The "Week 2 Is Over Already!", edition.

It's early in the morning, hours before we need to be at the clinic. Of course this is the time I'd normally be writing if I were incenter. Sometimes I still wake up around 4 AM, but not as often. Today is day 10 of training. The midway point. Brian and I have established a routine. Every other day he needs to replace the dialysate. He's got that down pretty well. He also has to set and break down and disinfect the machine. I prepare the items and the medicine. Yes, I fill a syringe. It was awkward at first, but not so much now. We cut the time from start to finish by 30 minutes in a weeks time. It's like all of a sudden it clicked. 

It clicked so much that our nurse trainer suggested we were ready to try it at home next week. Talk about 2 grown adults looking like deer caught in headlights!!  Lol lol. We still have things we need to sear into our routines.  Like I really need to remember to clean my access after I've taken the scab off. You say, "huh?"  Well, after the needles are removed, I bleed. A Lot. Copiously. No worries. I apply pressure on the 2 needle holes until they stop bleeding. And then they are bandaged. But scabs form. You know that. Whenever you bleed from a wound, scabs form. So anyway. Before my next treatment, I have to remove the scabs before I insert the needles. The scabs can be a pathway to infection and the last thing I want to deal with is a blood infection. Sooooo. Part of my stick routine is clean the access area prior to removing the scab..and yes I have a little scab removal tool. And once the scab is removed, I need to clean the area again. <------repeat Pat, clean the area again!!!  

Brian was doing great, then yesterday he'd forget to close a clamp here or there and we'd  watch the saline solution run out. I think that won't happen anymore. lol. But other than than were really doing ok. I needed to get an angioplasty on my fistula on Tuesday. I last had one in October 2013. It is considered maintenance on the fistula.  The procedure was ok, until I had a reaction to the the dye they put in. No worries, they pumped me up with lots of drugs. I was rather flighty when I came out. Oh and I was under conscious sedation. I was watching the procedure on a monitor. AND. The computer froze during the procedure.  So I also watched Mike the tech guy try to fix the problem. Lol 

The angioplasty solved some issues I was having, like my venous pressure was running high, I was having some clotting and my arterial access was taking longer than normal to stop bleeding. After the angioplasty, the next run was perfect!  

I'm liking this. My run times are about 2.5 hours. And I have the people I trust the most taking care of me...me and Brian. And I'm so looking forward to doing this at home. I liked the idea of home hemodialysis, but I was a little scared. Now, I'm all in!  

It's 5:30. Brian should be waking up in 30 minutes. My weekend plans are DSW. I have a certificate that will expire soon so I need to take care of that!  You have a great weekend and stay warm. :)

Photo is the angioplasty process. You a narrowed access, then a ballon is inserted to widen the acess, then the final product, a cleared access!