Three times in five months....

That's how many times I have been hospitalized... meaning full admittance into the hospital and everything. That's not counting the various doctor's appointments and a couple of ER visits. And that's just THIS year... last year was kind of similar as far as hospitalizations and medical complications but nothing compares to this (fill in the blank) year.

Due to some complications with my PD, I was hospitalized again and thought for sure I was going to have to have another surgery to correct the problem. After two surgeries this year, I'm pretty familiar with how the process goes so I wasn't all that nervous about the procedure if I had to have it. I actually like anesthesia, and if I'm in a lot of pain then I press the nurse call button and get more pain meds, either by pill or through my I.V. and then I'm fine as long as I don't move.

I was also pretty sure I was not going to do PD again since it seemed as if my body just couldn't handle all the fluid and so that would have meant another surgery in order to replace the hemo-dialysis catheter, either in my  shoulder, leg, neck or wherever else they put those things. Ironically, though, for as hard a time as I had switching over from hemo to PD... now the doctors don't want me switching from PD back to hemo because they don't think my veins can handle the stress of a graft or a fistula and they don't want to damage them with the catheters.

However, I did not have to have any surgeries at all, the problem was a fairly easy fix. So, after a four day stay in the hospital, I came home Sunday night with a new PD plan. The doctors have adjusted the amount of fluid that I put into my belly which will help relieve some of the abdominal pressure that was causing me trouble before, and I am allowed to go "dry" at night, meaning I drain as much of the fluid out as I can without replacing it until the next morning.

I have a dialysis test in two weeks which will determine whether or not I am getting enough dialysis done and then, based on those scores, they plan on switching me to a machine called the Cycler, which will do all of my dialysis exchanges during the night while I sleep and then I will be dry during the day. I think that's going to help me out a lot and, in the meantime, hang tight until this transplant actually happens.

My dad is up at OU right now meeting with a nephrologist (kidney doctor) and he'll be going over my dad's test results and, as far as I understand, this will be the deciding appointment as to whether or not my dad can be my donor. I'll write as soon as I know anything.

On a happier note, my levels have all improved "miraculously" as my doctor put it. The protein levels that they were so worried about being to low once I started PD, has jumped a whole point higher than it was, instead of dropping, which has amazed just about everyone because that's not normally what happens. I wasn't too surprised because my mom has been sprinkling protein powder on just about everything I eat and mixing it in with everything I drink except for water. She's done everything except make me eat it straight from the jar, really. I drew the line at her putting it in my jello, though. Yes, really she was going to put protein powder in my jello... Blech!

Anyway, I've got a blood draw in two weeks to recheck the levels and make sure everything is still staying on the up and up and basically just hanging around. I'm sorta kinda not really on bed rest right now because that helps lesson the abdominal pressure and I am house-bound for the most part. I don't go anywhere I don't have to and especially now since I'm still resting from the hospital visit. Someone said I should look at it as a sort of vacation, being at the hospital, I almost laughed rudely to her face. It was spoken like someone who had never been hospitalized. If you want to call having an I.V. port throbbing in your arm, blood draws being done every morning at 5:30, nurses coming in to take your vitals every two hours during the night when you're trying to sleep, and doctors coming in at 6:00 in the morning and randomly throughout the day to talk with you about your health a vacation, then yeah, it's great and the hospitals could make some good money by letting tourists come in and "enjoy the experience". It's lovely, really, everyone should try it. (Note the sarcasm)

Will write again soon!