Everything you wanted to know about dialysis

I lied to you yesterday. The picc line for drawing blood was not put in yesterday. It was supposed to be inserted today, but plans were changed again. They have stopped the intravenous antibiotic and are now giving the antibiotic in pill form. He is scheduled for another round of hemo dialysis tomorrow.

The head of the Transplant unit paid a visit this afternoon. He is still very optimistic about the kidney's viability. They have stopped giving my Sweetie any form of aspirin in the chance they may perform a kidney biopsy on Tuesday. They took another ultrasound of the kidney this morning. They are bringing in the cardiology department for a consult. More news to follow.

My older son called last night to inform us that his nephrologist is going to insert a catheter into my son's  abdomen by Christmas in preparation for peritoneal dialysis. This is done by putting solution into the peritoneum and then draining out the waste while he sleeps at night. The flowing in of solution and draining out again is controlled by a computer at his bedside. This is how my husband started his dialysis many years ago. In the meantime, my middle son (the one who lives here) is preparing to go through all the testing to see if he would make a good donor. It is a long process. I went to Ottawa many times over the course of a year before my Sweetie's transplant was done. Keeping our fingers crossed that he can be a donor and that the screening process doesn't take as long. Science has come a very long way in only a generation.  By doing peritoneal dialysis every night at home, my son can still work every day and lead an almost normal life.

One week in the hospital

The day started out rainy, but has cleared up beautifully into a warm sunny Autumn day. I did not go into the hospital today. My Sweetie phoned this morning to tell me that they were going to take him to dialysis at 12:30 I couldn't stand the thought of another day like yesterday, so I stayed home this morning and slept. I was so tired. I need to be able to take care of him when he eventually gets home. I should have turned off the phone and gone back to bed, but I was afraid of missing a call from the hospital. I was so-o-o tired, I was able to fall back to sleep after each phone call I answered.
 
So this afternoon I ...

washed two loads of laundry, hung some scatter mats on the line, and will dry the second load in the dryer after 7 o'clock.

made a pitcher of iced tea 

folded  one load of laundry from yesterday, and put away.

washed some baking pans in the sink (my son and his GF made me some baked eggs with spinach and tomato which I have been nuking with some sliced ham for quick and hearty breakfasts)

washed the dog's dishes

scrubbed the toilets and sinks in the downstairs bathroom and my Master bathroom

After I have talked to my Sweetie on the phone, I will vacuum the carpeted staircase, the living room, dining room and kitchen.  It is driving me bananas with all the dust bunnies. Of course, there are things I try to do everyday like loading and unloading the dishwasher and cleaning the downstairs kitty litter.

Goals Update:

Money spent so far from my household budget is $261.81  Since last Wednesday's shop at the Bulk Barn and Giant Tiger, I spent another $50 on the gift card from Shopper's Drug Mart and $20.63 at the hospital coffee shop. After having spent $43.00 in parking fees over three days last week, I was able to find free parking on the Queen's campus over Sunday and holiday Monday. This week I have been paying the parking meters down on the Lakefront. It is only $1 for each hour to a limit of 3 hours at a time. So it means taking a long walk down to the parking lot, but so much better than paying those exorbitant hospital rates.  I am taking those parking fees from our gas and vehicles budget.

Outdoors work: I harvested more beans and tomatoes for the freezer.

Maintenance and preparedness: I peeled the ten pounds of carrots I bought on the first of the month, and froze several packets of julienned carrots and coins. I baked another batch of dog biscuits one morning before I went to hospital.

Cleaning projects: the two washrooms, today. It was not a deep clean. I did not wash the bathtub or shower surround, nor did I vacuum the floors.  I scrubbed the kitchen counters, the stove top  and the inside of the microwave.

Organization and purging: Nothing

Crafting: Nothing

My October Goals:  Nothing worked on and nothing accomplished yet, but the month is still young.

My son and his GF have tidied up my living room and made neat piles of my papers. They have baked me some egg omelets because I enjoy them, and they have brought me tea and baked goodies to the hospital for me to have. If I have a load of my laundry in the washing machine, they will throw it in the dryer for me. They washed and changed out my bed sheets on the weekend because they know I love to change them weekly.

Freebies received this week in the mail

Tylenol night time tablets and a quinoa cranberry granola bar

My Sweetie phoned at 6:10. He finally got back. They didn't take any weight off him. They just cleaned the blood and returned all the fluid back into his body. He says he feels good. They also put a central picc line into him so the nurses don't have to keep his IV catheter going. He had four IVs in the past week...all of them eventually failed. They need them to give him antibiotics and to take blood two or three times a day. Overall, today was a good day for both of us. Have a great night. 

Time for myself

So the plan was this. My Sweetie would have dialysis first thing this morning, and I would stay home and have some time for myself to get a few things accomplished. But I got a phone call from my husband early this morning to tell me that he wasn't scheduled for dialysis until 12:45. So we had a change of plan. I called two people that I knew were planning to see him this afternoon and told them not to bother going because he wouldn't be there in the room until after supper. I then decided that I should leave the house as soon as possible so I could spend a couple of hours with him this morning. Secretly, I wished they hadn't changed the dialysis because I can get more done in the morning. But I arrived at the hospital a little before 10 o'clock and put enough time on the meter so I could stay until they rolled his stretcher down to the Renal Dept.

As soon as I arrived, they took him away for an echo cardiogram. And as soon as the porter took him away, the nurses came back to the room to announce that the test had been canceled. Huh? So everyone figured he would be wheeled right back. I spent the next two hours reading my emails and blogs, and playing solitaire on my Blackberry. I went down to the parking lot on the lake front (which is quite a little jaunt) and put another hour in the meter. I wanted to be able to send him off with a goodbye at least. He finally came back just as lunch arrived. They did give him the echo cardiogram, but he also was told there would be NO dialysis today. His body was too dry and they were going to put him on another IV drip. So down to the parking lot I went again. I put on three hours, to take me until 4 PM. My doctor would be proud of me. She wants me to get walking, and I have been doing nothing but, for a week now. So in the end, I got no time for myself today. I got nothing accomplished again. I grab a few minutes here and there to fill the dishwasher, empty the dishwasher, throw some clothes in the washer or the dryer, fold some clothes, make myself a hot meal. I guess that is all I can expect right now. I will just keep calm and things will get done eventually.

I see some improvement

My Sweetie had a procedure done today which is in preparation for dialysis. The fistula in his arm has grown over, now that he has not had dialysis for over seven years, so they had to insert a central venous catheter into his neck. The kidney is still not working. His potassium levels and creatin levels are extremely high. The transplant team still thinks his (my) kidney is still viable, so we are hoping this will be only be required for the short term. We are both okay with this. Remarkably, he is much more responsive today. He was alert and he wasn't sleeping all day. They have moved him to another wing of the hospital where I expect he will stay another week or two. I don't even feel the need to go in tomorrow until he is moved back into his room around noon. Dialysis generally takes about four hours, three times a week. He will either sleep or watch some television, so I will probably stay home in the morning to try and get some work done.

The infection in his lungs is well on its way to improvement. I didn't hear any cough today and his breathing is so much better. Tonight I felt very tired on my way home from Kingston. I think it is a rush of relief after such a long period of stress and worry. I should sleep very well tonight.

Thanksgiving Day

This is another post of my husband's hospitalization. Today was the worst day (hopefully) for my husband and myself.  The antibiotic that he was taking for his lung infection caused an allergic reaction called insterstitial nephritis. His kidney has shut down, but has not failed yet.  It is usually short-term. Once they stop the offending drug, the kidney should start working again. His potassium levels are high, which can lead to his heart stopping. They are giving him a drug for that twice a day, which will bind the potassium in his system and excrete it from the body. He is back on Oxygen. He will be on 3 different antibiotics through his IV for a week at least. He is extremely weak and wants nothing more than to sleep right now. The nephrology doctors are prepared to put him on dialysis if they need to, but they are hoping his kidneys will begin to work very soon. My hope is renewed. Tomorrow will be telling.

Needless to say, I did not go to Charleston Lake to have Thanksgiving dinner again today. I stayed with my Sweetie and watched him sleep. I didn't want to be anywhere else but by his side. My lovely friend had Thanksgiving dinner delivered to us (myself, my son and his GF) by her son and new DIL as they headed back to Toronto tonight. What a wonderful surprise, and very gratefully received. So I had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal today. I hope my Canadian friends and family enjoyed their Thanksgiving and that all of you had a very lovely weekend.

Hospital update

As it turned out, I did not go to my brother's house in Smith Falls today. I stayed home this morning to do up some things around the house that needed doing, and I was on the phone half the time. My Sweetie was not feeling well today. He is hardly eating or drinking anything. He was so dehydrated that his blood pressure was only 99 over 63. He still is not voiding, and his bladder is empty. His IV stopped working and they were having trouble finding a vein to insert a new IV catheter. His nurse requested that Nephrology send someone to see him because of all the problems.  By the time I arrived, the nurse  had started the IV for a new course of antibiotics, but she had missed the vein, and the fluid was going in under the skin. His arm was blowing up like a balloon. He had called for assistance, but no one had come yet. So I ran down to the end of the hall to inquire about his nurse and was told she had gone to lunch. They had to find someone to remove the IV catheter and then try to find a vein again. We had to wait for his nurse to come back to start the IV all over again.

In the meantime, a nephrologist finally came to see my husband, and I am afraid I was none too kind. In fact I was stinking mad. The Transplant Team is supposed to be his primary care doctors. And I realize that he was admitted under Internal Medicine, but they knew he was in the hospital Emergency since Thursday morning. You think they might have dropped in to reassure him? His regular appointment is on October 17th, and my husband and I had already decided that we were going to ask them to transfer his file to Ottawa. We have been so disillusioned with the amount of care he has received here in Kingston. They were going to set up the colonoscopy, but didn't. Our family doctor arranged that. They were going to set up a referral for the dermatologist, but didn't. Because of the anti rejection drugs, he is prone to cancers, and he had four skin cancers removed a year ago. They were going to give him iron injections, but didn't. He has reported not being well for a year now, but they have done little in investigating any causes. Well, I warned this doctor I was too upset to ask any questions or voice any concerns, but she wanted to know.  And I proceeded to tell her. Poor woman. I will still bring this up on the 17th of the month, but for a while I was livid. And I am bone tired and just very emotional.

My Sweetie was able to give a tablespoon of urine to be analyzed, by the time I left tonight. We won't have results until tomorrow. But it sounds like the infection is only in the urinary tract...which is great news. He is very weak and did not get out of bed at all. He sleeps a lot, which is a good thing. I am hoping tomorrow brings better news. 

Saturday update

Well things can change quickly. Yesterday I was finally willing to accept the fact that perhaps my Sweetie didn't have any lung infection. The doctors were telling us that they couldn't hear any crackle in his chest. They couldn't find any evidence of bacterial infection after taking several vials of blood and trying to grow a culture. There was still fluid in his chest so it was the result of a failing heart not able to rid the body of excess fluid.

When I went in today around noon, the catheter was out. My Sweetie announced to me that he had not one, but two infections. One in his lungs and another in his kidney. The nurse was setting up the IV pole with two IV antibiotics, one right after the other. By the time I left at 4 o'clock, he had not voided (and he is on his regular dosage of diuretics) He should have gone 8 or 9 times in that 5 hour span. He had been sitting in his comfy chair instead of in bed during lunch and during the IVs. Before I left I helped him into bed. He overdid it, because he was not feeling well. The nurse was going to bring in a portable ultra sound to scan his bladder.

When he phoned me tonight, he had finally gone a little. The nurse is concerned, but a relief to me is the fact that the infection may not be in his transplanted kidney, but the bladder and urinary tract. They will probably be putting the catheter back on, and hopefully they will also put in a saline IV to flush him out. I will be phoning tomorrow morning. If he is not improved, I will not be going to Smith Falls.