Labor Day Historically Has Not Been a Day of Rest For Me.

It occurred to me that I should strike Labor Day Weekend off my future calendars. Labor Day Weekend, 1995: I was hospitalized with pseudomembranous colitis. I don't remember how many days I was at Germantown Methodist Hospital, but I do remember that I missed six full weeks of school because of it. Labor Day Weekend, 2008: I flew to Denver, CO to attend a second cousin's beautiful outdoor wedding in Ft. Collins, CO. All was fun until I prepared to fly home. My direct flight was cancelled and I had to hustle to find an alternative. Eventually, I was placed on a flight to Detroit (not the most pleasant place to be at midnight) and connected with a flight to Memphis (an even scarier place to be at 2:30 A.M.) Labor Day Weekend, 2012: I flew to Nashville, TN. to eventually join the Crenshaw Family Reunion at Kentucky Lake. While there, I received a phone call that a matching kidney was being flown from Philadelphia to Austin and I needed to be at the hospital in six hours for transplant surgery. Since I'm a Republican, Air Force One was not available to me and I had to decline the offer. BTW, I think that my request for AFO would have been declined even if I had voted for Obama. ;-) Labor Day Weekend, 2013: If you read the immediately previous post, you know the problems I've had today. If you haven't read it, suffice it to know that both Susan and I are slated for surgeries tomorrow.

So this is what Murphy's Law is like?

OK, so here's the deal: If medical procedures make you queazy, stop reading here. Since today is a holiday (Labor Day), Atria (formerly The Village) can only provide transportation for me TO dialysis. Plan A = call a cab to get back home and Atria will pay fare. Arrived at clinic and requested that I not have a 'trainee' connect me to the machine. (I have a fistula which is difficult for most techs and nurses to find the vein portal.) Last week a newly hired former trainee was assigned to me. Monday and Wednesday 'sticks' were difficult for her, but she managed. Friday, she maneuvered the needle around in my arm and couldn't succeed. She called a new nurse (also unfamiliar with my 'uniqueness') to help. She couldn't find the vein either. So a nurse who knew my arm, came to the rescue, but after the damage had been done. My arm is terribly bruised and sore. Thus, my request for someone who knows my arm to hook me to the machine. One problem......the nurse could not find a pulse in my arm! This means that there is either a clot somewhere in my system or more probably damage to my fistula. Therefore, I could not get dialysis today. Scene Two: I need emergency angiogram and surgery. Problem: I ate breakfast and the surgery cannot be performed today. Scene Three: Surgery scheduled for tomorrow. Problem: Atria drivers are booked for tomorrow and cannot provide transportation. I called Susan to ask her to take me. "Sorry, Mom, I'm having surgery myself tomorrow morning." (Explanation later...just remember her in your prayers.) I called Joann. She is booked solid with conferences tomorrow. (willing to change if necessary, but many people would be inconvenienced if she did) So I put her on hold. Chris will be with Susan. Wes and Haley will be working. Hayden and Tyler have school. Scene Four: I convinced the assistant social director to drive me to the surgical building tomorrow at 7:15 am for my 9:00 am arrival appointment for my 10:00 am surgery. I told her I would just take my iPad and play Candy Crush for 90 minutes. Scene Five: I realized that with all of this happening, I will have gone 5 days without dialysis, if I have to wait until my regular time Wednesday. (If you know anything about dialysis, you know that 5 days without dialysis is a death wish!) So I called the treatment clinic and asked if they could 'squeeze me in' for a treatment after my surgery. They agreed. The surgical team is going to provide my transportation to the dialysis clinic since Atria can't. Scene Six: After my dialysis, I am to call Atria. If they cannot pick me up and bring me home, Haley will be off work and can come provide my transportation. I know this is a long rant and I'm truly sorry for bending your ear/drying your eyes/boring your brain. When it rains, it pours. I just thank God that I'm still alive to have these problems, but I surely would like a break from all this mess. I want to truly enjoy my golden years instead of thinking of them as my twilight years. In the meantime, please pray for my Susan and her 'procedure' and for me and my 'procedure'.

It's Been A Year, Now What?

One year ago this weekend, I was at The Crenshaw Family Reunion. I'm not really blood kin to them, but I gave birth to two who are. So, kindly, I am invited to their family functions. We gathered at Kentucky Lake and had a wonderful time reminiscing and meeting all the youngsters who have joined the family by birth or marriage. While there, I received a phone call that a kidney was on the way to Austin from Philadelphia. I had just a few hours to get to the Austin hospital to receive it. Alas, it was not to be. Kidneys only stay viable for 13 hours and I couldn't get to Austin in time. I cried. Strangely not from disappointment, but from finally having proof that I was indeed on the transplant list. What a joy in what was also a disappointing moment. Since that weekend, I have 'chained' myself to Travis County. I didn't want to miss the next kidney. My kidney surgeon advised me to lose a few pounds around my mid-section to help the surgery go better. So I have been working out in the pool a minimum of two hours a week. I usually get in 3 or 4 hours a week, plus I walk at a brisk pace the 'long' way to most activities here. I cut down my eating and generally stick to my renal diet. I have been losing weight slowly but surely. I try to stay away from 'germ-ridden' areas and people. It's hard to do living with a lot of old folks. But I think I know the sanitized folks around these parts. I feel that I am doing all the right things and am ready for the next call. Where is it? It's been a year since the first and last call. Now what? I'm tired of being chained to Travis County. I miss seeing my family in all parts of the country. I miss my dear friends of 40 years in Memphis. I miss the wanderlust of my life. I never missed a summer of traveling before I got sick. Whine, whine, whine. Yes, I know, I should be happy to be alive after battling the M&Ms (M.R.S.A. and Meningitis). I know I should be happy to live in the same county with my children and grandchildren (Katie is a part-time resident when she's not in college.) I know that I should be happy that I live in such a lovely place with so many friends and opportunities. I am, but I'm frustrated, impatient and tired of waiting for The Call. And, then.......I remember "Be careful what you ask for, you may just get it." What if I do get another call and I can't get to the hospital in time? What if I do travel out of Travis County and The Call happens again? What if I do get a transplant but my body rejects it? I'm running out of time.....I've been around the sun 72 times. Dialysis patients average 5-7 years longer once they start the treatment. (I have heard of a few living up to 20 years on dialysis.) I've been on dialysis 4 years. The treatments and meds are not cheap. Medicare and Supplemental Insurance only pays so much. A teacher's retirement + SSI is not a lot of money compared to other professionals. Rumor has it that Obamacare may stop dialysis for patients over 75. Then what? Adios Amigos!! If this sounds like a Pity Party. So be it. I'm just writing down my thoughts on my One Year 'The Call' Anniversary. Now for a little 'upper'. I am leaving Travis County in nine days!!! I'm going with a group of friends to Dallas to the George W. Bush Library. We are going to spend the day there and have lunch in the conference room there. On the way back we will stop in Waco for dinner. (I'm requesting Cracker Barrel.) So help me, if I miss out on another kidney during that trip, I'm just going to take up a room in the hospital!