Kristi Karnopp's Diary & Blog

My Easter Sunday

This is the first time today I have gotten to writing in my diary for the first time today. It got to after 11 PM last night, playing games on my phone, so I did not write anything more about my day for my Easter after Jackie left at 12:30 PM for the day not to return until tomorrow. I had my weekend to myself after 10:30 AM Saturday and the rest of the day yesterday after 12:30 PM. I did not have an Easter dinner of ham and potatoes because I don’t eat any pork because it is not a clean meet according to the Bible after the Old Testament. Some Seventh Day Adventist do eat the clean meats chicken, fish, beef, nuts, and such. Although pigs have hooves, they are not a cow’s hoof. They are not splint hooves. A moment ago, I forgot how to spell hooves — a moment of a brain fart, and I was spelling it holve or holves for some reason. When I was learning how to sound words out as a child before my double digits came about, my grandpa had me sound the word hypothesis and I pronounced it hypot thesis and not hypo thesis. Grandpa said I did a great job and remembered the word ever since I learned the pronunciation of the science  word. I became ecstatic about it. I even forgot  how to spell ecstatic and spelling it without the first C was how I pronounced it and Word corrected for me. When I spelling hoof and hooves wrong, it would correct the word holes and I had to take three tries to write hooves or hoof, lol!

For Easter, I watched The Resident when Jackie came over until 12:30 PM, I had fish sticks and chicken nuggets for lunch. Jellybeans and little butterfly cakes by Little Debbie. I did not go anywhere for Easter. I was not even asked to join in Easter festivities by friends or family. I did feel sad about it. Now the month of April is at play and March has left us until next spring.

Dialysis Update

For dialysis, I got on a little early and off a little early. Those days I look forward to getting home a little sooner—sometimes. Last week, a couple of days I waited for my ride longer than usual, but I got home—wasn’t thrilled, though.

I saw Dr. Anjum at a time unusual after 12:30 PM—1:30 PM today. Usually, I see him on Mondays a few minutes before I am going to be unhooked from the machine. It was a treat to see Dr. A early today. Dr. Anjum and Dr. Shaikh make their clinic rounds with their patients on Monday and Tuesday. They see patients 4x when there is a 5^th Monday in the month. No doctor visit on the 5^th Monday. Insurance doesn’t allow it. You know, government allows so much use.

Donna

I looked at my text between me and Donna, and I did not see her seeing the text I wrote—my feelings, and then she never responded. I text her again and yet no response, and her not responding had put me in a state of mind of sadness and tears that make me feel I did something wrong. She did not call me when I asked her to call me back. Is Donna mad at me? I am at a loss. I am stressed and crying a lot about it this evening. Dang it, I have an appointment tomorrow with my counselor Deb Johnson at 10 AM tomorrow.

Well, it is late and I should have  been asleep a couple of  hours ago. 

Good Morning Sunday!

 Hello and good morning to Sunday, March 31, 2024. The weekend is about over, and a new week of dialysis treatment begins at 11:45 AM tomorrow (Monday). My weekend has been great, and for the next few hours I am going to watch TV, read, and write in my journal. Writing in my journal is work for me to do. Sometimes I write bits and pieces of my day in more than one entry or wait to write one long entry in my Dear Diary  journal. Whatever trips my trigger each day now-a-days. Today is one of those days whereas yesterday I wrote one long entry for the day. Yep, Sunday is my ‘work’ day, and I need to find the time to get some TV time and reading in my day with journaling (work) as well. I must do it today.

An Itch Fest Early Morning

Between 3 AM through to 5:30 AM, I had what I call an ‘itch fest’ during that time. My legs and feet had an itch that would not go awau so I was itching until one of my nails on my left hand broke and the color peeled off. That was a little bit of an owie, but I do fret about it because my nails do grow back slowly but surely… I will be okay.

Before Jackie Gets Here …

More Thoughts on Chromebook…Really? Yes…

I have to get used to this laptop of mine if I want to use it more outside It my iPad and phone being Mac iOS. I must have good lighting when using the machine because the keyboard DOES NOT light up—a need for me. I had deleted a good portion of yesterday’s journal entry from my document that I now must rewrite sometime today if I choose to do so, but I have not decided at this point yet. Maybe not because it was not very important. I need to get used to my Windows operating system soon, too, so jumping to my phone and iPad will be easier than it has been the past few hours. I have time to work on my Chromebook while at home and the battery is not charging long lasting. I am going to use the bathroom when Jackie gets here and hop right back into bed for the day. I must wear my leg brace/boot when I walk with the way my right foot is from it changing in the last five years since my last leg brace was not a boot brace. If I walk on my right foot without a leg brace, it will turn on me and possibly break the ankle, and I would be in a bigger pickle by not being able to walk for about eight weeks, so not having it. I do like my boot brace, but I do not like how heavy it is to put on by myself. That is the only thing I do not like about my brace. It is a boot, not a brace by gosh golly, LOL – not really funnyto be very honest with you!! I am being brutally honest with you.

Jackie needs to be on time and time is ticking by normally, but too slow for me, lol, because I must have a bowel movement or two, and I have to wait for about an hour or so yet! Yes, I need to poop, lol!

I need to get used to my Chromebook to refresh my mind with the screen, what works on the system that I use on my Mac iOS that will work well on my Windows operating system and working on my journaling. I also have to familiarize myself with the screen at times to get used to the system if I am jumping back and forth between two different operating systems, so I do not have confusion between them. The internet is about the same though. I just cannot have Safari on my Chromebook because it does not have Apple software on this laptop.

My eyes have to adjust to the cursor on the Chromebook because I haven’t used a Windows operating system for a few years off and on—like today being on it over the weekend by choice.

My kitty kids are running and chasing each other this morning while bumping into the closet doors in the hallway and bedroom making noises and meowing their head off about the apartment. Is Magic not liking his sister’s comebacks of playtime? Probably so because Millie can defend herself when she needs to with a bop on Magic’s head hard enough to get his attention. Good job, Millie Rose! She gets into places she hides from him, and she comes out and chases him into his hiding places meowing his head off, lol! With Millie being his sister for the past three to four months now she has been a Godsend for Magic. He is never alone when I am at the dialysis clinic for a while. By the time I leave at 10:35 AM to 3 PM or a little later waiting for my medical rides before and after, I am gone about four to five hours every other day and occasionally one to two hours a day. I am being precise, I know. I am that way A LOT, lol.

Cat Kids

My fur babies Magic is 3 ½ years old and Millie is going to be 9 months old in April now. She is growing up fast like Magic did from when I got him at 5 months old on October 6, 2020. Magic and Millie are 3 years apart from one another and both kitties were strays when I adopted them as kittens. When I got my first cat, she was 8 weeks old and she died at 16 years, 7 months, and two weeks old when she passed, when I had to put her down from old age and natural causes. Bing Crosby was 1 ½ years old when I adopted him and he lived 14 years with me before he passed away, when I had to put him down from kidney disease and hyperthyroidism at age 15 on September 29, 2020. I got Magic 4 days later from the Rock County Humane Society that year because the quietness was seriously deafening. With Magic being an all-black cat, and Bing being an all-white cat, it was an extremely big change, and getting a cat under six months of age was also a big change for me since 1990 as well. Getting Magic and Millie at five months of age was a fine choice.

Now Jackie is here, and I have to go to the bathroom, and waiting for her to sign in is taking a bit of time.

Be back shortly…. 

Okay…it took a little time to get my journal updated, but it GOT DONE. I am satisfied about the update and the fact that I had made a couple of errors in my posting this week. It was done without too much of beating myself up about it. I need to be more careful from now on and continue to move forward in life. Today has been a fair and good day all day long, and I did get to see my boyfriend Ken and his mom after church this afternoon from 2:45 PM to 4 PM. More later…

I have lost a lot of my thought I have written due to deleting it by accident on Sunday, March 31, 2024, when I was trying to copy and paste it to my Dear Diary this morning at 7:56 AM! UUGGHH! I am not retyping it today. I will write it in today’s journal…maybe…

My Day

My day today has been great. I am still up and updating my day before 9 PM. I have been watching Downton Abbey all day except when Ken and Tanya have been here. They were here from 2:45 PM to 4:00 PM. We watched Home Restorations where homes in Britian were being restored to their former glory or being remodeled to better the building. As a renter of an apartment, I do not have the luxury of remodeling a home or building, but my dad has the opportunity a few years ago to two homes he lived in in Janesville, Wisconsin. The second home dad bought and lived in for a few years was gutted out completely and built back up from scratch on the inside of the home. New kitchen appliances and counters, and a kitchen counter table to sit at for dinner leaving the dining room for company and family gatherings. I lived in the new home for the last two weeks of high school before graduating, and left home in December 1989 to be in the UCP Apartment Living Program until it closed down in 2020 and was renamed IDS (Independent Disability Services because our new Executive Director changed the name and were no longer under certain affiliates anymore) I was okay with the name change and the new executive director being Gayle at that time, a friend of Nancy’s who retired as executive director s once UCP Apartment Living Program opened before I became a member of the program in December 1989. Now, let me remind you that I was reminded about this last December that I was kicked out of the house about my sisster finding by the time I moved out because I kept dropping my pills on the floor where their two-year-old picked them up and put them in her mouth. To be honest, I did not know that my little sister was finding my dropped pills on the floor. I would have remembered a horrible experience if I saw it for myself, but I did not see it for myself. Now I am not saying it did not happen, but my relationship with my dad had always been a love/hate relationship ever since I was a teenager, and I did not measure up to his standards throughout my lifetime this far and age of 53 ½ years of age. I will be 54 on July 3^rd and if God wills it, I will see July 3, 2024, and turn 54 years old.

Thoughts on Chromebook

I am an Apple user. I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max and an iPad. I use them faithfully on a daily basis. I play my games on my phone and iPad everyday while at home or at my dialysis treatment for two hours and forty-five minutes. But lately I have been reading from books from the public library just down the street from my apartment building while I have been at dialysis treatment. The story I am reading now is A Ghost in the Machine by a British author Caroline Graham. Her character she has in her books is a gentleman by the name of DCI Tom Barnaby who has his way of solving a mystery—a canny way of figuring things out for the mystery at hand. As a matter of fact, the gentleman who plays Tom Barnaby is an English actor named John Nettles and his trustworthy sidekick and partner is Sargent Gavin Troy. Daniel Casey is Troy. Tom Barnaby was thirteen seasons and from season 14 – to season 21 is John Barnaby played by Neil Dudgeon and is Tom Barnaby’s cousin, and he had a role in season 12 as a different character not Tom Barnaby’s cousin. Neil’s character was a man who worked in a garden and took plants to the Barnaby’s she and her husband Tom Barnaby’s wife. My thoughts om Chromebook are moot and positive and is rarely used because of my iPad and iPhone. I do like my Chromebook, though. My thoughts are not necessary. I prefer Apple products anyway. I also have a series 5 Apple Watch for the past year now. It was my mom’s until she got a newer iWatch from Papa Lon. Lon is the very man who got me into electronics back when I was ten years old, and my first computer system was a Commodore C64 at the age of 17 at Christmastime in 1987, the year I learned I needed a kidney transplant, and the following year on March 12, 1988, I had my first kidney transplant at UW-Hospital and Clinics and was in the hospital a lot during 1987 and 1988 because of some complications that dealt with my blood pressure or twice regarding my transplanted kidney getting sick a little bit but turned around for thirty-one years before kidney disease grabbed it in 2016. I, then took medication to slow the disease from progressing fast, and I am notopo  w dialyzing since May 7, 2019, at the dialysis clinic. Now, starting May 24, 2024, i will have my first meeting over the telephone tele visit with faculty at Froedtert Hospital and Clinics in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since I will not be going to UW to be on the kidney list. Covid vaccines have been required…

Anyway, as far as having my Chromebook, I just wanted something different and Apple products are more expensive now. In fact, Apple products have always been more expensive. Getting my Chromebook from  Amazon.com was done in January. With Chromebook not being an Apple product, I do have to admit that I need to refresh my memory about Windows operating system versus Mac iOS (Mac operating system). It has been a few years since I have had a Windows operating system in my presence minus a Fire TV in my bedroom since January now. Alexa versus Siri is a change, and I must remember some things between the two operating systems sometimes, lol. I watch my living room TV that has a Roku box, and my bedroom TV has Roku on it, but it is a little different. Anyway, the Chromebook is something I’ve wanted for some time, and it is a nice product. Steve Jobs versus the other guy does not mean I doesn’t mean I like one over the other—preference—get it? I do…I think. 

With the Chromebook Pro I have got in front of me right now has a computer keyboard with the letters being in small capital letters when a normal keyboard has capital letters on the keys. Otherwise, the keyboard does have all the keys in their regular spot I have learned the keyboard in eighth grade using their computers for the first time. Mr. Rotar was my eighth-grade homeroom teacher and science teacher while in eighth grade at Milton Middle School.

This weekend, I have decided to use my Chromebook laptop to get some use of it, and the battery has a long life because I did not have it plugged in and charging for a couple of weeks until a couple of days ago, and the battery percentage was 88%. The other day it was at 78% and has been unplugged for three weeks when the computer was unplugged four weeks ago the first time. Amazing battery life? Maybe, so. I do like my Chromebook, but prefer MacBook Pro series muc

I am confused right now. lol, because I seem to be posting the same entry for Dialysis Update I & II to get my diary updated. It is not working for me today–apparently and honestly. I am glad company has left for the afternoon so I can get my diary at Dear Diary straightened out before late. Oops at my brain farts today by not paying careful attention. What a wonderful day today turned out–a very good day so far at 5:18 PM

Home 

I have been home now for the past two hours. After getting into the building, I met Jackie at my apartment for the first time in a while, by myself. I was glad I got the good, big elevator to ride up to the third floor when I pushed the button to call the elevator to the ground floor. In fact, the good elevator was already on the ground floor. I a Just my luck and thank you, Jesus, you know I do not like the small elevator when in my power chair. I really hate it, the small elevator, and I rarely hate things openly like this. I had my supper at the kitchen table by the living room window, then I got out of my chair and walked with my walker to the bedroom where I got into bed with my clothes on to be removed and change into pajamas tomorrow when Debbie gets here at 9 AM to work for a couple of hours since she has a baseball game to go to in order to support her son playing ball. Her son Tyler is in baseball for high school this spring season and summer practices and games. 

I am looking forward to my weekend of having my caregivers here for a short time in the morning and letting me have the rest of the day by myself with the cats Magic and Millie. Having time for myself is coming back and it feels good even though I am lying on my bed all day and night. I do sit up and read, write in my journal, eat and drink, and cuddle with Magic when he wants his loves and cuddle time with mommy/me. Millie has not cuddled with me yet. She is a little skittish and does like to be touched yet. She was a stray before I adopted her, and Jackie and Debbie brought her to her new home. She is eight months old and may never want to be held and cuddled. We will wait and see. She is a good girl, though. This is going to be a good weekend, and I may not see my sweetheart and his mom tomorrow because of a concert in the afternoon but will wait and see. 

Dialysis Update II 

With dialysis almost done for the day, with 1.56 out of 2.00, i have a few minutes left to dialyze. Sitting to wait, as patient as I can, is getting ready to head out by putting something things aside and to be put back in my bag on my power chair. I am excited about the next two days, for the weekend to get some things done with hopes of seeing my sweetheart Ken and his mom after church in the afternoon after lunch. My church always has a potluck after worship service. Although, I have not attended church for the past five years because I was being dialyzed on Saturdays until July 11, 2023, and I being bedridden at home for a year and a half—not anymore—I have yet to return to church. In July 2022, I ended up having Covid for a few days in the hospital and then a month and two weeks later, I ended up with a hematoma by my right hip, and a blood infection in my fifth catheter, and from that hematoma made it unable to walk and I relearned to walk within a year with a walker through therapy that I hated every minute of the 45 minutes every other day before dialysis treatment. Anyway, I am going to take a break in my journaling and come back shortly. Goodbye for now at 2:25 PM and being unhooked now. 

Now downstairs waiting for my ride home, I can take a few minutes to say that my weigh-out goal weight was at 87.6 and take 3.2 kilos from my walker and 1 kilo from my brace, I am at 83.4 if my math is correct or close enough if I am not correct. Sometimes doing computations in my head I can be off a number or two when computing without a calculator, and yes, I use a calculator faithfully when computing my expenses with Jackie once or twice a month, and weekly creating spreadsheets for my debits and credits, and money transfers. So home is close at hand because my ride and the driver being Don this afternoon is right on time at 2:55 PM, and I will be home by 3 PM today. Woohoo! 

Dialysis Update I 

With my weigh-in weight being 94.6 kilograms with the brace at 1 kilogram, at and my walker at 3.2 kilograms, my weight is 90.4 kilograms right now seems discouraging, and I have not done anything different with fluid intake this winter as I can only have 30 to 34 ounces (about 1.01 L) of fluid in one day all day long, and sometimes I go over a couple of ounces after 34 ounces (about 1.01 L) of fluid. It is just frustrating and depresses my hunger a bit at times. Oh well, right? Things will even out as Dr. Anjum states because the dry months are almost over, and the weather will be warmer and cooler because no heat will be running in homes soon. He still wants my goal weight to be 84 kilograms right now because I have been leaving at 86 kilograms, 85 kilograms upon leaving dialysis for the day and weekend. Okay, sometimes I wish to have his enthusiasm and upbeat attitude daily to be very honest with you because I do not have it right now it seems to me. I just accepted my handicapping condition the way it has been for two years recently. UUGGHH! 

Anyway, I got hooked up to the machine before 11:45 AM this morning. I like days like that. Yeah, I get done before 2:30 PM and may have to wait for my medical ride home until 3 PM, but that is okay unless I wait until 3:15-3:30 PM like I did on Wednesday is unacceptable. I have called specific people to complain about my medical rides not picking me up at a reasonable time before MTM took over February 1, 2024, when it was Veyo, and Veyo screwed up a lot on my medical rides, that working with people in government made programs can be hard to work with. Veyo was a bad scheduling company for medical rides. They did not listen to me a lot. Today I will be off and outside waiting for my ride by 2:35 PM and waiting for them should not be until 3:30 PM today—if so, well, I will be calling the right people to lodge another complaint. No one will abandon me today! 

I am so looking forward to my weekend for the first time in a very long time. I am not sure if it has anything to do with the weather getting warm again for the spring season because the weather all this week has been cold with some inches of snow, rainy and chilly days, and now more rain tonight before it gets warm again like spring has finally arrived. I will have cares, but only a couple of hours during the weekend on Saturday and Sunday. With it being Good Friday, the day and night Jesus was crucified on the cross because his haters wanted him to be crucified, I do have one more dialysis treatment left for the week to worry about. Also, I cannot forget to text my mom happy birthday wishes because she turns 80 years old today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! 

I took a quick break to send a message to my mom for her birthday and now it is time for me to go to the first floor and wait for my ride to dialysis treatment. Goodbye for now and be back later this afternoon or evening.