(01/05/2013, Saturday) Saturday kicked off about as well as you can expect a dialysis day to
go, which is to say not too smoothly. Here's a picture of the breakfast
that was delivered (we aren't able to choose what comes for breakfast
on dialysis days due to the early hour.)
As a reminder, we're on a "Low fat, Low Sugar, Low Salt, Kidney Friendly, Soft Diet". Keep in mind that this is for
breakfast. What we have here is:
- Grilled cheese sandwich
- Rold Gold Pretzels
- Banana
- Vanilla cupcake with sugar cream frosting
Evie is allowed to eat: Nothing pictured. That's right. She can't
eat the grilled cheese sandwich (even if she enjoyed those for
breakfast... c'mon now, who doesn't?) because of the cheese (the
grease/fat is bad too.) No pretzels, too much salt, too hard. No banana --
Potassium is a no-no for those with punked kidneys. The vanilla cupcake
isn't exactly what I'd call low sugar. I tell you what, if what we're
going through is ever made into a movie, they'll have to alter the facts
to make it more believable.
So after skipping breakfast, Evie tried to sleep through dialysis for 4
hours. She was moderately successful. Once we got back to the room she
enjoyed the early lunch that I was able to order (peaches, yogurt,
etc.) After that it was time for a sponge bath, and washing her hair.
Luckily the nurse's assistant came and rescued me because I was in a bit
in over my head. Shortly after that Heather and the kids were able to
come visit.
We hung out in the playroom--the girls worked on craft projects with the
sorority girls that volunteer on Saturdays--meanwhile, her little brother and I ran
in circles around the room. Good times.
Afterwords Evie had another test, this one checking to make sure she
didn't have any blood clots. She doesn't! While she was gone, I went
through the massive headache to order her dinner. The doctors had
changed the type of diet restrictions she was on--it was totally
laughable, I couldn't order anything. It was even more precious because
the doctor had specifically told me to order her peanut butter and
beans/legumes to help her up her phosphorus... and both were blacklisted
given our dietary restrictions. Epic. Once we completed those
shenanigans, we did laps around the floor with a red wagon while we
waited for Evie to get back.
Upon her return, we opened a package that the Lone Peak Lady Knight's
Volleyball Team sent Evie -- it had arrived some time ago, but we hadn't
managed to bring it to the hospital to open it until Saturday. It was
full of all kinds of goodies for Evie, and her siblings. The
thoughtfulness and generosity was simply staggering. I suppose it was a
combination of human kindness, and sheer love that they have for
my sister--and by extension us.
Shortly after that, the kids and I drove home. We got home at about
2200. First thing I saw? A big envelope from our health insurance
provider stating that they wanted our permission to give us an
individual case manager and
specialized coverage due to "a catastrophic life event". Not sure how I feel about the label, or what they're proposing.
DISCLAIMER: Posts
Labeled "One Year Ago Today" are a record of what transpired when Evie
first became ill. The slightly edited text comes from emails which we
sent to family to let them know what was happening, and to keep them
updated. These posts are usually long, but if you want to truly
understand what life was like for us, and what led to this point, it
makes for great "light" reading.
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