Kristi Karnopp's Diary & Blog

7^th Catheter?

Yes, 7^th 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 5^th 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.

A new day has begun at 5:45 AM for me in order to have a little time for myself before Debbie got here at 8:30 AM to get me ready and out the door by 11 AM for dialysis as today begins the first day of treatment for the week. Yippee, dialysis treatment begins today—ok—for a Monday morning. Our nurse Stephanie is a technician again today, and she leaves for home at the end of the month. She has been a nurse here for two years now, and that is record run for our traveling nurses.

Oh, crap, I have to wait until morning to get my phone off the floor now. I had a damn meltdown about it over the phone/iPad airwaves with Jackie on the other end because I need my phone off the floor. Instead of Jackie helping me through this meltdown, I get told I will be fine and she was asleep and resting because she has had a headache for two days! Well, fuck her headache in my opinion, and thanks for not helping me calm down, bitch was my thought at that moment! I was not thinking about your headache as I was having my meltdown. Thank you for not telling me until now about your headache. You didn’t help me and I am at a total loss of trust now.

Yeah, my meltdown may have ended hours ago now, but the feeling of trust has been misplaced again that talking to my did not happen because talking on the speaker phone can’t happen anymore because she can’t hear very well. Yeah, she has lost her hearing a little bit at 80 years old. I wanted to talk to her but I can’t because my phone is on the bedroom floor until Deb gets here about 8 AM—shucks! Oh well! I am not in the best of moods today, and I needed to talk to my mom about it badly. Ugh! Not my day today! Ugh!

Happy Sabbath and what a happy Saturday for me! Deb has been here and gone by 9:05 AM so she could help her husband and son get ready to go to men’s retreat some men from church were going to. Yay for Deb to have a break from the guys in her life! WTG, Debbie! A day and a half to herself! Her son will have a piano audition tomorrow for college scholarship. Woohoo, Tyler!

For this Saturday, I have been reading and watching TV, and relaxing in bed. I did not go anywhere except to a Midsomer village in a story for a while. It has been a great, lazy, relaxing day all day long. I enjoy my Midsomer village days. It helps me escape the hectic days of real life for a few hours of my day. I need to escape the real world once in a while around here. No need to go any further, doi? My day is about over for the day anyway.

Dialysis Update

For the last treatment of the week, dialysis went smoothly the entire treatment. Once again, Pod #5 was in Chair #10. They were short technicians and a nurse again today, and it sounded like the Saturday shift was going to be the same. So   than meant Pods 1through 4 were going to have patients. I like #10 chair, too. I sat quietly and read the entire time while my neighbors napped or watched TV. With the Killings of Badgers Drift read and returned to the library yesterday, I am now reading Faithful unto Death which is another Midsomer Murders mystery and series. Doing great in the reading department as well.  Thanks to having Tiffany the technician one morning, I sat in Pod #4 in Chair #15 which happens to be an okay spot to sit once in a while. Pod #5, Chairs #17, 18, 19, and 20 are good chairs, too, but Chair, #18 is usually my main chair, though. I am willing to share, though! The places I sit at are treats for me as well from routine to whom I have as my technician of the day. I do have to admit that having Tiffany, Sam, Jon without an H, lol, and Christina are my favorite techies. Christina has moved on to Fresenius dialysis center instead of Mercy dialysis center. Aww, shucks, smile. Oh well. Fresenius’ gang and Mercy’s big loss. This week, Mercy’s technicians and nurses were shorthanded all week long that patients sat elsewhere in the clinic rather than sitting I your usual spot getting treatment. Mercy needs to make it better soon or I will go elsewhere after all. Yay, the weekend has arrived and do not have to at dialysis until Monday now! Woohoo!! Relaxation time until Monday! YIPPEE!! Until next week, March 11, 2024! Woohoo, yay!

I am at dialysis waiting for my turn at the machine. I just got here. The weather today is cool and rainy. My muscles are achy a bit, but I should be okay. My arms are covered in my cat jacket I’ve had for a few years when a former tenant at Burbank Plaza who owned sit before me—Kate. She is a neighbor I would not want to be neighbors to again if I can help it. She’s not always friendly. I don’t dislike her, but she is not my favorite person, though.

The fight and flight mode is calming down now. Jackie has called and she will be here shortly. I told her that Deb’s change of plans got me frustrated. Trying to get a hold of Jackie this morning was not easy this morning because I did not know what Jackie and Debbie discussed last night when I did not get Debbie’s message until 10:30 PM because I had fallen asleep how a while. It was not making me feel confident and comfortable—very uncomfortable at the moment! While I wait, I am watching Midsomer Murders with Neil Dudgeon who plays John Barnaby, Tom Barnaby’s cousin. Jackie will be here shortly. Yay!

Woohoo! What a wonderful day was today was. After Jackie’s dental appointment, she came and got me ready for the day. We left to go to gfs library because I finished reading The Killings of Badger’s Drift. We got three books from the library. Two Caroline Graham books and another author I have not heard of until Jamie Swenson got a list of English England books to get when I go to the library. Yeah, I read a lot since I have a lot of time to do so while at dialysis, in bed in the early afternoon and at night. I love to read and have been reading since I was 2 years old being read to with my grandpa Clarence Fox.

After the library, we went to Citrus Café for lunch, the Dollar Tree Store, and the 808 Cheesecake place, and then back home where we got me back in bed for the rest of the afternoon and evening reading and watching TV. We watched Unsolved Mysteries for a while before Jackie left for the day. I M reading Faithful unto Death by Caroline Graham- another CID Tom Barnaby novel. I also got The Ghost in the Machine by Caroline Graham as well from the library today since I read fast.

Well, Debbie is going to be here at 7:15 AM to 7:30 AM in the morning to get me ready to go while Jackie is going to get me out for dialysis in the morning because her husband and son will be going to a men’s retreat this weekend together. Her plans have put a little rut in my mind, but I think it will be okay. She needs to be home to help her husband and son get ready for their retreat. I am not in the best mood right now. I am not happy that plans have changed again. Ugh! It puts me in a fight or flight mood, and I feel rushed and pushed. Time to say goodbye and good night and get some sleep. Goodbye for now.

With plans made for Thursday, I am heading to bed now. I can barely keep my eyes open right now. That’s because I took two Benadryl with my PM Tylenol tonight for my allergies a few minutes ago, and for a few minutes I thought Jesus was going to take me back to him, but I asked Him, ‘please, not tonight, Lord Jesus’ as I looked at my babies both on my bed cuddling with one another and Magic cuddling with me. Yes, I am not ready to go home to Jesus yet. I’m not afraid of dying, I am not ready to die, yet.

Dialysis Update

Pod #5 was closed down for the day because they were short of technicians and nurses today, so I sat in pod #3 in chair #10. A nice change and I would not mind sitting in that chair again.

Dialysis went smoothly and I got out early, but my ride will not make it until 3 pm or 3:15 pm, so Jackie and made it work out that I would drive my power chair home today, and it was nice drive home—a little chilly, but a nice drive home for the first time in a spring feel sort of day. Yeah, I got done at 2:30 PM today and I was not in the mood to wait for 30 to 45 minutes to wait for my medical ride! That is unacceptable. That morning Henry the dispatcher had a ride at 2:58 PM and my ride pick up at 3:00 PM, and both rides are wheel chair or power chair rides. Oops! And my ride this afternoon was delayed? Not acceptable and the dispatcher has to be more careful scheduling his drivers! Thank goodness I have a break tomorrow! More driving about downtown tomorrow with my power chair. Woohoo!

Home

One my drive home, I have to go under a bridge that a train sometimes goes on, and every once in a while, debris from the bridge falls onto the sidewalk below making it a little difficult to drive through, but today the sidewalk was clear of debris for the first time in a while. That was great in my thoughts as I got to the corner to wait for the green light to cross Center Avenue before the bridge above the river. Yes, Garden Court is right across the street from the river that stinks of fish and riced smells at times of the year. It’s okay, but sometimes the smells get on my clothing and that is no fun. The laundry will be full at times from fishy and river smells. That means there is dead fish by and in the river at times. Made it home in 15 to 20 minutes with Jackie getting there at the same time. Made if home to the building, woohoo! Home!