Hi all,
Now that the ball is rolling on the transplant procedure, information is starting to come in a little more frequently. Which means I have more opportunity to share new information with all of you.
On Sept. 29th we have an appointment at O.H.S.U. to go to an educational/orientation session to learn the procedures leading up to, and during, and post kidney transplant.
Diane has invited Grace to go with us (Grace is one of Diane’s cousins).
I’ll be taking the day off work so I can attend.
It’s always so comforting to have a family member to accompany us to these sorts of things. The company somehow makes the event a little less scary.
We also learned that Diane needs to go through a battery of tests and screens. Some of these tests are, Mammogram, Pap smear, blood test, Dental test. (I’m just going from memory here. Diane is asleep right now so I can not ask if there was anything else. So don’t shoot me if I missed something.) These tests are designed to search for any hidden cancers or diseases.
A kidney transplant patient can not have any preexisting or ongoing medical problems that are unrelated to the kidney failure specifically.
Autumn is here, the leaves are starting to change colors, and the mornings and evenings are getting colder.
My project for the next week or so is to get a load of fire wood for the wood stove. I’m thinking that a crackling fire during the coolist part of the day will bring a great comfort to our girl.
With that said, I’ve got to go and get busy today. There’s only one Saturday a week, so I got to get as much done today as I can. (Who wants to miss football on Sunday?)
Sep 25, 2010
Good news
Hello everyone,
On Friday Sept 17th, at about 2:45 pm, Diane got a call from O.H.S.U. (Oregon Health Sciences University) transplant department. They talked to Diane about eligibility for a kidney transplant. When Diane told them that she was a citizen of the Republic of Palau, The lady said she was unsure if a Palau citizen would qualify for a transplant at O.H.S.U.
Then said she would call back within two weeks to let us know about the eligibility.
Well, that sure upset Diane. Di was seeing her world collapse around her. About an hour later, Diane got another phone call. It was from O.H.S.U. again. This time with good news. The lady said she checked, and found that a Republic of Palau citizen was in fact eligible for the transplant services offered at O.H.S.U.
We went to dinner to celebrate.
The charity event, Sept.18th, at Faragut park went well. I was really surprised at how many people were there.
It was very tough listening to Diane express her gratitude. She was crying, and I knew how sincere she was being. I noticed there was also a lot of tears in the crowd. It was way difficult holding my own back.
I wrote out a thank you to all of our friends and family. After Diane got done, I attempted to express my own gratitude to those who were in attendance, but I quickly found that it’s much easier to write something down than it is to make the words come out of my mouth.
I don’t think I did a very good job at saying what I wanted to say. So I’m going to post the written version for those who weren’t there at the park.
"Silent gratitude, is of no use to any one. Therefore I’ll attempt to, in my own way, to express my thoughts on this day.
This is a very humbling experience to say the least. I know we are standing here today due to the compassion, exhaustive work, and generosity of others. Those others are all the people who are attending today, as well as a special group of people, The OIC (One in Christ) ministry softball team, namely Charity and Mercedes, who took the initiative to put this whole thing together.
Yesterday we received news from OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University) transplant division, that Diane is eligible for a kidney transplant. There was some doubt from the staff who are working with us about eligibility for non-americans. But at this time, Diane is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.
This has been a difficult time for our family, filled with uncertainty and worry.
We are still waiting to hear back from the social security disability people to see if Diane will be eligible for help from them.
This frustratingly slow process has been made bearable due in large part by the efforts of my sister Barb and her husband Dave, who have unselfishly helped us to complete all the redundant paper work, and talked to the varies agencies to get the important information.
It’s hard to ask the right questions when your eyes are filled with tears.
My brother Dan, who is not here today, but I know his thoughts are with us today, has graciously made one of his homes available to us to live in while we are going through these trying times.
I want you to know, One hundred percent of financial gifts will go toward Diane’s medical care.
I am so humbled by the overwhelming generosity from our friends and family. One, of many lessons, we can take away from all this is
We will not be afraid……. as long as we have you, our friends and family, to stand by us.
Thank-you, Me-sulang"
On Friday Sept 17th, at about 2:45 pm, Diane got a call from O.H.S.U. (Oregon Health Sciences University) transplant department. They talked to Diane about eligibility for a kidney transplant. When Diane told them that she was a citizen of the Republic of Palau, The lady said she was unsure if a Palau citizen would qualify for a transplant at O.H.S.U.
Then said she would call back within two weeks to let us know about the eligibility.
Well, that sure upset Diane. Di was seeing her world collapse around her. About an hour later, Diane got another phone call. It was from O.H.S.U. again. This time with good news. The lady said she checked, and found that a Republic of Palau citizen was in fact eligible for the transplant services offered at O.H.S.U.
We went to dinner to celebrate.
The charity event, Sept.18th, at Faragut park went well. I was really surprised at how many people were there.
It was very tough listening to Diane express her gratitude. She was crying, and I knew how sincere she was being. I noticed there was also a lot of tears in the crowd. It was way difficult holding my own back.
I wrote out a thank you to all of our friends and family. After Diane got done, I attempted to express my own gratitude to those who were in attendance, but I quickly found that it’s much easier to write something down than it is to make the words come out of my mouth.
I don’t think I did a very good job at saying what I wanted to say. So I’m going to post the written version for those who weren’t there at the park.
"Silent gratitude, is of no use to any one. Therefore I’ll attempt to, in my own way, to express my thoughts on this day.
This is a very humbling experience to say the least. I know we are standing here today due to the compassion, exhaustive work, and generosity of others. Those others are all the people who are attending today, as well as a special group of people, The OIC (One in Christ) ministry softball team, namely Charity and Mercedes, who took the initiative to put this whole thing together.
Yesterday we received news from OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University) transplant division, that Diane is eligible for a kidney transplant. There was some doubt from the staff who are working with us about eligibility for non-americans. But at this time, Diane is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.
This has been a difficult time for our family, filled with uncertainty and worry.
We are still waiting to hear back from the social security disability people to see if Diane will be eligible for help from them.
This frustratingly slow process has been made bearable due in large part by the efforts of my sister Barb and her husband Dave, who have unselfishly helped us to complete all the redundant paper work, and talked to the varies agencies to get the important information.
It’s hard to ask the right questions when your eyes are filled with tears.
My brother Dan, who is not here today, but I know his thoughts are with us today, has graciously made one of his homes available to us to live in while we are going through these trying times.
I want you to know, One hundred percent of financial gifts will go toward Diane’s medical care.
I am so humbled by the overwhelming generosity from our friends and family. One, of many lessons, we can take away from all this is
We will not be afraid……. as long as we have you, our friends and family, to stand by us.
Thank-you, Me-sulang"
Jul 28, 2010
The move is over
Good afternoon everyone, it’s me, Mike.
Well, it’s been a very hectic two months. Two months? Wow, time fly’s by when you get busy.
I’ll try and bring you all up to date.
A lot of you know by now that we moved to Milwaukie Oregon. The three of us are starting to get settled in now. Each of us are finding out that a house is a whole lot more work than an apartment. But we’re adjusting, slow but sure.
I wanted to let everybody know a little about the symptoms of stage 5 CKD (chronic kidney disease)
A person with Stage 5 CKD has end stage renal disease (ESRD) with a GFR of 15 ml/min or less. At this advanced stage of kidney disease the kidneys have lost nearly all their ability to do their job effectively, and eventually dialysis or a kidney transplant is needed to live.
Symptoms that can occur in Stage 5 CKD include:
* Loss of appetite
* Nausea or vomiting
* Headaches
* Being tired
* Being unable to concentrate
* Itching
* Making little or no urine
* Swelling, especially around the eyes and ankles
* Muscle cramps
* Tingling in hands or feet
* Changes in skin color
* Increased skin pigmentation
Because the kidneys are no longer able to remove waste and fluids from the body, toxins build up in the blood, causing an overall ill feeling. Kidneys also have other functions they are no longer able to perform such as regulating blood pressure, producing the hormone that helps make red blood cells and activating vitamin D for healthy bones.
You can find more information on kidney disease here
http://www.davita.com/kidney-disease/symptoms-and-diagnosis/a/687
Diane is experiencing all of these symptoms in one form or another. On July 16th, I went with Diane to her kidney doctor. After Diane got her two shots, the doctor told us that the beginning of dialysis will be determined by the severity of her symptoms. At this point, she gets nausea, but she is NOT vomiting. So there’s still time.
Diane’s short-term disability has run out. So now we’ll have to pay her insurance premiums completely on our own, as she is all too often too tired to be able to work for more than a couple hours at a time.
The extra $500.00 a month for the insurance, along with Diane not being able to work, is going to make for some interesting times for us.
A week ago, the social security people sent us a letter saying that it’ll be at least 90 days before they’ll make a determination on Diane’s eligibility for long term disability. Everything I’ve heard so far about the federal Dept. of human resources they are likely to deny Diane’s application the first time through, just out of hand. And then it’s still a mystery if she can even get the federal disability being a Palau citizen.
Diane will need the disability to qualify for Medicare. We’ll definitely need Medicare for Diane’s dialysis. There’s no way I could pay for even one dialysis session with what I make at work.
It’s going to be rough enough with half our family income gone and paying the full load of insurance premiums. Even with that, the insurance only pays for 80%. We’re still getting bills for the other 20%.
The outlook looks bleak, but we are trying to be brave anyway.
Wish us luck.
Talk to you all later
Mike
Well, it’s been a very hectic two months. Two months? Wow, time fly’s by when you get busy.
I’ll try and bring you all up to date.
A lot of you know by now that we moved to Milwaukie Oregon. The three of us are starting to get settled in now. Each of us are finding out that a house is a whole lot more work than an apartment. But we’re adjusting, slow but sure.
I wanted to let everybody know a little about the symptoms of stage 5 CKD (chronic kidney disease)
A person with Stage 5 CKD has end stage renal disease (ESRD) with a GFR of 15 ml/min or less. At this advanced stage of kidney disease the kidneys have lost nearly all their ability to do their job effectively, and eventually dialysis or a kidney transplant is needed to live.
Symptoms that can occur in Stage 5 CKD include:
* Loss of appetite
* Nausea or vomiting
* Headaches
* Being tired
* Being unable to concentrate
* Itching
* Making little or no urine
* Swelling, especially around the eyes and ankles
* Muscle cramps
* Tingling in hands or feet
* Changes in skin color
* Increased skin pigmentation
Because the kidneys are no longer able to remove waste and fluids from the body, toxins build up in the blood, causing an overall ill feeling. Kidneys also have other functions they are no longer able to perform such as regulating blood pressure, producing the hormone that helps make red blood cells and activating vitamin D for healthy bones.
You can find more information on kidney disease here
http://www.davita.com/kidney-disease/symptoms-and-diagnosis/a/687
Diane is experiencing all of these symptoms in one form or another. On July 16th, I went with Diane to her kidney doctor. After Diane got her two shots, the doctor told us that the beginning of dialysis will be determined by the severity of her symptoms. At this point, she gets nausea, but she is NOT vomiting. So there’s still time.
Diane’s short-term disability has run out. So now we’ll have to pay her insurance premiums completely on our own, as she is all too often too tired to be able to work for more than a couple hours at a time.
The extra $500.00 a month for the insurance, along with Diane not being able to work, is going to make for some interesting times for us.
A week ago, the social security people sent us a letter saying that it’ll be at least 90 days before they’ll make a determination on Diane’s eligibility for long term disability. Everything I’ve heard so far about the federal Dept. of human resources they are likely to deny Diane’s application the first time through, just out of hand. And then it’s still a mystery if she can even get the federal disability being a Palau citizen.
Diane will need the disability to qualify for Medicare. We’ll definitely need Medicare for Diane’s dialysis. There’s no way I could pay for even one dialysis session with what I make at work.
It’s going to be rough enough with half our family income gone and paying the full load of insurance premiums. Even with that, the insurance only pays for 80%. We’re still getting bills for the other 20%.
The outlook looks bleak, but we are trying to be brave anyway.
Wish us luck.
Talk to you all later
Mike
May 31, 2010
Belanna Says
Hi its me Belanna
As you probably know we are moving. Today my auntie Sandra and her family came over to help us pack and bring the stuff to our new house in Milwaukie and it was lots of fun.
That’s all for now.
Belanna
P.S. Darn daddy wont let me be funny.
As you probably know we are moving. Today my auntie Sandra and her family came over to help us pack and bring the stuff to our new house in Milwaukie and it was lots of fun.
That’s all for now.
Belanna
P.S. Darn daddy wont let me be funny.
May 29, 2010
Fistula Surgery Update
Diane went into the hospital at 10:30 Thursday morning (05/27/2010), to have her fistula surgery. She had kind of a long wait, as the operating room she was scheduled for was going into overtime with the previous patent.
Diane finely got into surgery at about 1:40 in the afternoon.
My sister Barb, took Diane to the hospital in the morning and stayed with her until I got off work and Belanna got out of school. At which time (about 2:45) the two of us went down there to wait for Diane to get out of surgery.
Diane got done with surgery at about 3:30. The Doctor came and talked to us that the surgery went well.
The Doc. said that Diane’s veins were smaller down close to her wrist than what he anticipated, but he thought they could be used anyway. (Remember, a fistula is where they try to make the veins larger to accept the needles for the dialysis.)
The Doc. said he thought the surgery had a 50/50 chance of being successful. If this round of surgery fails, Diane will have o go in and do it all over again, but higher up in the arm the next time.
When Diane got to the recovery room and the doctor woke her up, she was complaining about chest pains. So the Doc. gave her some blood thinner to help the blood flow. That helped with the chest pain, but it also took longer for her incision to stop bleeding. So at some point they had to add some blood thickener.
At about 6:30 Diane was pretty well stabilized and the doc. gave the OK that we could bring Diane home. The nurses unplugged the IV’s and got her dressed.
We got home at about 7:10pm.
Here it is Saturday morning. The swelling in Diane’s wrist has gone down quite a bit. We keep an ice pack on the surgery area, which helps with the swelling. It’s still a little painful for her, so she’s been taking some pain killers for that. If nothing else, Diane has been getting some good rest. (The painkillers make her go to sleep).
Other News
We are planning to make a move soon. We’ll be moving to Milwaukie, Or. For those of you who are not familiar with the area where we live, Milwaukie is the next city south of us, About 10 or 12 or so miles away.
Belanna is very excited about the move. It’ll be a wonderful new adventure in her young life.
We are still working on the SS Disability application for Diane. Damn, what a slow tedious, and frustrating process.
We’ve received no money from Diane’s short-term disability claim from her work yet. So we’re tightening our financial belt another couple of notches.
Well that’s about it for now folks. I’ll see you again in a day or two or three.
Mike
Diane finely got into surgery at about 1:40 in the afternoon.
My sister Barb, took Diane to the hospital in the morning and stayed with her until I got off work and Belanna got out of school. At which time (about 2:45) the two of us went down there to wait for Diane to get out of surgery.
Diane got done with surgery at about 3:30. The Doctor came and talked to us that the surgery went well.
The Doc. said that Diane’s veins were smaller down close to her wrist than what he anticipated, but he thought they could be used anyway. (Remember, a fistula is where they try to make the veins larger to accept the needles for the dialysis.)
The Doc. said he thought the surgery had a 50/50 chance of being successful. If this round of surgery fails, Diane will have o go in and do it all over again, but higher up in the arm the next time.
When Diane got to the recovery room and the doctor woke her up, she was complaining about chest pains. So the Doc. gave her some blood thinner to help the blood flow. That helped with the chest pain, but it also took longer for her incision to stop bleeding. So at some point they had to add some blood thickener.
At about 6:30 Diane was pretty well stabilized and the doc. gave the OK that we could bring Diane home. The nurses unplugged the IV’s and got her dressed.
We got home at about 7:10pm.
Here it is Saturday morning. The swelling in Diane’s wrist has gone down quite a bit. We keep an ice pack on the surgery area, which helps with the swelling. It’s still a little painful for her, so she’s been taking some pain killers for that. If nothing else, Diane has been getting some good rest. (The painkillers make her go to sleep).
Other News
We are planning to make a move soon. We’ll be moving to Milwaukie, Or. For those of you who are not familiar with the area where we live, Milwaukie is the next city south of us, About 10 or 12 or so miles away.
Belanna is very excited about the move. It’ll be a wonderful new adventure in her young life.
We are still working on the SS Disability application for Diane. Damn, what a slow tedious, and frustrating process.
We’ve received no money from Diane’s short-term disability claim from her work yet. So we’re tightening our financial belt another couple of notches.
Well that’s about it for now folks. I’ll see you again in a day or two or three.
Mike
May 25, 2010
Fistula Surgery
I’m baaaaak.
It’s me Mike. I know I said I’d get right back to you guys, but sometimes life has a way of getting in the way of doing things we said we’d do.
So on Monday May 24th, Diane went to the doctor to talk about creating access points for her upcoming dialysis.
The Doctor (Dr Charles Douvill MD), politely corrected my wrong ideas of what a fistula is.
A fistula is where they (the doctor) do surgery to enlarge some blood veins. These newly enlarged blood veins are then used as access points for the dialysis treatments.
Diane is scheduled to go into Providence Hospital on the 27th of May (Thursday) to have the procedure (fistula) done.
The surgery is scheduled for 12:30, and is expected to take about an hour or so. We are expecting to bring her back home on the same day. Hopefully, we’ll get her back home between 4 and 5 pm.
I know, I know, don’t let her eat or drink for 24 hours. Well see how it goes.
On the Insurance-disability-Medicaid front
Holy cow man, I’ve been working on Diane’s SS disability application for 3 days now. Not 3 days in a row, but 3 days over a weeks time. I work on it for a couple of hours at a time, but too much screen time at one sitting gives me a headache.
The application asks the same questions over and over, page after page. It’s difficult to repeat the same answers time after time. I think that the next time I open up the application I’ll just push all the way through it and not look back.
On top of the SS application, I’m attempting to start our own web site to finish our blog on. I need to find some dedicated hours to train my focus on that project. An hour here and an hour there just ain’t going to cut it.
Belanna
Belanna has been dealing with this thing really well. At least on the surface.
All these years since she was born, she’s been the center of my focus during the times we are together (not at work).
Now though, we are in a position where when I come home from work, I have a lot of other work to do before my brain turns into mush from exhaustion. Unfortunately, doing that extra work devastates Belanna’s and mine together time. I feel terrible. I know she has to be feeling neglected with all these life changes.
It’s a shame I don’t have more energy.
Well folks, I’ve got to go. The medical bills have started rolling in, so I have to go see how many ways there are to molest our family budget to insure ongoing treatment.
See ya all next time.
Mike
It’s me Mike. I know I said I’d get right back to you guys, but sometimes life has a way of getting in the way of doing things we said we’d do.
So on Monday May 24th, Diane went to the doctor to talk about creating access points for her upcoming dialysis.
The Doctor (Dr Charles Douvill MD), politely corrected my wrong ideas of what a fistula is.
A fistula is where they (the doctor) do surgery to enlarge some blood veins. These newly enlarged blood veins are then used as access points for the dialysis treatments.
Diane is scheduled to go into Providence Hospital on the 27th of May (Thursday) to have the procedure (fistula) done.
The surgery is scheduled for 12:30, and is expected to take about an hour or so. We are expecting to bring her back home on the same day. Hopefully, we’ll get her back home between 4 and 5 pm.
I know, I know, don’t let her eat or drink for 24 hours. Well see how it goes.
On the Insurance-disability-Medicaid front
Holy cow man, I’ve been working on Diane’s SS disability application for 3 days now. Not 3 days in a row, but 3 days over a weeks time. I work on it for a couple of hours at a time, but too much screen time at one sitting gives me a headache.
The application asks the same questions over and over, page after page. It’s difficult to repeat the same answers time after time. I think that the next time I open up the application I’ll just push all the way through it and not look back.
On top of the SS application, I’m attempting to start our own web site to finish our blog on. I need to find some dedicated hours to train my focus on that project. An hour here and an hour there just ain’t going to cut it.
Belanna
Belanna has been dealing with this thing really well. At least on the surface.
All these years since she was born, she’s been the center of my focus during the times we are together (not at work).
Now though, we are in a position where when I come home from work, I have a lot of other work to do before my brain turns into mush from exhaustion. Unfortunately, doing that extra work devastates Belanna’s and mine together time. I feel terrible. I know she has to be feeling neglected with all these life changes.
It’s a shame I don’t have more energy.
Well folks, I’ve got to go. The medical bills have started rolling in, so I have to go see how many ways there are to molest our family budget to insure ongoing treatment.
See ya all next time.
Mike
May 17, 2010
Dialysis Education
Hi Guys,
It’s me, Mike.
We had a pretty busy week last week. Diane covered the first part of the week with you, so I’ll see what I can do to bring you up to speed on the second half of the week.
On Thursday, the 13th , Diane, Belanna and I, along with Sandra, went to the dialysis place for some education. The education session took a little over and hour and a half. Afterwards, we got a tour of the actual dialysis room.
What we learned;
There are five stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). They are,
Stage 1. Kidney damage (protein in urine) with a kidney filtration rate of 90%
Stage 2. Kidney damage with a filtration rate of 60 to 89 %
Stage 3. Moderate decrease in kidney filtration of 30 to 59 %. ( Note; Diane was at 30% when Belanna was born. That was June 2002.)
Stage 4. Severe reduction of kidney filtration. 15 to 29%.
Stage 5. Kidney failure. Less than 15% kidney filtration function.
Diane is currently rated at less than 10%.
There are two types of treatments for people in stage 5 CKD (chronic kidney disease).
Kidney transplant, and or dialysis.
There are two types of kidney dialysis. They are
1. Hemodialysis and
2. Peritoneal dialysis.
1. Hemodialysis is where you go to a clinic and hook up two (2) tubes to your veins. ( an inflow, and an outflow). You are hooked up to a machine through the tubes. The blood is pumped out of one tube, and into the machine for a wash, and then back into your body through the other tube. Estimated time is 4 hours, three times a week. (Another note: there is a way a person can get the equipment to do this at home, but at this point, its all too new to us. So we’ll just focus on the clinic style).
There will need to be some minor surgery to affix access points for the tubes. There are three types of access points. They are,
1. A fistula
2. A graft
3. A catheter
The fistula and graft can be connected to the arm or sometimes the leg.
The catheter is a soft tube that is inserted into the neck or chest.
From what we understand, the fistula is the safest and most durable. So, I think Diane has decided on getting a fistula. Although she could change her mind if more information becomes available. She is a woman after all.
2. Peritoneal dialysis.
Peritoneal dialysis is a method of cleaning the toxins out of the body without your blood leaving your body. It’s a method where a solution is pumped into your stomach cavity and draws the toxic waste out of the blood through the blood veins in the stomach lining. When the solution has had a time to work, (several hours) you drain it out, and pump new solution back in. You do that over and over forever.
Well folks, there’s more, but I’m getting pretty tired about now and need to get to sleep. 4:00 am comes awful early so I’m going to post this part now and hopefully finish up tomorrow.
See ya,
Mike
PS. Is anyone reading this? I really can’t tell if you’re interested or if I’m doing a good job at writing this stuff for you. I think I hear you breathing, but I’m not positive.
Leave a comment or two and let me know.
It’s me, Mike.
We had a pretty busy week last week. Diane covered the first part of the week with you, so I’ll see what I can do to bring you up to speed on the second half of the week.
On Thursday, the 13th , Diane, Belanna and I, along with Sandra, went to the dialysis place for some education. The education session took a little over and hour and a half. Afterwards, we got a tour of the actual dialysis room.
What we learned;
There are five stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). They are,
Stage 1. Kidney damage (protein in urine) with a kidney filtration rate of 90%
Stage 2. Kidney damage with a filtration rate of 60 to 89 %
Stage 3. Moderate decrease in kidney filtration of 30 to 59 %. ( Note; Diane was at 30% when Belanna was born. That was June 2002.)
Stage 4. Severe reduction of kidney filtration. 15 to 29%.
Stage 5. Kidney failure. Less than 15% kidney filtration function.
Diane is currently rated at less than 10%.
There are two types of treatments for people in stage 5 CKD (chronic kidney disease).
Kidney transplant, and or dialysis.
There are two types of kidney dialysis. They are
1. Hemodialysis and
2. Peritoneal dialysis.
1. Hemodialysis is where you go to a clinic and hook up two (2) tubes to your veins. ( an inflow, and an outflow). You are hooked up to a machine through the tubes. The blood is pumped out of one tube, and into the machine for a wash, and then back into your body through the other tube. Estimated time is 4 hours, three times a week. (Another note: there is a way a person can get the equipment to do this at home, but at this point, its all too new to us. So we’ll just focus on the clinic style).
There will need to be some minor surgery to affix access points for the tubes. There are three types of access points. They are,
1. A fistula
2. A graft
3. A catheter
The fistula and graft can be connected to the arm or sometimes the leg.
The catheter is a soft tube that is inserted into the neck or chest.
From what we understand, the fistula is the safest and most durable. So, I think Diane has decided on getting a fistula. Although she could change her mind if more information becomes available. She is a woman after all.
2. Peritoneal dialysis.
Peritoneal dialysis is a method of cleaning the toxins out of the body without your blood leaving your body. It’s a method where a solution is pumped into your stomach cavity and draws the toxic waste out of the blood through the blood veins in the stomach lining. When the solution has had a time to work, (several hours) you drain it out, and pump new solution back in. You do that over and over forever.
Well folks, there’s more, but I’m getting pretty tired about now and need to get to sleep. 4:00 am comes awful early so I’m going to post this part now and hopefully finish up tomorrow.
See ya,
Mike
PS. Is anyone reading this? I really can’t tell if you’re interested or if I’m doing a good job at writing this stuff for you. I think I hear you breathing, but I’m not positive.
Leave a comment or two and let me know.
May 13, 2010
Family leave
Hello everyone. How you all doing?
It’s me, Diane. Just a note to bring ya’ll up to date.
On Monday May 10,2010 Dave & Barb came with me to see my doctor. He was busy at that time so we talk to the coordinator her name is Kim. We told her that we need a copy of my papers so i can keep them for my record in the future. She told us that we can come back @1:20pm and see the doctor.
We went out for lunch, and then we went to providence and they took my blood. We went back to the doctor's office, when i got on the scale i weigh, 138lb. That means I lost weight again last time I was 148lb.and I’m always cold.
The doctor also said I’m anemic, so I need to take iron supplement, and I’m also missing a hormone effecting the red blood cell count. So they gave me a shot that's cost $1000, but they will check with my insurance and if it works out, then I’m gonna take it every 2wks.
After everything we went to Jubitz. I was surprised cause Debbie{HR manager} wasn't there so we talk to Victor Stibolt{Vice president administration} for Jubitz and Lee. Pederson{Manager}. So now I don't work for a while, or when I’m ready to go back.
Thank-you everybody. Love, Diane
It’s me, Diane. Just a note to bring ya’ll up to date.
On Monday May 10,2010 Dave & Barb came with me to see my doctor. He was busy at that time so we talk to the coordinator her name is Kim. We told her that we need a copy of my papers so i can keep them for my record in the future. She told us that we can come back @1:20pm and see the doctor.
We went out for lunch, and then we went to providence and they took my blood. We went back to the doctor's office, when i got on the scale i weigh, 138lb. That means I lost weight again last time I was 148lb.and I’m always cold.
The doctor also said I’m anemic, so I need to take iron supplement, and I’m also missing a hormone effecting the red blood cell count. So they gave me a shot that's cost $1000, but they will check with my insurance and if it works out, then I’m gonna take it every 2wks.
After everything we went to Jubitz. I was surprised cause Debbie{HR manager} wasn't there so we talk to Victor Stibolt{Vice president administration} for Jubitz and Lee. Pederson{Manager}. So now I don't work for a while, or when I’m ready to go back.
Thank-you everybody. Love, Diane
May 8, 2010
A little more
Hello everyone, it’s me Mike.
You know, it’s so hard to plan for the future with this stuff going on. For some reason the Doctors have a habit of telling us when the next appointment is, but seemingly can not let us know what to expect from the results of said appointment.
We still don’t know when Diane is scheduled to actually start the dialysis. It’s like a secret of something. Very frustrating! I’m determined to find out a projected schedule for Diane’s future appointments, counseling, and finally the actual dialysis start, along with the places, times, and dates.
What we do know
Diane got some paper work from her employer to take to her Doctor, to have him fill out. This paper work is for her short-term disability claim to her health insurance provider.
Diane’s Doctor’s office kept it for about 10 days before giving it back to us. When we did get it back, we saw that he had backdated the start of her disability claim to April 15th. That was the date the seriousness of her condition was confirmed.
The problem is, Diane has been a hard core trooper since then, and has been working full time regardless of the physical and emotional hardships she’d been enduring.
So, we need to get with the Doctor and see if we can’t get the start date changed to the present before we turn in the short-term disability form. Hopefully we’ll get that done on Monday May 10th. (Crossing fingers)
As far as the diagnosis, The medical term for Diane’s condition is stage 5 CKD. This is end stage Kidney disease.
How’s Diane doing?
That poor girl, she’s cold all the time. Not just a little uncomfortable cold, but really cold where she shivers and shakes when she’s wearing a sweater on a 60 degree day.
She’s always feels run down and tired, Diane wants to get out and about so bad, but once work is done, there’s no energy left for anything else.
I don’t know, I guess sometimes there’s just never enough quite time, or hugs to make things right. But I still try.
Mike
You know, it’s so hard to plan for the future with this stuff going on. For some reason the Doctors have a habit of telling us when the next appointment is, but seemingly can not let us know what to expect from the results of said appointment.
We still don’t know when Diane is scheduled to actually start the dialysis. It’s like a secret of something. Very frustrating! I’m determined to find out a projected schedule for Diane’s future appointments, counseling, and finally the actual dialysis start, along with the places, times, and dates.
What we do know
Diane got some paper work from her employer to take to her Doctor, to have him fill out. This paper work is for her short-term disability claim to her health insurance provider.
Diane’s Doctor’s office kept it for about 10 days before giving it back to us. When we did get it back, we saw that he had backdated the start of her disability claim to April 15th. That was the date the seriousness of her condition was confirmed.
The problem is, Diane has been a hard core trooper since then, and has been working full time regardless of the physical and emotional hardships she’d been enduring.
So, we need to get with the Doctor and see if we can’t get the start date changed to the present before we turn in the short-term disability form. Hopefully we’ll get that done on Monday May 10th. (Crossing fingers)
As far as the diagnosis, The medical term for Diane’s condition is stage 5 CKD. This is end stage Kidney disease.
How’s Diane doing?
That poor girl, she’s cold all the time. Not just a little uncomfortable cold, but really cold where she shivers and shakes when she’s wearing a sweater on a 60 degree day.
She’s always feels run down and tired, Diane wants to get out and about so bad, but once work is done, there’s no energy left for anything else.
I don’t know, I guess sometimes there’s just never enough quite time, or hugs to make things right. But I still try.
Mike
May 2, 2010
My first post.
Hello it’s me Diane,
Well I had another appointment again on April 30, @11:10am. The doctor mostly talk about my thyroid, she also change my medicine to a little higher dose. I told her that I’m always cold and sleepy. She said it’s because of my kidney and my thyroid.
On may1, 2010 we got our stuff ready and went to the coast we went to Astoria, for a day the weather was ok but I was cold so mostly stayed in the car. While Mike and Belanna went and walk around.. we also end up @ Seaside and bought some smoke tuna, salmon, and cooked crab meat. We also had Chinese food for dinner and we came home.
Well I had another appointment again on April 30, @11:10am. The doctor mostly talk about my thyroid, she also change my medicine to a little higher dose. I told her that I’m always cold and sleepy. She said it’s because of my kidney and my thyroid.
On may1, 2010 we got our stuff ready and went to the coast we went to Astoria, for a day the weather was ok but I was cold so mostly stayed in the car. While Mike and Belanna went and walk around.. we also end up @ Seaside and bought some smoke tuna, salmon, and cooked crab meat. We also had Chinese food for dinner and we came home.
Apr 25, 2010
The beginning
This being the first installment to our new blog, I thought it would be appropriate to bring everybody up to date on whats been happening in our little world.
On March 24th 2010, Diane went to the doctor for her allergy and flu like symptoms. And also because she’d been feeling very tired and worn out all the time. The Doc took some test and told her they’d get back to her.
On March 23rd Diane started her Thyroid medicine again. Her Doc sent her to a specialist Kidney Doctor to have her Kidneys looked at. She was given a collection vessel to collect a urine sample.
On April 7th, she went to the specialist dragging along the urine sample. Got checked out, then went to work.
On April 9th, the specialist called her and told her that her kidney function was down to 10% of what it should be. Informed her that she would need to go on dialysis 3 times a week. He also told her that in the next 6 to 12 months, she would need a kidney transplant.
On April 14th Diane went to have an ultrasound done on both arms, and both sides of her neck.
These ultrasounds are for preparations for the catheter she’ll need for the dialysis.
At this point, Diane has some more Doc appointment scheduled, with the last one scheduled for May 29th I think it is. We are assuming that it’ll be right after that date that the dialysis will start, but we don’t know for sure yet.
Mike
On March 24th 2010, Diane went to the doctor for her allergy and flu like symptoms. And also because she’d been feeling very tired and worn out all the time. The Doc took some test and told her they’d get back to her.
On March 23rd Diane started her Thyroid medicine again. Her Doc sent her to a specialist Kidney Doctor to have her Kidneys looked at. She was given a collection vessel to collect a urine sample.
On April 7th, she went to the specialist dragging along the urine sample. Got checked out, then went to work.
On April 9th, the specialist called her and told her that her kidney function was down to 10% of what it should be. Informed her that she would need to go on dialysis 3 times a week. He also told her that in the next 6 to 12 months, she would need a kidney transplant.
On April 14th Diane went to have an ultrasound done on both arms, and both sides of her neck.
These ultrasounds are for preparations for the catheter she’ll need for the dialysis.
At this point, Diane has some more Doc appointment scheduled, with the last one scheduled for May 29th I think it is. We are assuming that it’ll be right after that date that the dialysis will start, but we don’t know for sure yet.
Mike
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