Good Report Card and a Smiley Face

Jim had is first clinic visit on Thursday. Once a month he is scheduled for a clinic visit which consists of blood work, doctor visit and a review of his PD sheets for the month showing the amount of fluid intake and output. On each visit he gets a "report card" showing the results from his prior blood test. This week he received an "Excellent - Good Job" report card along with a smiley face sticker:

Albumin-Normal
Calcium - Normal
Phosphorus - Normal
PTH (parathyroide hormone level) - Good
Potassium - Normal
Glucose - Normal
Hemoglobin - High

Also earlier in the week he had a PET test done (peritoneal equilibrium test). This measures how quickly waste products and fluids are removed from the blood during dialysis. His current "green bags" (2.5 solution) seem to be adequate and doing the job nicely.

One more week of manual dialysis then he will begin using the overnight cycler. I must say I am very proud of the way Jim is handling the manual exchanges. He is doing a great job. I must admit I will miss the little "jiggle dance" he does at the end of his drain. Apparently swaying back and forth helps remove that last little bit of fluid during draining. 

I hope Jim continues to get smiley face stickers and good results on his report card. It was even nicer to see a smiley face on Jim last night doing his exchange.....

Moving Right Along

Good News....Jim's first week of dialysis training is going well. We were glad to see that his catheter must have shifted in his belly and he is now draining much better. After watching his PD nurse do the manual hookups, Jim is now beginning to do the hookups himself. So well, that he may actually be on his own this weekend doing the exchanges himself 4 times a day. The good news is that he is getting additional fluids out with each exchange. All those bad toxins that his kidneys are not able to process hopefully are being flushed from his body and will make him feel better.

He is getting closer to be able to shower...hopefully this weekend.

Bad News....The first few days of training Jim did with a very bad case of gout in his right knee. It's getting better. The PD nurse said that dialysis will definitely help with his gout.

Monday we will spend most of the day at the dialysis clinic talking with the dietician, doing labs and talking with the social worker.

Jim's outlook seems to be much better. I think he is finally realizing this will be his new way of life....at least for a while.

Finding the Right Position

Today's Jim's visit to the dialysis center went ok. His catheter was flushed again. While the draining of fluids went ok, Michelle (his PD nurse) was concerned as to why his draining seemed positional. In other words, it seemed to drain better when he was standing. The drain flow should be the same whether standing or sitting. She wanted Jim to have an x-ray done to see the position of the catheter in his belly. After cleaning his exit site, (and again being told NO SHOWER), we proceeded to Barnes to have an x-ray done. She was right... the tip of the catheter is a little high in his belly. She wants him to take magnesium citrate to see if this cleans out his belly. If this doesn't work, they will have to put a wire inside the catheter and try to maneuver it around. Jim's main concern was having to have the procedure done over, something he doesn't want to do.

His training on manual dialysis starts on Monday. He will do manual exchanges for about 3 weeks before being trained on the cycler (which is done at night). Supplies have started to arrive (where or where to go with them) and his dialysis room (aka Lindsay's bedroom) has been cleaned, sanitized, and dedogged.

Jim is now feeling good and walking around much better. His spirits are still down, but hopefully once the apprehension of this new way of life begins, things will feel more normal. Oh yes...and once he is able to shower again, should make him smile.