Broken Rules

Yesterday was my birthday, so we had to break a few rules. Jason and I ate really well all day so we could eat bad at dinner. We went to PF Chan's and I had TWO iced teas. I also had the world's largest chocolate cake! I'm not supposed to eat chocolate and he can't have sugar. Oh, well.

Looking Better

My catheter sight looks pretty nasty, but it's getting better I guess. They told me on Tuesday that they've never seen anyone bruise like I did. Yeah, well that's how things have been going for me lately.

Oh, Lady

The lady across the room, the screamer, is in quite a mood today. There are two people holding down her left arm while a third person gets her needles in the right. She lives in a nursing home and they won't help put the numbing cream on her. Sad.

My Foot

Pile it on! What else could go wrong? How about my foot? It hurts like crazy and I'm not sure why. It's in one particular spot on the top of my foot and it feels like it did when I had the stress fracture a couple of years ago. Guess I'll go get an x-ray.

Testing

I had some blood drawn yesterday for another possible match. We should hear something in three weeks.

Another New Medication

Everyone seems baffled at my blood pressure. This morning it was 190/110. And I'm already on three BP meds! So, today I start another. This one is a diuretic. I'm not sure how it works, but I'm anxious to see if it will make me pee.

Yowzers!

I finally had my catheter removed yesterday. I had to take a day off of work, but I got to bring Alli to school and pick her up. I was told I could drive myself to the Access Center. They would not put me under, just numb the entrance site. I was so nervous. The catheter goes all of the way into my heart!

So, the doctor numbed it and the shots hurt. I didn't feel the actual removal of the catheter, but it had been in for so long that the tissue around it had attached itself directly to the catheter. So the doctor had to do alot of cutting and snipping. He said the site usually doesn't heal really nice. It's usually an ugly scar. But he said he'd do a bit of plastic surgery to "keep [me] looking pretty." They don't normally worry about it with their elderly patients.

But all the pulling and snipping left me in pain. I had a hard time sleeping because I couldn't get comfortable. Hopefully the pain won't last long. Tylenol is crap.

Another Possible Match

Another person from school is getting tested. We both have appointments on Monday for the initial test. This is the one that takes 3 weeks or so to get the results.

I'd like to think that if I had a FAMILY member in this situation that I'd step up and get tested. But I guess you never know until you are faced with the decision yourself...

Starting to feel sorry for myself again. Things were looking so good.

Bad News

Well, he's diabetic. It's for sure. Jason has to take medicine two times a day to help increase his insulin levels. No shots. We'll keep an eye on his blood pressure and cholesterol, too. Apparently people with diabetes usually die of heart disease. But as of right now his blood pressure is great. He had an EKG last week and that was good. The last time he had his cholesterol checked it was great, too. So we'll just count our blessings that we caught it early, before he had any symptoms.

Remember how I said that Anna saved my life? Guess that makes two of us. Angel.

Today

Jason sees the doctor today. He had to fast after 9:00 last night. We had a BIG dinner. He's nervous, so am I. I think he still wants to donate. He said he's going to "fix" the diabetes and then donate. Don't think it works that way.

I thought I was here on the wrong day today. There were extra cars in the lot when I pulled up. And there was a lady being brought in on a bed which doesn't normally happen. Then another woman walked in and I didn't recognize her. I finally saw Ms. T, so I came in.

It turns out that Ms. Haddie has been in the hospital for two weeks and just returned today. She was in a bed because she needs some physical therapy to get her strength back. The other woman was her daughter. She came in to get Ms. Haddie set up and to feed her some yogurt. Ms. Haddie is 89 years old.

Heart Day

Yesterday I had an echo of my heart. How appropriate since it was "heart day." Results to come soon.

Retest

Jason made an appointment to see our family doctor on Tuesday morning. They told him to fast for 12 hours, but he doesn't have to do a 3-hour test this time. I suppose he may have to do another one of those if this test comes back positive. I'm relieved that he's going to get this figured out.

Moving Forward

Now that we're starting the donor search over, I'm going to talk to my doctor about home dialysis. If we do the one that I want to do, it would require another surgery to get a catheter placed in my abdomen. But then I could just hook up to a machine and dialyze while I sleep. I would do it every night, but at least I could lead a pretty normal daytime life.

Diet

If Jason really is diabetic then he'll need to change his diet. I've decided that if you take all of the things that I can eat and line them up next to all the things he can eat...you'll find very few matches. We may never eat a common meal again. Great.