Woohoo, one more dialysis treatment left for the week left before my weekend comes after 3 PM this afternoon. Woohoo! Ummm, Wisconsin today is under a weather advisory for a few hours today. Yep, we have snow falling today! For March is the beginning of spring although we have snow today. A little cold. And no, I did not ask for the snow today.
Amazon News
I am not going to argue about how my day went today. Also, I do not have any complaints to air out. Amazon replaced the missing items on Monday with a delivery I received yesterday and my neighbor Marie H held onto the package until today. The package on Monday was not even sealed and trying to talk to a representative at Amazon was difficult because, although she understood English, it was not an easy conversation to have. I hung up more confused, but my package will be here on Thursday at no extra cost. Why would Amazon send a package without sealing it in the first place is beyond my comprehension and imagination anyway! The second package did come sealed and to my door, and Jackie had to sign for it because it was asked for a signature. I think it was because Amazon wanted to make sure it was delivered properly this time. It made sense, though. Probably because it was a replacement to the product that did not make it on Monday. I also got two remote holders and retractable keychain to attach my always dropped tv remote, bed remote and lamp remote. No more dropping the remotes. Yay!
Not Feeling That Spry
I will be honest about how I am feeling right now. I am not feeling my best emotionally at the moment. I tried to send a text message to my friend Marge F. It came back telling me it was unable to be sent. I feel sick about it. Did I do something wrong? That is how I feel right now—sad. It is making me feel yucky inside. I am feeling c a little blah.
I know I didn’t do anything, but my mind and brain was thinking that I did do something wrong and Marge F doesn’t want to have contact with me. What if she did not keep the phone company she was with or got a new phone with a different number? That is possible for sure, too. Marge and Mr. Frank are elderly and not young anymore. I have yet not spoken to them since I have been back home for the past year. My friendship with them isn’t over but it is questionable at this time. Maybe it is for the best for me to go my own way now anyway. We may not have anything in common anymore. I rarely text Mrs. Merrick now-a-days as well. I have been busy again. No need to fret over a feeling only anyway.
I will not argue how my day had gone today, but I do have one complaint, though. I had a hard time waking up at 8 AM when Deb got here. Because of that, I ate breakfast while sitting in my lift chair and stayed in my bedroom until I left for my 2 PM nail appointment. I would have gone to my counseling appointment this morning but my ride was not scheduled in time so I cancelled it and will wait until April 2, 2024 for my next appointment. I go to Mercy Options now…. not Crossroads Counseling. I stopped going to see Dr. Sam because I saw twice and the third session was canceled by him with no reason whatsoever and it would be over a month to schedule an appointment with me when he told me he would be willing to work with me. When he canceled my third appointment with no reason why, I talked to my social worker about it and she did not recommend Mercy Options. I did call Mercy Options and they called me before another service called. I have been with my counselor at Mercy twice now—maybe three times, actually. My counselor is Deb Johnson and I like her. My next appointment is April 2, 2024. I am looking forward to seeing her and going to my appointment. In the meantime, I’m going to continue writing in my journal daily of as soon as I can as each day passes from this day forward. I write my feelings better than verbally speaking my feelings out loud. When Dr. Sam cancelled my appointment for no reason given, I felt I was wasting an hour of my time getting the help I needed. I need a counselor who tells me they can help me and follow through and Deb Johnson is willing to do that. I will be talking to her about Dr. Sam and what he did.
My Feelings Today…
For some reason I felt lost not hearing from Jackie all day except when I told her about a package that came to me empty from Amazon this afternoon when Marie next door from me mentioned that the packages were between her door and mine, and one of the packages being empty. The package looked like it was not even sealed, and Marie said that she did not open and take the items. Debbie looked at the bag/package and she thought Amazon forgot to seal the damn package that held my phone and iPad charging cables. I called Amazon and told them what happened, and they okayed placements. I will get my charging cords on Wednesday. Jackie saw the package and it was not sealed so delivery lost them or took the items I bought with my own money. At least Marie was telling the truth, but if Jackie saw differently, she would be upset at Marie for a while—I Woolf be upset as well at Marie for fibbing. My trust in people would be low in people if Marie as well, too.
As far as my day has gone by this morning and phone being a pain in the butt to the extent I was not worrying about if because I can look into it later. It just got in a goofy state of mind that had me turn the phone off and back on to get it out of its funky state of sticky state of mind. My phone doesn’t need to be charged right now. I play games and do my journaling on my phone and iPad on a regular to daily basis now-a-days.
Amazon Package Troubles?
Well, what a day for a package to come to my home empty. I called Amazon immediately to explain my package of phone and iPad chargers was empty because the bag it came in was not sealed at all.
Dialysis Update
With dialysis, my blood gets clean at 2 hrs and 45 minutes very well. So unlike when I first started at 5 hrs at the beginning 6 years ago amazes me. A person can dialyze for 2 hrs and 30 minutes once in a while and the blood gets cleaned for a couple of days. This is why dialysis is done 3 times a week at hemodialysis. Peritoneal dialysis is done in the home, and I was dialyzed every night.
Anyway, I had my nephrologist Dr. Anjum visit this afternoon. We discussed my dry weight being at 84 kilograms. They weigh you in kilograms and not pounds. I get it and use a converter application on my phone that converts kilograms into pounds until I memorize the weigh-In and weigh-out numbers. I am kind of disappointed with my weight at this time, but I am under 190 pounds at this time. According to the weight being 180 pounds to have a kidney transplant is feasible and reachable, and realistic. We also discussed my lab results are either stable or holding their own as far my diseased kidney is concerned. It produces a little urine to this day, but not 3 ounces like it did before the disease hit in 2016. It just makes enough to wet my disposable underwear these days and it function is above 9% at third time. A good kidney needs to function properly at 25% or better not to be on dialysis. Dialysis can be peritoneal or hemodialysis. I had my disease for three years with my transplanted kidney—2016-2019—a 31 year run with the kidney before it decided to shut down. The run of the kidney was a great run and my mom’s husband was wary of me taking care of it with my run of taking care of myself and being kind of careless at times when I was a typical child and teenager growing up into adulthood. My mom thought different of her baby girl and would be very upset with me if I did not take care of it properly. Sometimes people have to be careful what they say and do with me! Ugh! After my meeting with Dr. Anjum, I was done for the day and got unhooked and left for the rest of the day. Next dialysis day is Wednesday.
Thoughts on Dialysis
I will be very honest, dialysis is not a bad thing, but it does take its toll on the body, and my body is getting tired of it physically. I do not mind going for 2 hrs and 45 minutes. I do have my favorite workers who are dialysis technicians and nurses and wanna-be doctors in the medical field. I also have my favorite patients I am friendly to and with I do consider myself friends with, but I am picky and choosy about friendships these days because I have been girt and burned by some friends because of their maturity level. I would prefer to be friends with people who are older than me because of maturity more likely than not my age group. I do have a couple of good friends who are younger than me and my boyfriend is fourteen years younger than me. Jackie is the only caregiver who is nine years younger than me as well. She does act mature for her age because of how she grew up as a child and teenager losing her mother at age 12 and her husband to cancer at age 41. Her life has not a happy one for her all the time. Her mother died because of medical reasons when she was 12 years old. When her husband died of cancer two years ago, it was another blow in her life. She does not want me to die, either. Anyway, life with dialysis is what it is until I have another kidney transplant, I did not get serious about it until 4 weeks ago.
With Covid out there, most hospitals want their kidney disease and transplant patients to have the Covid vaccines, and my mom is not wanting me to have the vaccines, nor has she and Lon have gotten them. My mom does not trust the flu shot! I get the flu shot every year without problems, but I believe my mother has has in the past and does not get the flu shot anymore. I don’t blame her to be honest with you. As far as the Covid vaccines are concerned, I planned on getting them until I lost a friend at dialysis who was keeping up with the Covid vaccine regimen that the hospital in Madison, Wisconsin until she passed away from a brain aneurysm at the age of 72 and she was getting ready to have her kidney transplant, and one day she did not walk into the clinic to her chair. That morning, I got a call from an unknown number and did not answer, and the social worker came in to tell a couple of us that Judy had died the day before. The unknown number was her husband calling me to give me details of Judy’s death. That was a blow in my life! Judy became my friend and we exchanged numbers to talk to each other in the last year of her life. Her death made me decide against the Covid vaccines. I did not trust them after that. Jackie and Debbie found a hospital in Wisconsin that does not require but recommends them for patients in the hospital and their workers. The place is Froedtert Hospital and Clinics in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Froedtert is Kurtis Froedtert who was an American industrialist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin born in 1887 through 1951. Hmmm, a known reason why Froedtert Hospital exists today! Pretty cool! A Lutheran based hospital, too. Wow! Thanks, Kurtis Froedtert. Although I’m a Seventh Day Adventist today, I do not have a mean bond about Sunday keeping churches since I was a catholic and a baptist before becoming a Seventh Day Adventist in 1999. Now, before you judge me and my beliefs, do some research online about seventh day Adventist, please. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Well, my day is about over, and I have a semi-busy day tomorrow. I did have an appointment with my counselor but I had to cancel because of transportation issues. I did not call to schedule the appointment for that day I time. I did nit miss my nail appointment, though. That was one appointment I did not miss because the weather was decent enough to get to by power chair. I could have gone to my counseling, but it was cold in the morning, anc the first time in a long time, I had difficulty waking up this morning and stayed in my room in my lift chair until I got ready to go to my nail appointment at 2PM, leaving my place at 1:35 PM with Jackie walking with me today. The weather was warmer at 52 degrees. The weather was in the 30s and 40s this morning before noon. and brow. Not a tattoo but a birthmark.
A new ‘work’ week has started.
Garden Court News or ?Gossip?
You can call it whatever way you want to be honest here. I am not the type to spread gossip, but with Garden Court, gossip is flying around like a storm like at Burbank Plaza where I used to live three years ago. I am going on my fourth year at Garden Court now.
Well, Garden Court hasn’t changed much since u moved in. I still don’t get involved with a lot at the building although I have my people I enjoy being with there more than I did at Burbank Plaza. The apartment building is seven floors high at Garden Court that makes it three times more larger with gossip and the news seems to fly further. Tenants do not have anything better to do but get in other tenant business I guess. Most of the people I hang around d with when I have the time know when I leave and come back.
Well, the lobby has been changed a bit from what I have seen for the past 3 years. The tables and chairs have been moved around a bit this last week and to be honest, it looks nicer now than the way it has been since I moved into the building three years ago, so now tenants have more privacy talking in the lobby.
My Fur Babies
Magic and Millie are my M&M babies. I was talking to a friend of mine about her babies. Her fur babies are Matrix, Mocha and Mr. Aslan. How her babies have M names except Aslan of course, goes by Mr. Aslan and that counts as an M name—I guess, 😎
My friend Sandi’s cat Mr. Aslan is an orange tabby cat as well. Murphy’s fur was wild and longish. He was a good old kitty. Mr. Aslan, an orange tabby as well, looks like Murphy with shorter hair. What a gorgeous kitty he is, too! Anyway, with my friend’s kitties, I have to admit that my two kitties Magic and Millie are my precious God send babies. I believe God has been allowing me to have my two fur babies. I believe that my first cat Emilee and my second kitty were also God send cats as well. They lived for sixteen and a half and fourteen years with me before they both died of old age. I love cats and dogs of the domestic and wild kind. Yep, that includes lions, tigers, wolves, and foxes. I believe God has put a paw print tattoo by my left eye above my eye brow, but I am not sure if He did. At one point,I thought it was a bruise, but it did not ever go away. Other people have asked me about the mark above my left eye and brow. Not a tattoo but a birthmark.
Today I am feeling like I need to cry, and I do not have an explanation for it. Is it just I need to cry from being frustrated for so long? I cannot find an explanation for it today. Ugh! Hmm, I just cannot find an explanation whatsoever. What a find, huh? Anyway, for the first time in a while, a few days, I have found the time to write my thoughts since the 11th of March. Could that be the reason I want to cry right now? No! I just feel weepy today — for no reason at all. I will be okay tomorrow for sure.
Ahh, the weekend has finally arrived…woohoo! I cannot ask for me at this point. I will return to dialysis on Monday morning at 11:45 AM or shortly before. This week I got on a little early and left a little early depending on my medical ride arrival. Today, I did not get home until 3:20 PM because dispatch overbooked the workers at 3 PM! No big deal, but honestly, one of the dispatchers was not paying attention to the computer screen today. Hopefully next week is better for Henry, the dispatcher who is still in training mode. Jack, the dispatcher is not working right now for some reason. Will Jack be back? No one knows at this point. Even one of the drivers, Andre, is on medical leave! You Buy We Fly has been a good medical ride company for me, but today has been questionable, and the important thing is, at least, I got home in one piece with all my attachments included, lol. I did not fret or complain out loud, but inside, you can never know how I felt–annoyed to the max because I was ready to be at home in bed to read and watch TV. This is one weekend I have been looking forward to in a long time. I finally feel I have my life back, people!
From March 11-14, 2024, I have been busy with life for once in a long time. I had an appointment this afternoon with my nails but it got bumped until the 19th, which is okay. It was raining out all day today anyway, and I stayed home to watch TV and read my next Midsomer Murder book by Caroline Graham titled Faithful Unto Death. I am in chapter 8 now of 11 chapters. Almost done! I love to read and have been busy reading these days. I love escaping to other places from the real world I live in in Janesville, Wisconsin. That’s my life right now. So, right now I am escaping to England villages like Badger’s Drift—The Killings of Badger’s Drift was the first book and story on TV.
When I was learning about a hospital that does kidney transplantation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I was hearing the word freighter not Froedtert, lol. Hmm? That was a game changer for me, lol. Kind of embarrassing to be honest here. Anyway, I called the transplant department there today and got set up with them and got my account setup with them. Now I have my first virtual appointment on May 25, 2024. A little nerving.
I have to admit that today has not been a bad day for a first day of the ‘work’ week. Not bad at all! Dialysis went well for the most part. The machine alarmed a couple of times for the fact the arterial line got kinked and the bi-carb bag has an issue, and my lines work better in reverse where blue is on red and red is on blue instead on straight, red on rex, and blue on blue with my seventh catheter.
7th Catheter?
Yes, 7th catheter is being used now. Catheters wear out eventually and a couple of them have had short lives for some reason unknown forces occurred. I am using a catheter because my veins are now too small to be used for a fistula and graft. We have had two grafts put in—one in each arm, but my left one quit working 9 months after it was placed due to clotting issues and the right one never used because it clotted within five days of placement. My blood clots easily. Blood clotting for good reason is fine, but for grafts and fistula purposes is not good. That is why I am using a catheter instead of using a graft or fistula.
As far as a fistula goes, one was made in my left arm, but it never matured. It lasted only a couple of months and never was used. It was a weak fistula and it clotted fast leaving me to take warfarin to fix the clot for 6 months. I hated taken that warfarin. It helps in areas, but it can be a problem in other area. When it comes to chemicals in the body, my body, I am kind of hesitant and wary of taking prescribed medications to help me. I was on Seroquel for a month, and I gained 20 pounds in and a one month that took a year to lose. Now, off Seroquel and on a low dose of Prozac, I am now 180-187 pounds and stable again. Gaining my 20 pounds back was a downer and disappointing aspect of my life. It was not water weight I gained back and for a while, dialysis techs and I did not know if I gained weight due to water or medication. It was very frustrating for a month. Anyway, that is why I use a catheter and have for the past 6 years on hemodialysis.
I saw Dr. Anjum today as I do every Monday unless it is the 5th Monday of the month or he’s on vacation with family or visiting India. My blood is getting cleaned well doing hemodialysis even though I don’t have a fistula or graft like most people. A lot of patients use catheters as well due to age and other health issues. It’s amazing what dialysis can do for people with kidney disease and kidney health. Although I have had my kidney transplant for 31 years before being attacked by kidney disease, my kidney can still produce a little urine, but when your kidney’s function goes past 4 in GFR (Glomerular Function Rate). This part of the kidney’s function tells nephrology doctors how well or not well the kidney is functioning in a patient. My transplanted kidney got attacked by a disease called glomerulonephritis. This kidney disease is a chronic disease and it can be treated with medication for a while and I did take special medication for 3 years before my kidney said it had enough. By then my kidney was 72 years old and the kidney was beginning to have problems in 2016 to 2019. My donor was my mom!
Don’t worry, my mom is still alive. She will be 80 years old this year. Yes, my mom was 44 going on 45 when she became my first donor. First donor? Yes, I am looking for a second donor. I prefer a living donor over a cadaver kidney.
Now home from the clinic, I saw Dr. Anjum before my 15 minute mark was done for the day. Yep, got weighed out and left the clinic with my ride already waiting patiently for me to come down. You Buy WeFly’s driver Amirius picked me up this afternoon at 2:50 PM and got downstairs by 2:47 PM and went to the driver’s side to tell him I was out.
