intense.  I've seen people cramp when I was incenter. I felt their pain just watching them.  This comes when too much fluid is removed.  But so far, so good. Right now I am 1 kg away from my new target weight.  To put this in perspective, my target weight will have dropped 3 kg or 6.6 pounds. I've been carrying an extra, unwanted, unneeded, made me very sick 6.6 pounds of fluid. At least 6.6 pounds. I could be carrying more.  Sigh.   And yes. Some of the symptoms mimicked the symptoms I had when my kidneys failed. Lessons learned. 

So that being said, I'm getting out among the living again. I went to a Target and didn't use or need the scooter!  I went to sorority meeting. Drove myself!  I'm not getting as tired so quickly and I'm not gasping for breath as much after physical exertion. I even cooked some seafood chowder, instead of "supervising" Brian. Oh seafood chowder?  Shrimp, lump crabmeat, clams, seafood stock, clam juice, heavy cream, shallot, celery, potato, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, bay seasoning. Delicious!!!  Made so much, we had to freeze some. Also made some spaghetti with an arribiata bolognese sauce.  That pot of pasta was the best I've ever made.  Yeah. I watch too many cooking shows!   Lol.  

Yesterday we went to Marys Hash House for breakfast.  Dad had eggs and sausage. Mary makes her sausage and the patties are huge!  And tasty. I had the corned beef hash, eggs and grits. Brian had a shrimp and spinach eggs Benedict. Mary makes her own jams, jellies and apple butter. I got jalapeño Apple, Brian got orange. There were at least 10 more flavors. She also makes her own sauces, like spicy ketchup, chipotle and habernero. I like the chipotle. It's just hot enough and complements the hash. Other hashes on the menu are roast beef, meatloaf, turkey, salmon and vegetarian and an everything hash!  There was also a chili omelet with hatch chokes on the daily special menu. And yes, the portions are outrageous!!  

That's it for today. We'll start the Christmas prep today. I'm finalizing my menu. And I'll be texting dishes on my will Guinea pigs....Dad and Brian. Lol lol. I took some photos of my treatment set up. I'll share and write about that later this week.  Have a wonderful day!!!! 

The "Mmmmm Leftovers", edition.

Good morning. The day after Thanksgiving. Let the holiday season officially begin!  Let's get yesterday out of the way. Brian and I prepared dinner for our seniors.  Honeybaked Ham Smoked Turkey breast, because it's so much better than roasted, a small Honeybaked ham, macaroni and cheese, candied sweet potatoes, sausage dressing, gravy, steamed broccoli with lemon and garlic, rolls and a relish tray with an assortment of olives and pickles.  Oh and apple and pumpkin pies. Lots of leftovers and yes, we sent the seniors home with leftovers, but still!  Lol. 

We prepared the sweet potatoes the day before. I had my monthly appointment with my dialysis team on Wednesday so we cooked around it. Boiled the sweet potatoes before we left. Let them cool off while we went to the appointment. Came home and I supervised Brian in the preparation. :-)  

So I know you're asking, how am I feeling?  How'd the appointment go?  Well. I'll tell ya'. You know I've been out of sorts since mid August and am just now getting better.  The October appointment was pretty bad. I was so tired, my labs were low, I wasn't eating.  I finally turned the corner about 2 weeks ago. I haven't thrown up in that time. Which is huge. Now during all of this, I had an appetite, I just couldn't hold anything down. Also I picked up a persistent cough.  I was prescribed a codeine syrup, but,eh. I went back to my primary care doctor, but she was on vacation. The substitute  Doctor declared I had COPD and started treating for that. I actually rejected that, but I did take the steroids and inhaler as they alleviated the coughing. 

So. Wednesday I saw my nurse, nutritionist, social worker and nephrologist. They rejected COPD also. We think I'm retaining fluid. Except when I retain fluid, it's not really obvious, I don't swell. Although I think my belly is a bit jiggly. But it's always jiggly?  Lol. Anyway. My blood pressure is slightly elevated which is also a sign of fluid retention. And my cough is quite productive. Ugh. So. The plan of action is to attemp to remove fluid without me crashing. Because, you know, when too much fluid is removed from me, I'll pass out. So how do we do this?

Initially I can tolerate a removal of 1.7 kgs per treatment. This translates to 3.74 pounds of fluid that is removed from me each treatment. I know you're saying, "whoa!".  But remember my body can't remove wastes, that's what dialysis does. Anyway. We're going to work up to a removal of 2.2 (4.84) kgs per treatment. And I'll be doing treatment 6 days a week instead of 5 days. Wednesday we took off 2 kgs (4.4 lbs) successfully and will work our way up. The good news is I'm feeling much better. For the most part. 

I did neglect to tell you that with the slightest exception, I'd be ridiculously out of breath. Huffing and puffing at the slightest exertion for a few moments. Yes it's disconcerting. And when I arrived at my appointment on Wednesday, my nurse was alarmed. I didn't realize it was quite that obvious. They gave me oxygen right away and it felt good. So yeah. That's what has prompted the 6 day a week treatment plan. And honestly sometimes breathing was difficult. I was taking deep breaths and laying down sometimes was uncomfortable. And yes, I recall my days of pulmonary edema. <shudder>. 

But I am still feeling better. I cooked the dressing and Mac and cheese and broccoli. Of course Brian was my sous chef, but I cooked. That was impossible even a week ago. And yes I took a nap before guests arrived but I've  turned the corner. I'm looking forward to swimming again. And walking. Hell even moving. It was so bad that I had to use the electric scooter at the grocery store. Talk about going backwards. ;-( 

Well that's it for today. We're trying to figure out what we're going to do today. I know it's not shopping!  Maybe a movie.  And for sure, I'm having leftovers!   Lol. Have great day and chill. Stay out of the mall. Love you and thanks for reading and keeping tabs on me!  

The "It's Been a Long Time Since I Left You...", edition.

Big, big points if you know where I got the title from. The rest of the line is "without a strong rhyme to step to". It has been a while since my last entry.  Not feeling well will do that to you. I think I've finally turned the corner.  The nausea has subsided. The coughing is easing. I have a bit more energy.   Look. Some days I got dressed and then fell back into bed. Yes, some days were much better than others. I'd get out, then it takes me 2-3 days to recover. What was that about?  :-(  I also was winded when I walked. I went back to the doctor. So apparently on top everything else I have/had respiratory problems. Yay. I ended up with a breathing treatment, an inhaler and steroids. But I am feeling much better now. 

The flip side of this is my blood work and labs are all skewered. I wasn't eating and I lost my cues for taking my meds. And most of my meds require me to take them after I eat, but if I don't eat....  But I've started eating again. Finally. I'm in desperate need of protein and we went to have a steak lunch for our anniversary. Now I couldn't eat all of my meal, but I ate enough. And that was a milestone!  I'm feeling well enough to go to the weekly Saturday casino run with Dad and Brian for 2 weeks in a row. And I hadn't done this since September. And I can go to Sunday brunch and not get sick. Making progress!  

Gonna go grocery shopping today. And no, I haven't been since September. Was too tiring. But I need to get to my fixins' for thanksgiving dinner. Looking forward to fixing dinner and even more forward to eating!  Lol. 

I just wanted to give you an update. I am feeling better. I'd say I'm at 70-75% and getting better everyday. Also 65 degrees here is a beautiful thing. Especially when we see snow in Michigan. Lol lol lol. Have a wonderful day!  

The "We Turned the Heat On. Sort of", edition.

Good morning. Yes, we finally turned the heat on but just to get the chill out. It's not on full time. The temp in the apartment finally dropped to 73. Yes, the AC was off. It's getting chilly at night. Around 48 degrees. The sun shine during the day is fairly warm even if it's 68. Yes. I'm quite satisfied with the weather!  

I'm slowly getting better.  My cough is still lingering. Gonna call the doctor today for another appointment. I'm holding food down and sort of eating. When I got my hair cut last week, we stopped at Zydecos and I had a bowl of red beans and rice. And ate most of it!!!  Of course the next day I had a grilled cheese sandwich with disastrous results. Eh, it's hit or miss. Today we're gonna do a Cobb salad. My labs are still pretty low on the protein, potassium and phosphorus so the avocado and tomato are all good. 

Still ridiculously tired but making strides. Brian had some business at the mall on Thursday, so while he was busy  I moseyed over to LensCrafters and Macy's. Purchased some shoes. :-D  And then made my way back to him. I wasn't as winded as usual so that was a good thing. Brian was still busy so I wandered over to Bath and Bodyworks. Got some air freshener things and Brian met me at the store and we made it back to the car. I didn't stop to rest, but I was winded when I got to the car. I'm not liking this getting winded thing, but I get it. My protein is just way to low still. I have very little energy. I think I need to eat a side of beef...if my appetite would allow it. The dietician wanted me to start on a protein supplement. Yuck. I better start eating something. I have 2 more weeks. 

Finally during treatment we were watching Family Guy. There was a piece where Peter lost his money in Las Vegas and had to walk to the airport. Brian and I both busted out laughing at the animation. We've seen people dragging suitcases down Paradise in the brutal desert sun heading to the airport. We'd like to believe that the people weren't doing that, but once you cross Tropicana, the only place you can go to is the airport. And it's a looooong walk. 

I've been out of commission for over 2 months. I'm going to try to go to painting lessons this Saturday. I do feel better. Plus I gotta get better. I have a Thanksgiving dinner to host! Have a wonderful day!!

The "November 2, 2012", edition.

Three years. Three years ago today my life changed forever. November 2, 2012 was a Friday. I'd been to my doctor earlier in the week and he had scheduled me for tests on Friday, November 2, 2012. I must add that I had not been able to climb the stairs to my bedroom that week and has taken to sleeping in the downstairs bedroom. By Friday, I couldn't move. All I could do was curl up in a fetal ball. Brian was trying to get me to get ready to go to the appointment. Getting out of the bed proved to be too much. Getting dressed seemed like walking 2000 miles. Uphill.  Wearing cement boots. I knew I needed to go to get the tests, but I just couldn't move. And then I couldn't breathe. You know what it's like when you choke while drinking or while eating? That's what it felt like. Except there was nothing to remove or cough up. I couldn't catch  my breath. That's when Brian called EMS. 

The EMTs gave me oxygen.  Hoisted me up in gurney, covered me in a blanket and loaded me into the truck. Sinai Grace moved me along fairly quickly. Took tests. Tried to make me drink lotion(?). I had one more episode where I couldn't breathe.  Then someone came in and said my kidneys failed. I clearly didn't know what that meant, but I do recall thinking that at least I knew what my problem was. I was told I needed emergency dialysis. Again, I didn't know what that meant, but if it was going to make me feel better I was all for it. I recall going to a holding room with Brian and then I got moved to ICU and basically remembering nothing after that. The nurses moved me from the gurney to the bed. I remember being washed and that's it. The next day I woke up with a catheter in my groin. This catheter was my lifeline for dialysis. Ugh. I had the catheter in my groin, a catheter for my bladder, an IV and hooked up to a machine that continually took my blood pressure. I remember being incredibly weak. So weak that when I was thirsty, I couldn't  even reach the nurse call button and my voice was too weak to call for a nurse. :-/   I do need to add that ICU nurse was fantastic!  

Well. Now it's November 2, 2015. What a difference 3 years make. I'm still on dialysis. Waiting for a kidney transplant. I have no idea when or if I'll ever get a call for a kidney. I'm existing. I can say a lot of platitudes about how dialysis is allowing me to live my life, and it it is, but it sure the big ass elephant in the room. Spontaneity is out. I have to do serious planning to do anything. I have real impressive medical bills. I'm susceptible to any bug or virus that comes close to me. But I'm alive. Yay?  

Well this sounds maudlin and ungrateful. It is depressing, but I'm pushing through. Look. Enjoy your life. Do what you can to stay healthy. For my part I'm trying to make sure you don't let your kidneys fail.  Mine were pretty much doomed to fail, but protect yourself. Keep you blood pressure down. Keep your diabetes under control. Watch your intact of NSAIDs, like Celebrex. And. Get checked up on a regular basis. 

And yes, I'm slowly getting better.  This has lasted a long time, but the appetite is slowly returning. And now I just want to be less tired. I'm working on it. Have a great day and enjoy your life. 

The "Getting Better. Slowly.", edition.

Good Wednesday morning. It was cloudy when I woke up, but just like that, the sun is high and a few clouds in for good measure. No real news on the health front. My labs are skewed because I'm not eating. Lol. Can't keep any secrets if they take blood from me twice a month. My hemoglobin hasn't risen, so the epogen has been increased.  And for years of trying to keep my potassium and phosphorus number low, they both are now too low. I'm now taking a potassium supplement. And the nutritionist hinted that I may need a protein supplement. I'm appalled. I need to start eating again. Go figure. And am now being encouraged to eat foods that were previously "forbidden". The good news is I'm eating a bit better.  What stays is pretty much hit and miss. 

Dads church had their yearly lobster fest on Saturday. Dad got 3 lobsters and 2 quarts of clam chowder.  I went with him and Brian to the church, but stayed in the car. I was still weak and tired but I wanted to get out of the house. In the end I didn't want to eat anything that day. And I was also out of sorts on Sunday and had to pass on our weekly Sunday brunch. And if I pass on brunch you know I'm not feeling well. I told Brian we needed to eat the lobster so he found a recipe for lobster rolls and we had that for dinner Monday. And the lobster rolls were delicious. Yummm.  And 1/2 hour later I was miserable. It just didn't agree with me. But then after wards I felt better. Had treatment and called it a night. 

Felt better yesterday. I planned to make broccoli with garlic and lemon. Brian bought fresh broccoli so we needed to take of that. I actually got in the kitchen and  cooked the broccoli yesterday. Yes, Brian was my sous chef. He minced the garlic, zested and juiced the lemon and cut up the broccoli. But I prepared it!  And it was good!  Oh yeah. I used a steamer. We purchased the steamer a week ago. Where has this been all of my life???  Why didn't you tell me about steamers?!?!!??  I steamed the broccoli, heated  up olive oil in a small skillet, sautéed the garlic for 5 minutes, added the juice of one lemon. When the broccoli was finished, I transferred it to a bowl, tossed it with the garlic lemon mixture and added the lemon zest, salt and pepper. It. Was. Delicious!  Of course by the time Brian heated up the spaghetti I wasn't hungry, but I did eat a bit of the broccoli. 

Today I get blood drawn for my primary care physician. And maybe try some breakfast at Mary's. I like her grits!  That's it for today. I'm s l o w l y getting better. And I'm really pissed that I'm not feeling well. And yes, the broccoli is a test drive for thanksgiving dinner. :-)  We have a winner. 

That's it for today. Brain and I have fond thoughts of fall in Michigan, but we're good out here. Real good!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!  

The "Lamar Odom's Kidney Journey", edition.

Good Wednesday morning!  Before you ask, yes, I'm feeling better. I take 3 steps forward and 1 step back, but it still equals progress. So now on to the topic. Lamar Odom's kidney failure. My Facebook and Internet dialysis groups watched silently until it was printed that Lamar may need a kidney transplant and the all hell broke out. But let's go back a little. 

I probably got a higher dose of Lamar Odom's news, constantly,  since I live in Las Vegas. And on top of that, I live about a mile from the hospital he was admitted to. In fact, it's the same hospital I was transported to by EMS when I passed out earlier this year. And no, we didn't even go in that direction all week. Had no business over there. I read that his organs were failing and was concerned when they said he has been put in dialysis. I was pleased that most of his organs were recovering, except the kidneys. :-/  I told Brian that I hoped Lamar had acute kidney damage, rather than chronic kidney damage. See with acute damage, the kidneys recover. Yes. It happens. I've seen people leave dialysis becaus their kidneys started functioning again. Acute damage = temporary damage. Chronic damage = permanent damage.  I was dismayed to find out he may need a transplant. But not for the reasons as some of my fellow warriors. 

I've consistently said I wouldn't wish kidney failure and dialysis on anyone. And I mean it. I'm not here to judge Lamar's lifestyle. He a grown man.  I have sympathy for anyone who ends up on dialysis, no matter what the circumstances. But I'm seeing people tsk tsk-ing Lamar. Stop it. No one deserves failed kidneys. So now he may need a transplant. 

People are up in arms, worrying that Lamar will get an immediate transplant and bypass everyone on the transplant list. I think my fellow dialysis warriors are having a brain fart. They know there are criteria for where we are placed on the list. There are over 100,000 people waiting for a kidney in the United States. And the wait is dependent on where you are listed. And California is one of the longest wait states with an average wait of 7 years. I'm pretty sure that UNOS, the group that oversees the organ distribution process is not going to make an exception for Lamar.  However, if someone comes forward and donates a kidney for him then yes, he'll get a kidney immediately. My warriors seem to forget about a living donor. But more than that,miss just the venom spewed just thinking he'll get special treatment. I say go for it. Whatever it take to get off dialysis. There is an asterix here. His past drug use will be an issue trying to get on the list. But it won't affect hi if he gets a live donor. 

I hate dialysis and I feel my life expectancy slipping each day. Some days I just want to give up. Some days I wish I hadn't awaken. Some days are just that bad. And I wouldn't wish this on anyone. So if Lamar Odom can get a kidney from a live donor, I'm happy for him! 

So with this knowledge in hand and if by some obscure reason this topic comes up in your everyday discussion, consider yourself knowledgable about the topic!  

The "I'm Still Here", edition.

Good Monday morning. Hey!  How ya" doin'?  I missed you. I missed you do much I followed you!  Oh. Wait. Never mind.  Lol. I haven't posted for a while. Didn't feel like it. There were days I felt I was doing all I could do just to survive.  I started coughing violently. The doctor gave me some serious cough suppressant. My appetite also tanked pretty bad. And I couldn't keep anything down for a few days. Today starts day 3 of holding food in. Keep your fingers crossed. I actually want to eat now. And the coughing is easing up, in spite of the coughing fit that woke up me and Brian this morning. 

And all this was happening 2 weeks ago when my brother and sister in law came to visit, my best friend was in town, Brian got us reservations to stay at the Vdara for a school reunion and the organization I belong to had their major fund raiser of the year. Ugh. My family could join me in the bedroom to talk. Sitting on the sofa took too much energy. I did get up enough energy to visit my friend for a few hours.  Brian and I made it to the Vdara but I didn't feel well enough to attend any of the functions. And by Saturday I was throwing up on stop. :-(  We ended up checking out and going home.  That Sunday was the fundraiser. I had to bow out. Ugh. But today, I'm feeling better. I still need to get my flu shot. But I can't get it until I feel better. Here's hoping I'm back to at least 80% this week. 

The weather has cooled down nicely out here. Highs in the low 89s. Much more tolerable. A lot of rain, which is good, except for the flooding.  I've purchased airline tickets for Shawn for the Christmas!  Yay!  And that's about it. For the last month I've just been trying to get better. Hopefully I've turn the corner. 

Photo of the view from the 40th floor of the Vdara. The hotel is gorgeous. All suite. No casino. And no real restaurant. Buts it's across the "street" from Aria and next door to The Cosmopolitan.  And of course the service was impeccable. 

The "Channeling James Brown..Sort Of", edition.

Or "I Feel Good". Sort of. No song named "I Feel Better".  Good Monday morning. I feel better.  A couple of hits (injections) of epogen also known as my hemoglobin enhancer have a made a huge difference. Not sure of medical terms, but let's roll with it. I know too many doctors and nurses who could correct me. I'm betting on them not reading this. 

You don't know how bad you really feel until you feel better. Well maybe. I know I felt bad. I was ready to just roll over and die. Seriously. All hope was lost. Now, the nausea is gone. The appetite is slowly returning. I felt great on Saturday. I still stuck with my bullion. But I did have some little sausages. And I swiped a forkful of my dads spaghetti. Sunday was Dad's day to pay for brunch and he wanted to go to PF Changs. I was ready. I checked the menu and decided on something safe.  Chicken fried rice, but I wanted a cup of hot and sour soup. Well Sunday came around and reality set in.

We head out to eat after Dad returns from church. PF Changs opens at 11:00. Before we left, my body let me know that the crackers I'd eaten earlier didn't agree with me. Ah shoot. I went anyway. I had little to no appetite, but I was getting out of the house. Dad and Brian shared an appetizer of Dynamite shrimp and I had a taste of a half of a shrimp. I also had some ginger ale. For some reason. The ginger ale had a soothing quality and I drank a lot. Anyway. We ordered and I did order the chicken fried rice. Holy crap. The bowl was huge. PF Changs tends toward family style.  And that bowl of fried rice underscored that!!  I had 3 spoonfuls and even more ginger ale. Lol. But that was fine. I was able to sit through brunch without getting sick and hold a conversation. Of course I took a 3 hour nap when I returned home. 

Oh yeah. Did I tell you Brian brought me some flowers on Saturday to cheer me up? <3. Anyway. Brian has a woodworking class on Sunday afternoon. After I woke from my nap, I made myself a cup of chicken bouillon. Brian came home and showed off his first project, a beautiful cutting board. We did treatment later on. Watched Lions football (what a disappointment). Enjoyed Once Upon a Time and Last Man on Earth. Treatment finished. I was a little over loaded on fluid, but I expected that after I tried to drink all the ginger ale in PF Changs. Treatment got rid of the excess fluid. And!  I had a bowl of fried rice after treatment. I finally was able to enjoy it'. 

So I'm feeling much better, but I have a ways to go. It took a while to get to where I was and its going to take a while to get back to "normal". My stomach muscles still hurt fro the heaving, vomiting and coughing. Feels like I've done 3884757493028 sit-ups. And boullion is still the comfort drink of choice for now. But I have more energy. And I need to remember to pace myself. Lol. 

Looking forward to seeing my brother and his wife next week. Haven't seen them in a while. Talked to Shawn last night. That always lifts my spirits. And of course Brian. My helicopter husband. Sometimes I think he hovers too much. I encourage to get some time to himself and that I'll survive. But you know what?  I miss him when he's away. Shhhh. Don't tell him that!!  

Still hot. Not complaining. Have a wonderful day!  

The "Channeling Mel Brooks ", Edition

Good morning. Well, I got the lab results back. My hemoglobin count is low. The epogen was started immediately and the dosage was increased from the previous rounds. Now we just wait and see. Yesterday was particularly brutal. And I'm leary of eating solid foods. So right now I'm subsisting off of apple juice, water, chicken noodle soup and the occasional triscuit. The biggest thing is I'm tired. And this is how I channel Mel Brooks. Or maybe Madeline Kahn. My new theme song is, "I'm Tired" sung by Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles. Lol. And if you know me, Blazing Saddles is my favorite movie of all time. 

At this point it's a matter of time. It took time for me to degenerate to this point and it'll take time for me to crawl out of this hole. I slept better last night that I had in a while, so that's a hopeful sign. We'll see where this goes. As it stands now, though, I'm still pretty much confined to not only the condo, but getting out of bed is proving to be a challenge. But it's unseasonably warm here right now and who wants to be outside where it's 104 degrees anyway?  Am I right?  Lol.  

Enjoy your weekend. And as much as I really like it out here I do miss the fall in Michigan.  A trip to Blakes or the Big Red apple farm was always a treat. And if you couldn't make it there, you could always go to Franklin Cider Mill. Drink a glass of cider for me!  

The "My Wakeup Call", edition.

Good morning. Still ill. Still feeling pretty bad. I've been to the monthly team health care appointment. Several ideas as to what the issue may be. It looks like probable culprit is my hemoglobin levels. Because I have no kidneys, my body can't readily produce hemoglobin. So every now and then I need a hit of epogen to increase the hemoglobin level. I'd been on epogen in the spring and the level was raised. But it was suspended in May, because the level was within normal range. Checking the level is easily done via my monthly blood tests. Except last month because of the vascular access issues, I had excessive  clotting which caused a problem in the blood draw. They finally got a good blood draw yesterday. Results should be back tomorrow. I predict..almost guarantee that the hemoglobin levels have dropped. My symptoms are classic for low hemoglobin levels. Which is much better than a series of GI tests {shudder}.  The major symptom is being incredibly tired. I.Have.Absolutley.No.Energy. And that sucks. Huge. 

And it sucks because visitors and activities  abound now through the next 3 weeks. Mike and Ethelene are in town. My brother and sister-in-law will be in town next week, followed by my best friend and her sister. Then.  Brian's high school all 70s class reunion, followed by an event by an organizational which I'm a member. I get tired just thinking about it. 

So what was the wake up call?  Around 5:30 this morning my phone let me know I had a text message or four. It also woke Brian.  I checked it and it was my great friend letting me know she'd be in town for her nieces wedding. Yay!!!  

So that's it. Still not eating much. Still tired. Still can't sleep. Pretty much miserable. Eh.  Supposed to meet up with Mike today. I'm thinking about just having them drop by the condo. We'll see how I feel later on. 

Enjoy your day!  

The "Chronic Illness Sucks", edition.

Good Thursday morning. I know, I know the blog has been less than upbeat lately. Well, it seems as if I'm trying to push through issues. I'm still nauseous. It came to a head on Tuesday. And I am incredibly tired. My appetite is shot, but its been waning for the last 2 weeks. Of course all of this started immediately after my monthly appointment. 

I knew I wasn't eating, but I needed to get some protein in me. But right now meat, any meat is less than appetizing. I thought I'd try cottage cheese. Boy. Was that a mistake. That just set off a horrible chain of events which culminated in a horrific Tuesday. I curled up in a fetal ball and moaned most of the day. I eventuLly was able to eat about 10 teaspoons of chicken broth. No noodles, no chicken. Just Broth. I skipped dialysis Tuesday evening. Which was fine. I'd done treatment Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We were trying to get back on schedule to being off on Wednesday. But it wasn't meant to be.  

I woke up yesterday with a tentative appetite. We headed to Mary's Hash House for some grits. She makes great grits. Comfort food. Her portions are huge, so I ended up with a bowl of grits, 2 eggs over medium, a sausage patty as big as my hand and home fries. I passed on the toast!  Lol. I mixed my eggs and grits together because egg juice on grits is soooo right! I ate a little less than half.  I ate about 1/3 of the sausage and none of the potatoes.  Oh. I did drink most of my apple juice. And then I felt bad again. Not nauseous, but tired. Oh, so tired. 

Came home and vegetated for the rest of the day. We were able to do treatment last night and that went flawlessly.  It's hard to believe that I just relax and chill out while sitting in a recliner with needles in my arm pumping blood in and out of me, but that's exactly what happens. I sort of watched the GOP debate, but Ted Cruz is just way too creepy  to look at. I digress. 

I've got a lot of things to do. One of the organizations I'm involved with is having their major show and fundraiser in October and there I some things I need to do for that. I need to get some sort of energy level back up. Today. So far so good. I tested the waters with 1/2 bagel and cream cheese. I'll venture out for a while and see how long I can last. The weather is nice here now so I'd really like to get out.  Hopefully this will pass.  

I leave you with the wheel of chronic illness. Let's see what I spin today.