Less than 3 weeks

Ok now.... things are moving forward. Pre op exam on Tues. June 3rd, fistula and port surgery June 6th, and of course, kidneys out on June 18th.

I have been studying up for the changes that are coming..... dialysis takes only 3-4 hours a session, not the 7 hours that I thought. It seems that modern technology has reduced the time necessary to filter the blood, and draw off the excess liquid.

I will be going to a dialysis center for a couple of months because my fistula will not be ready for use until then, and only trained professionals are permitted to mess with the port. Apparently, it goes directly to the heart to accommodate the volume of blood necessary for dialysis, and an infection could be fatal.

Home dialysis will be available and will consist of  3 hour sessions, 6 days a week. The one day off every week appears to be for convenience, and doesn't have to be the same day every week. I am supposing that diet and liquid intake will be extra strict on the non dialysis day.  Anyway, the process is fairly sophisticated, requiring a 70 lb. machine sitting on a base that contains a large reservoir for the liquid,  a filter, and 6-8 gallons of liquid per session. The machine mixes its own liquid with help of about a gallon of dry chemicals. Chemicals and filters are delivered once a month, and the machine itself is connected to a water supply and a drain.

Dialysis must be done with a trained partner in the room due to the danger of passing out, followed by death. I expect I will learn more about this during the 3 weeks of home dialysis training.

All of this appears daunting, and very intrusive..... a huge imposition into ones life. But dialysis is really the easy part. The hard part is the DIET..... Just a few examples, no red meat, no potatoes, no milk, no tomatoes, no doritos, no ice cream, no pizza, no cheesecake, no nuts, nothing with salt ..... It goes on and on. One tiny glitter of light in the diet of darkness... NO BEANS of any kind. Add to this, severely restricted fluid intake, and your standard low sugar and low carbohydrate  diabetic diet. What is left is barely enough to sustain life. I suspect that it will be worse than cutting weight for wrestling. At least then there was always the week end binge to look forward to.

So I mention how bad this sounded to the dialysis class instructor..... Her response, “would you rather die” (I exaggerate slightly for effect).... clearly she had dealt with people like me many times before. So, I had to admit that she had a pretty powerful point. She also pointed out that there 101 countries where dialysis is only available to the rich. She went on and on, and finally I broke down and agreed that I was very lucky to be losing my kidneys, and was looking forward to the strict diet.

There will be regular blood tests to keep track of various chemical levels in the blood. The list of dire consequences, for cheating on the diet, is frightening to say the least.

Anyway, it is what I need to do, and I am hoping that my urge to live will overcome my lack of discipline, and the new diet will become a habit. I am also expecting major weight loss. In truth, I am very lucky that the technology exists to keep me alive.  Not too many years ago, I just would have gotten sick and died.
 
I am currently working on my” bucket list”. I plan to eat as much salty red meat, and drink as much milk as possible between now and the 18th. Toward that end, I took Karen out to lunch today at the best “meat” restaurant in town..... I had prime rib and a baked potato.... Today, life is good.