The "Getting Back on Track", edition.

Good Tuesday morning!  It's raining this morning. I missed having a sunrise. It's does get pretty bright, though. Our window faces east and about 10 minutes after the sun crests the mountain, we need to close the blinds. I love the window. It's huge and when the sun moves a bit more, the room is so bright!  I'm trying to figure out how to redo the room. I think if we didn't have a king size bed, a California king at that, there'd be a bit more room. It was fine until we added the recliner and shelving for home hemodialysis. Now don't get me wrong, everything fits, but I'd like it to look less untilitarian, I guess.  We're slowly putting our artwork up. I'm going to get sleeker looking bed lamps. We're getting there. 

My hands are healing nicely. My left hand looked like it would take ages to heal, but I think there's something to slathering it with neopsorin and covering it for a few days. It was almost completely healed in less than a week. Of course my right hand gained a blister...which burst..and hurts..and I keep covered  with antibiotic and bandage. All things considered, everything is still much better. 

I went back to deep water fitness yesterday. Oh, how I missed being in the water. I could swim all day.  Some people run. I swim. We forgot to start the dialysate preparation before we left yesterday morning and didn't start it until we returned around 2:00 PM. Why is that a problem?  It takes about 6 hours to prepare. Of course we have can use the dialysate in bags, but we prefer to make it and do it that way.  So. Brian started the dialysate process, known hereafter and preparing the SAK. We started dialysis around 9 Monday evening instead of 7. We're just liking the flexibility of the system. 

Tomorrow I go to my monthly appointment it's my care team. And somehow Brian and and Dad also have medical appointments. You would think that we'd coordinate this. lol. The good news is Dad'se appointment is in the morning. Mine is at 1:00 and Brian's is at 1:30. And of course they are on different sides of town. We'll make it work. 

Finally, President Obama is in town. The news station is tracking his every move, more or less. They know he's still in town because Airforce One is parked at McCarran Airport. Every time I see the airplane on scream, I comment on just how large it is. Then Brian and I discussed how the presidential limousine was transported and we're pretty sure there is a second plane. The president also attended a fundraiser at a private resident. And we wondered how much of a donation we'd need to make to attend. I'm thinking $10k, but I really have no clue. I told Brian that when the Senator Obama was campaigning, my then director "donated" $1,000.00 to attend a meet and greet at a residence in Palmer Woods. Now that seems like a bargain!  I was also surprised at the large number of people who waited along the route the president was taking to see the motorcade. 

Well that's it for today. Today is manicure/pedicure day. I'm going to practice using a pastry bag to fill deviled eggs. I decided I am going serve deviled eggs to my seniors and they have to look nice.  Dad and Brian are my guinea pigs!  Enjoy your day!  

The "What a Difference a Few Days Make", edition.

Good Friday morning. Still hot out here, but the heat advisory has been canceled. It was extended a day or 2 because the Las Vegas Valley was being affected by fires in Southern California. Not because the fires made it hotter, but the air quality was an issue. Apparently it's not supposed to be quite this hot in August out here. Lol. Hey. The desert is the desert. 

So really. What a difference a few days make. Monday, my left hand was swollen and hurt. My right hand had started to blister and I needed the ointment and the impacted wisdom tooth was firing up. Really now. I think I'm too old to be bothered by an impacted wisdom tooth. But you know there's a story behind that.  I won't go into detail, but I've had issues  with wisdom teeth from day one. My jaw is too small to accommodate the extra teeth.  And to add to the problems, the roots of said wisdom teeth are abnormally long. It made for really ugly extractions. 

Anyway, only one was left and it had been an issue. When the extraction was attempted it did not budge. I actually had nerve damage from the attempt. It was decided to just let it be.  Well 30 years later, it was ready. I made the dentist appointment. Had to use the dreaded HMO. I called Monday, but wouldn't get in until Thursday. Now hold on. I was uncomfortable and my tooth and gum were irritated, but I could function. I would have liked to have it taken care of immediately, but I could and did survive. 

Went yesterday morning. The staff was nice. The dentist was nice. Looked in my mouth and was informed that the tooth needed to come out. I was fine with that. But.  I am on dialysis. And I give huge credit to the dentist and staff for knowing and understanding ...stuff. First the blood pressure needed to be taken on my left arm. That's never been a problem. The dentist asked if I was taking blood thinners. I am, sort of. Just before treatment, one unit of heparin is given via the needles. Heparin prevents blood clotting as the blood is moving in and out of the tubing between me and the machine. The blood thinner could cause problems with the blood clotting once the tooth is extracted. I told her my last treatment has been Tuesday. The heparin would not be an issue. 

The next thing is that I'm very susceptible to infection and normal procedure is for the dialysis patient to be plied with antibiotics prior to any dental treatment. The dentist gives me a prescription for amoxicillin, sends me to Walgreens and tells me to come back that afternoon. Shoutout to Walgreens which rushed the filling of the prescription. Got the pills. Had to take 4 jumbo capsules, 2000 mg. And wait 2 hours. 

I returned to the dentists office, they took me right in. I was given a massive dose of local anesthetic. The dentist told me to "marinate". Lol. She came back about 1/2 later and you know what?  That tooth came out very fast with no fanfare. Like it was hanging on by a thread. Talk about instant relief!  Well. I'm sure the numbing of half my face had something to do with that. Lol. Sent me home with gauze in my mouth. The bleeding stopped pretty quickly. Several hours later I started treatment, which was uneventful, as usual. Problem solved. 

And the hand?  We wrap it and slather it with neopsorin for part of the day and leave it open for part of the day. The thing seems to be healing quickly!  Plus walking around in the heat with the big ass bandage on my hand is hot. Ugh. 

And I told you the tooth was an irritant, but not so much that I was incapacitated?  Tuesday we were scheduled to see Hilary Clinton in Vegas, but we got there and had to wait in a long line in 100 degree + weather. We passed and went to get haircuts instead.  Then we had lunch at Zydeco's. I tried the gumbo. Oh.My.Goodness. Best gumbo ever. Huge chunks of chicken and spicy andouille sausage and the flavor. Yum yum yum yum.  I asked for a small bowl, but it was huge!  I couldn't finish it.  Lol. 

Well that's it here. Dialysis front?  I got my pharmacy statement. So far this year, my drug cost has exceeded $15,000. No I did not pay for all of that, but that's outrageous. The cost of just one of the medications is $1200 for a 30 day supply. Way to make people with chronic illnesses worry. Geez. As I mentioned before, I've passed the out of pocket threshold so I am in Medicare D category called catastrophic, so the cost of meds are really reasonable now. But still. 30 pills for $1200?  Outrageous!  

Have a great weekend.  Stay cool or dry. Find those fresh Midwest vegetables. I'd kill for the corn and tomatoes. Ah well. 

The "Because Everything Happens at Once", edition.

Good morning!  Did you have a good weekend?  I did for the most part. It's very hot here. We're under a heat advisory through Wednesday, meaning temps will exceed 110. Eh. I'm in the desert. So last I left I told you that the mystery of the fragile skin on my hand had been solved.  I had an appointment with the dermatologist, primarily for a mole on my face the seemingly took on a life of its own. Apparently it just turned into a wart (ew) and the doctor took it off. Yay!!  We also discussed the deal with my hands. 

Well time to back track. I have a autosomal dominant blood disorder. Like them big words, dontcha?  I'll let you look that up. Anyway, the blood disorder is acute intermittent porphyria. Doctors believe this is at the very least a contributing factor to my kidney failure.  I've read about porphyria and am aware of different types.  And I also knew that people with porphyria were sensitive to sunlight. Trivia alert.  It is believed that the legend of Dracula is someone who had porphyria. You know, the sensitive to sunlight thing.  So anyway. The skin on the back of my hands was tearing and blistering for no apparent reason. Well I found out that there is a reason. 

I also have  porphyria cutanea tarda. The sunlight in my hands is wrecking havoc in my hands. :-/  I did fine in Michigan and assorted vacations. Because I wasn't  constantly bombarded by sunlight. But now that I live in the desert, my body basically said, "WTF?  Oh hell no!!"  And then the porphyria acted up in a big way. Well long story short, I now need to wear protective gloves when I'm in a car, as that's when I get the most exposure. Yay?  Lol. It's going to always be something.  

And let's discuss me tearing half the skin off my left hand, while somehow missing the car seat. No I still don't know I missed the seat while trying to sit in a car. And yes you really do have permission to laugh!  My left hand hurts and looks really funky. Yesterday it started to swell. So we visited an urgent care facility. Of course not just any urgent care center but one that had to be covered ny my HMO...I digress. The doc assures me my hand is healing and that's just how it looks. It looks weird because most injuries aren't as deep. So my hand got slathered with neopsorin and wrapped. It kinda looks like a hand cast. 

From the dialysis standpoint I am concerned because the hand wound is on my dialysis access arm and my dialysis access is my lifeline.  Literally my life line. But I have no infection. Whew!!  And initially, I was putting an antibiotic on it and wrapping it anyway. I take that infection shit seriously. With no kidneys an infection can be devastating. And oh yeah. The doctor raised his eyebrows when I explained I did home hemodialysis. People just have issues with us sticking our needles in our arms at home. But you, my readers, are informed!!!  Home hemodialysis is about the best you can do short of a transplant!!  Ha!  Oh. And finally, an impacted wisdom tooth decided to get in on the party. I'm looking for a dentist today. Of course. 

Finally, a photo from the backpack give away. You see all those back packs behind me?  There were even more on either side, we didn't get all of them In the photo. And yeah, most of them were gone by noon!  Also a photo of my hand. And the cartoon depicts what happened yesterday. The first clinic was  like we don't cover your insurance. It'll cost $200 just o see the doctor. But, the clinic did direct me to one that does accept my HMO. Can't be too mad about that!  

That's it for today. We're staying cool. Maybe get a pedicure today.  Take care and have a great day!  

The "Using My Skills", edition.

Good morning!  Well yesterday afternoon and night we had thunderstorms in the Las Vegas valley. Thunderbolts and lightening, very very frightening...sing along now.... And yes Vegas floods. And it flooded yesterday. And the winds!  Wow. Up to 75 mph gusts. Something called a wind burst took out a row of about 8-10 light poles in Henderson. Snapped those things right in half. People won't have power until Monday.  And of course there is a heat advisory this weekend. Temps roaming up to 110. Yikes!  And lightening struck palm trees. And the palm trees that haven't been trimmed looked like...flaming trees!  

Earlier in the day Brian and I went to pass out backpacks. I didn't really know anything about the organization we were helping, I just responded to  request for the sorority to assist. Brian wanted to go also. We ended up at a juvenile detention complex. We found out we'd be giving the backpacks to kids in foster families. The set up reminded us when we worked the Detroit North End Youth Improvemenf Council (NEYIC) Christmas Adopt a Child program. Sort of. 

The event was more like a fair of services available for the foster families. There were tables set up from different agencies.  In addition, the host agency provided food and drinks and treats during the event and gave away food for the families to takes home. 

The event was held in a gymnasium. We entered and saw that the entire bleacher section was full, FULL of backpacks. They were separated into age groups, elementary,middle school and high school. The event started at 8:30. The line started forming at 7:30. People were allowed to wait inside as it was already quite hot outside..and humid! And the humid part is rare out here. 

At 8:30 we started passing out the backpacks. Caregivers, social workers, foster parents would give us the name and ages of the children and we'd give them the age appropriate backpacks. And of course the kids were there!  All kinds of kids. And remember they were all children in foster care. The foster parents ran the spectrum. Some that stood out to me were the several senior citizen couples who were fostering, people who fostered siblings, a guy who said he had never been a parent and this was his first time fostering someone. And he was a relatively young guy. The deaf foster parent, with the deaf kids. Some people Fostered 1-2 children, some came in with up to 8 kids. And the kids!  How delightful they were. And how picky they were when it came to the backpacks!  Lol. 

Lots of requests for Elsa. Minnie Mouse was cast aside. There was way too much pink. A lot of girls, of all ages, rejected pink. As a matter of fact, the older girls wanted black!  The boys liked the camo backpacks. And we tried to accommodate everyone. We'd get kids standing there going over every single back before selecting. Yes, the backpacks were filled with supplies. Kids would get the backpacks and hug them.  Lots of thanks. The kids were between the ages of 5-18. 

The best part of the day?  I got to use my skills!!  What skills, you ask.  Well, I'll tell ya. We had a deaf family. The adult and 2 kids. All deaf. I was able to use my meager signing skills (American Sign Language) to let the high school girl know that she could select the backpacks on the top row. Yes, I signed the word TOP. Lol lol. Hey. She understood and as I spelled, she said top and nodded her head and proceeded to select a pack from the top row!  Ha!!   On the down side, I really, really need to get my Spanish up to par. I knew quite a bit, but I suppose since I didn't use it, I've forgotten it. Well maybe not forgotten, but I brain fart huge when I need it. Like I forgot how to ask, "what is your name?", the only phrase that came to mind was , "where are you?"  And yes as of right now I know it's "come se llama". D'oh!  And we're not sure why there wasn't a translator at the event....

Trying to cut this long entry short. On the dialysis front, the mystery of my fragile skin has been solved. The condition is a form of porphyria, which is the blood disorder I have, which is a major cause of the kidney failure. I'll go into detail later, but I know what's wrong and how to deal with it and treat the symptoms. And as with any porphryia' it's not curable. But it's not life threatening, either, just another thing to deal with. And it could be worse, so I'm good. 

Have a great weekend. We're going to stay cool. Hooray  for a new air conditioning unit!  

The "Some Days I Don't Feel Like Smiling", edition.

Today, right now, is one of those days. I woke up feeling fine, but now, not so much. I'm sure I'll get over it, but sometimes I get tired of keeping a happy face. I'm sick dammit. And there is no cure. Sure I get out and try to do a lot of stuff, but some days itsjust plain hard and I have to force myself to get out. Some days Brian gives me a gentle nudge and sometimes he pushes. Sometimes I have to push back. 

Right now, the skin on the back of my hands is ridiculously fragile. What's up with that?  The skin seems to tear if I just look at it. My right hand appeared to heal and then, wham, I'm back to 6 scars over night. What the heck?  Where did they come from. And let's discuss my left hand, which was free from this nonsense. Until last Friday. Now don't laugh, but when I went to get into the car, I missed the seat. No. I don't know I managed that. Lol how the heck does one miss a car seat?  But I did. I floundered and finally made it, but in the process I tore half the skin off the back of my left hand. And it didn't tear nicely, it tore and didn't all come off, so if I washed my hands, water would go up in between  the torn part of the skin and my hand. And.It.Hurts.  A lot. 

So my right hand looks like I have measles, except is just scars.  And my hands also hurt. And my left hand is bandaged. No swimming for me today. The good news is I'm seeing the dermatologist tomorrow....after long last...  Again. Hooray for HMOs (feel the sarcasm). And then I started feeling nauseous. Eh. Par for the course. Remember, Pat. You are sick. Dammit. 

So after all is said and done is I still have things to do. I will go to the pool and watch Brian today. I'm going to find 1 of 3 broasted chicken places in Las Vegas to test the chicken. I plan on having it for Labor Day for my seniors.. Of course I do practice dinners!  Lol. Oh. And tomorrow I'll be helping the sorority pass out backpacks. So I'm going to ride the nausea out. Put some antibiotic and bandage my left hand and get to getting. And since it's going be about 106 today I'll stay in the AC as much as possible and tote around a water bottle. 

I do keep in perspective that compared to many, I'm doing just great. But some times all I know is I don't feel good right now. On the dialysis front, I'm concerned that some of fellow warriors have told stories of nurses and doctors aren't aware that we can dialyze at home and get treated as liars!!  When I went to the hospital, I encountered a nurse who wasn't aware of home hemodialysis, but she wanted to learn more, rather than telling me it was impossible or illegal (!). Anyway. Treatment has been fine.  I need to increase a med.  My parathyroid number has elevated and no one knows why. This is the one thing that is not controlled by diet. 

Well that's it. That's enough. I need to chill for the next half hour before we leave. Have a great day. 

The "Today is Much Better Than Yesterday", edition.

Good Saturday morning. The blog is all helter skelter  now, isn't it. You could depend on reading it MWF. But now, you never know when it'll pop up!  And I'm multitasking. Shawn and I are messaging as I type. Keeps me on my toes. And forces me to save often! So you're wondering why today is much better than yesterday, aren't you?  Well. I'll tell ya.  

Wednesday we wake up and Dad says the air conditioner is acting up again and the repair guy is on the way. Gotta give them props. AC guys respond quickly out here in the desert.  So the AC gets repaired. Later on dad said that this was probably the last time they'd be able to find the parts.  I suggested that if this happens again we need to replace the unit. Dad wanted to get through September. Remember we had to get it it repaired earlier this summer. And the AC unit is almost 40 years old. 

Thursday, Brian and I return from errands and whatnot and dad greets us with the news that the AC died. Well. So much for waiting for September. The good news is that it was overcast on Thursday, so the temp didn't rise as fact as it could. And for some reason I closed the blinds on the bedroom so that helped keep the apartment cool. Nevertheless, the temp was rising. The plan was for me have to do treatment then we leave and spend the night at BoulderStation for the night. Dad would stay and the the guys would come to start the replacement process at 8 AM. Brian and I spent the night at Boulder. Got a decent rate and an air conditioned room. And no we didn't gamble. Lol. 

Friday morning we headed back to the condo. A crane was hoisting the new unit to the roof and a couple of guys were inside the apartment. Brian and I changed clothes and headed out to water fitness. Came home and dad was sitting in a folding chair outside the apartment, in the hallway. I guess it was cooler there. I convinced dad to go for a ride in the air conditioned car and Brian would stay.  We were told that job would be completed that day.  

Well long story short, the new AC installation was completed that day. By 8 PM. Heh. My treatment has to wait until this morning. But we slept in glorious cool air. The temp inside the apartment reached 92. We had fans going and pretty much just stayed still yesterday. Lol. And so. Today is so much better than yesterday!!!

On the dialysis front, I had to skip a day. The good news is  I dialyzed on Thursday. The problem was I didn't  have treatment on Wednesday, which is a scheduled day off. But I didn't have to skip 2 days. We'd hope to do treatment yesterday, but it wasn't feasible to do it since the air didn't get back to a reasonable temperature until 9-10 PM. Ah well. So Brian is making the dialysate now and I should be ready to go about noon. And starting tomorrow, I'll be back on schedule. Life happens, doesn't it. 

Finally for those who think I'm here to take care of my dad, that is so far off from reality. My 89 YO dad is quite independent. We're here to keep him company. I didn't like him being out here by himself. But make no mistake, he has a life separate from me and Brian. He drives and gets around. Heck, he just purchased a brand new car.  Lol. Truth be told, I've met quite a few independent and self sufficient seniors out here. And each of the three of us is trying to take care of the other two.  Lol. 

Anyway. Have a great day. We're staying cool.  Yay!!  And maybe will stop by the Star Trek convention later on today. I'm thinking of taking photos with Tim Russ or Micahel Dorn.  I'd be taking a page from my friend Vialets playbook. :)  

So hot. Lol. 

"It's Time", edition.

Good Monday morning!  I hadn't planned on writing today, but something happened yesterday and I wanted to share.  No, it's not earth shattering, but it's important to me.  And I couldn't condense it down to a Facebook entry. 

Yesterday was deep water aerobics. Our instructor, Vinnie,  calls it "Funday Monday". We get punished for a having a weekend. Lol. Our instructor is a hoot and he's young enough to be my grandson (!). And exuberant.  So much young energy!  He also must play music during the class, which is fine with me. I love music. There was a CD that was being used by him and the instructor of the class's before ours. I'm going to be a snob here for a moment. The class before ours is regular water aerobics. Bah. We work out in deep water. No bouncing off the bottom for us!  We even swim laps.  I digress. He brought in some new CDs starting last week. He brought the funk!  Ohio Players, Parliament/Funkadelic, James Brown and Morris Day and the Time, just to name a few!  What tickled us even more was he and a lot of the other lifeguard were singing and moving to the music. As much as lifeguards can, because they are, you know, guarding lives.  And you know most of these kids are young. And they are just delightful. 

So where was I going with this?  Vinnie, the instructor, wore us out because "Funday Monday". Lol. I get out of the pool really tired. Take a long warm shower, get dressed and stagger to the car.  And yes Brian staggered also, but not as much me. We needed some ingredients from the grocery store to make the Habenero wings.  Initially I wanted to just go home. I was that tired. But I got a second wind so we stopped a store on the way home. Incidentally, that store didn't have any habeneros. WTH?  lol. Anyway. I've got the cart and and start shopping. I see a lady I clearly recognize and she recognized me, but I couldn't remember from where. I didn't rack my brain too long because I moved on and out of sight of mind. A little while later it dawned on me where I knew her from. And then I saw her again. She was the lady that brought and picked up a guy who did dialysis with me at my old center. 

The gentleman was in the chair next to me. I always greeted both of them. I knew he spoke only Spanish, because every now and then a tech who spoke Spanish would have to explain or ask him something. I didn't realize the lady spoke only Spanish. Anyway. The gentleman was with the lady. And we greeted each other warmly. It really was nice to see him. I don't ever recall seeing any other of my dialysis warriors out and about. And that includes here in Las Vegas and when I was in Detroit!  Well guess what. We had a hell of a time communicating. :(  I got that he asked what happened and he actually asked if I'd had a transplant. Gestures go along way!!  I tried to explain that I was doing home hemo. And after all these years of know enough Spanish, I forget the words for home or house. Grrr.  I think he got it, but it was frustrating.  So it's time.  It's time i take a comprehensive Spanish class. 

It's not a huge deal if I don't know Spanish out here, but I do miss out on a lot. This is a bilingual town and I'm missing out on communicating with people. There were a significant number of dialysis patients who spoke Spanish in the center. The cleaning lady also spoke Spanish, but she also spoke English. As did Hector, another patient. So I'm in. I'm being met halfway, so I need to go halfway also. 

So now you know. It's time. 

On the dialysis front, no news.  Which is good. I need to do a blood draw this week. "It's The First of the Month".  You know you starting humming the tune.  Lol. The blood draw will happen tomorrow, I think. Yesterday was uneventful. I get antsy doing a  treatment after a crazy treatment day like Saturday, but I guess I will just have off days. 

The heat has returned..not 113 days, but 106 days. And yes, I can tell the difference!  That's it for today. Shawn made it home safely and getting ready for her next adventure!  Have a wonderful day!  

This would be me.  For now. And house is casa. Wow. I had a huge brain fart in the store. 

<ashamed>. 

"It Never Rains in Southern Nevada....Riiight", edition.

Good Sunday morning!  The sun is nice and bright, the skies are blue. And the rain has passed through. It rained all day yesterday. But you need to understand that rain here in the desert is not the same as rain in other parts of the country. Oh and it's 78 degrees here. During the rain yesterday it was 85. I got tell ya, after weeks of of the average temp of 103-105, 85 felt a bit.....chilly (!). Yeah.  I'm just as surprised as you. Lol. Brian suggested that if it got any cooler we might need a jacket!  (J/K).  So back to the rain.  It sprinkled, I guess. It was never enough rain for the intermittent wipers so be intermittent, but just enough sprinkles to be annoying. 

There were also flood warnings for all day. So you say, well if it's not that much rain, why are there flood warnings?  Las Vegas is in a valley surrounded by mountains. When it rains in the mountains, the water runs (races) down the mountainside straight to Las Vegas streets and storm drains. The flood gets impressive enough that there are public service announcements on TV warning rsidents to avoid flooded streets. The steers also become oil slicks. Which prompted us to ask why the guy driving the Lamborghini was cruising in the rain. Side note. On the past 2 days we've seen a Masserati, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. Seen enough Rolls Royces that I yawn now.  Lol. Waiting to see the ever elusive Maybach. 

On Thursday, my sands was in town with her husband. Brian and I met them for dinner. We hadn't seen each other in about 20 years. That was a treat!!!  We all had a a great time catching up on everything!  And now about she and I were wearing the same thing?   Lol. We enjoy when people contact us when they visit Las Vegas. 

So on the dialysis front, because we had a week of visitors, I adjusted my dialysis schedule. During the week, I also had my monthly appointment with my dialysis care team. I needed a blood draw and the nurse asked if I was doing treatment that night..because..you know...Brian does the blood draw. I told her no, we had visitors in town. She was cool and has always been cool about us rearranging the schedule. We may change days, but we never skip. If I gotta do dialysis, this is the way to go. So anyway, the blood was taken during the visit. I met with the nurses, dietician, social worker and the nephrologist. I'm still good. Still need to up the protein. Again, I ask, how much more eggs, fish, shrimp, chicken, beef can I eat?  Lol. For the record, I'm just a bit under, but the team is really picky about being within the ranges for these stats. 

Finally. During treatment last night, my blood pressure dipped twice. Not once, but twice!!  Geez, I hate that feeling. HATE IT. Bless Brian, he doesn't panic. He just does what needs to be done and keeps an eye on me. When the pressure drops, he administers 100 units of saline at a time through the the IV. I had to have 200 units before I stabilized. About 30 minutes later, the alarm that signals that the requested amount of fluid has been removed sounded. I figured we were over the hump. At that point I had about 45 minutes left on the machine. The remaining time removes toxins from the blood.  You know. That stuff I can't get rid of because I don't pee. Well. My pressure dropped again!  WTF!!!! 100 more units of saline. And I asked to be taken off. First time ever that I've asked to be taken off. In center or home. Had about 15 minutes left. Once off, I stabilized. The part that I don't like is dialysis is meant to remove fluid and toxins. Except, fluid was returned to me to stabilize my blood pressure. Ah well. It wasn't that much, but I need so watch my fluid intake today. 

That being said, I feel fine today. A hit of saline is like a hit of a wonder drug. It literally brings me back to life. Brian handles the whole situation like you'd think he would. My unflappable husband!  Lol. I'm all panicky and he's cool and calm. But in my defense, the feeling of dropping blood pressure is a scary feeling. I feel like my life is slipping away. And I'm not ready to slip away yet. 

So there you have it. Today I'm going to cook some Olathe corn. It's supposed to be good. We'll see. I grew up on Michigan sweet corn, so my standard is impossibly high. And I going to make some Habenero wings tomorrow.  No, it's not going to be fire wings. After I prepare them I'll let you know how they turned out. Have a great day.  The rain is over here and we're heading back to 105 degrees. Yay?