I checked into the hospital, Monday, November 28, 2010, for a proceedure which would place a catheter into my abdomen allowing access to do home dialysis. Its called a Peritoneal Catheter to assist in Periotoneal Dialysis. This was just a routine procedure. Well, there will always be setbacks. Yet, God has a wonderful plan tor you. Just stay thankful and prayerful so you can eventually appreciate the outcome.
My hemoglobin had dropped from 8.5 to 5.2 gm/dl over a periods of a week. To say the least this is not a good sign. The Dr's. want to continue my scheduled surgery and so the search was on to find me blood. As I have stated before the Blood Bank has real difficulty matching my blood due to the amount of antibodies. Typically, I have to wait for 5 days and the units arrive in two's. Although I was prepared for this wait, God had a new plan....just for you. My 4 units arrived within the day. Praise be to God Almighty.
Hope all have a wonderful and safe "Holiday Season. Keep me in Your Prayers. So I am here in
dialysis ready to receive my transfusion. Thank you God and The American Red Cross.
I will be; Chatting, Tweeting, and Face book the outcome so stay tuned. Keep it moving and keep your head up.
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Many Questions ...Many Concerns Dialysis
One of my lagging issues after leaving the hospital is a decision to do Hemodialysis or Peritoneal at home. It has to do with lifestyle. You see being retired gives me some flexibility but I find that my desires conflict. Having said that,Prayer always works.
Hopefully I've placed the proper considerations in place and come up with an answer.
I decided on peritoneal because in the long run I will be able to dialyze daily or at night while I am asleep. Hopefully, the consideration about cleanliness and infection won't be a problem since I am always conscious about infection. I've worn a permacat for the last two months and had no infection. I do have a slight concern, all those fluids in my body at night and whether the Baxter pump will do the job. Oh well, everything has its risk.
My other diatribe, if that's the right word, I am not a big fan of Davita, the clinic where I am currently being dialyzed. I think they are inefficient and place the patient at risk due to being overburdened. That is why trying to give a return to investors based on numbers and people does not work. You see when companies outsource and cut corners ultimately the patient is at risk. We must speak up each and every time we feel uncomfortable from the caregivers we are assigned to. We can't let the system drive us. We must drive the system as customers.
Catheter placement Dec.1. Wish me well!
What are your thoughts.?
Hopefully I've placed the proper considerations in place and come up with an answer.
I decided on peritoneal because in the long run I will be able to dialyze daily or at night while I am asleep. Hopefully, the consideration about cleanliness and infection won't be a problem since I am always conscious about infection. I've worn a permacat for the last two months and had no infection. I do have a slight concern, all those fluids in my body at night and whether the Baxter pump will do the job. Oh well, everything has its risk.
My other diatribe, if that's the right word, I am not a big fan of Davita, the clinic where I am currently being dialyzed. I think they are inefficient and place the patient at risk due to being overburdened. That is why trying to give a return to investors based on numbers and people does not work. You see when companies outsource and cut corners ultimately the patient is at risk. We must speak up each and every time we feel uncomfortable from the caregivers we are assigned to. We can't let the system drive us. We must drive the system as customers.
Catheter placement Dec.1. Wish me well!
What are your thoughts.?
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Time To Get In The Game
Sometimes group Advocacy does not work. Individuals must have the courage to act! So let us put the pressure on. We need to support local Foundations, like Sickle Cell Foundation California. MY daughter Tara is a certified Counselor and my sister Mary Is the Pres & CEO.
I urge all of you to get involved.
Target: Members of United States Congress
Sponsored by: Sickle International Family S signature goal: 100,000
Signatures: 319n
In the United States, there are >80000 people affected with SCD. It affects 1 in 400nd 1 in 19000 Latinos and has a carrier rate of 1 in 12 and 1 in 100 for black and Latino populations, respectively. In 1970, Scott highlighted a substantial difference in the research effort for sickle cell anemia compared with other chronic childhood diseases, measured by the number of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. Scott noted that there were 3 times as many grants for the more highly publicized conditions of cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy as there were for SCD
Sickle Cell Disease.
Sickle Cell Disease from the Patient Point of View Follow-up to the meeting of October 19, 2009 with Mr. Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy.
Sickle Cell Disease: A Question of Equity and Quality Lauren A. Smith, MD, MPHa, Suzette O. Oyeku, MD, MPHb, Charles Homer, MD, MPHc, Barry Zuckerman, MDa
.
I urge all of you to get involved.
Target: Members of United States Congress
Sponsored by: Sickle International Family S signature goal: 100,000
Signatures: 319n
In the United States, there are >80000 people affected with SCD. It affects 1 in 400nd 1 in 19000 Latinos and has a carrier rate of 1 in 12 and 1 in 100 for black and Latino populations, respectively. In 1970, Scott highlighted a substantial difference in the research effort for sickle cell anemia compared with other chronic childhood diseases, measured by the number of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. Scott noted that there were 3 times as many grants for the more highly publicized conditions of cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy as there were for SCD
Sickle Cell Disease.
Sickle Cell Disease from the Patient Point of View Follow-up to the meeting of October 19, 2009 with Mr. Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy.
Sickle Cell Disease: A Question of Equity and Quality Lauren A. Smith, MD, MPHa, Suzette O. Oyeku, MD, MPHb, Charles Homer, MD, MPHc, Barry Zuckerman, MDa
.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
I'm Still Here
Many of you have wondered when i might blog again? To tell you the truth, I wondered also. God has blessed me with an abundant life, filled with a wonderful wife and three wonderful adult children. I exclaim their praise every chance I get. For them, and blessings from above, I will continue to write.
Well, I have been quite ill this year. In and out of the hospital every month. The end of September I found myself in the hospital. I was there for a crisis. They placed a port in my, chest and after getting back to my room I began to bleed from the site and the nurses could not get it under control. From there they gave me an exchange transfusion. From there I found myself in ICU.
To say the least my Kidney's shut down. I became a dialysis patient. For many years I knew this was inevitable. Did I expect it? To be honest, I was on borrowed time. Most men with SCD who live beyond 40 are on borrowed time. Was I scared? Yes. Although I knew I lived to see another day.
I developed Shingles from, stress and Cellulitis on my left thigh. Yet God allowed me to survive. I was released 34 days later. Today, I am being dialized 3 times a week. I feel great and am hopeful that my recovery continues.
I received, the below recognition, which validated why I should continue to blog. Admittedly, I had no desire for a long time. whoever nominated me I thank you
"Congratulations! Sarah here, and your blog, Sickle Cell Anemia... The Male
Perspective, was determined to be one of the best blogs to exude overall
brilliance. And so, it has received our 2010 Top 15 AnemiaBlogs Award
presented by Medical Billing and Coding!"
Well, I have been quite ill this year. In and out of the hospital every month. The end of September I found myself in the hospital. I was there for a crisis. They placed a port in my, chest and after getting back to my room I began to bleed from the site and the nurses could not get it under control. From there they gave me an exchange transfusion. From there I found myself in ICU.
To say the least my Kidney's shut down. I became a dialysis patient. For many years I knew this was inevitable. Did I expect it? To be honest, I was on borrowed time. Most men with SCD who live beyond 40 are on borrowed time. Was I scared? Yes. Although I knew I lived to see another day.
I developed Shingles from, stress and Cellulitis on my left thigh. Yet God allowed me to survive. I was released 34 days later. Today, I am being dialized 3 times a week. I feel great and am hopeful that my recovery continues.
I received, the below recognition, which validated why I should continue to blog. Admittedly, I had no desire for a long time. whoever nominated me I thank you
"Congratulations! Sarah here, and your blog, Sickle Cell Anemia... The Male
Perspective, was determined to be one of the best blogs to exude overall
brilliance. And so, it has received our 2010 Top 15 AnemiaBlogs Award
presented by Medical Billing and Coding!"
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