Dealing w/ Chronic Kidney Disease with Crystal

Good morning. I know that I have posted once today already. But, I felt the need to let you in on a little secret. Unlike most people, I enjoy typing and letting people in on what boggles my mind. I have recently started my dialysis for my chronic kidney disease (four to five weeks ago), and it has drastically changed my life. Take for instance, my family likes to have get-togethers for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. With this concept, my daughter came home from college this past weekend. And I really enjoyed having her home with me for the weekend, too. With my family, they knew she was coming home and decided to get together. We all enjoyed it and had a great time. Another way that my dialysis has changed my life is when we have these gatherings. When we have them, I will have to make plans to go earlier or just be late for the shingdig. And anyone who knows me knows that I do not like to be late for anything. Along with this, dialysis is a fixture in my life now. Anyone w...

Time is something that everyone has. Whether it is time for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or a favorite show, we all have time for that. But time is a factor in so much of our lives. Why am I talking about time this time, you ask. Okay, I will give it to you straight. When I started this blog, I knew that I would at least be able to keep this blog current due to my involvement in dealing with my chronic kidney disease on a daily basis. Boy, was I wrong. I got on this morning and DID NOT realize that it had been two (2) whole weeks since I last blogged. That is way too long to be off of my blogging mind. Yep, I said it. I have a blogged mind at times. But the fact is that time is very precious to us all. The time I have left with my parents are not as if they were still the age that they were when I was 16. Nope. When I spend time with my parents, I want to cherish that time like it is golden. And I hope that my daughters will see that time is golden with me and their dad. No ma...

Dialysis.. What goes on during a dialysis treatment? I am sure many of you don't realize what the process is for a dialysis treatment is. Well, I am going to give you a first-hand look at what I go through three (3) days a week. I go to dialysis on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. And this is what goes on. Well, I go in and get weighed, wash my hands, and head to the seat that they have arranged for me. Once I have a seat, I get my arm hooked up to the blood pressure cuff. There is tape on one side ready to be put onto my blood lines to stay in place. They clean my arm with alcohol swabs and get all the lines hooked up to the machine. They prick me with the first huge needle and then make sure that the blood will go through the needle. (By this, I mean that they check to see if the blood gives a little and will run right through this to the line.) After this process, they find a good spot for the second needle to go in at and proceed the same as the first one. Once this ...