Three Sticks?

Well, it has been a while since I have posted an update, so I figured that today would be as good of a day as any. I am not going to apologize for the long wait this week, as I am sure that my regular readers (the faithful five) are tired of seeing that!

So, I have been having good dialysis treatments for several months now. There are three (or possibly four) technicians that I let stick me. They are the best technicians at the clinic, and normally do not have too much trouble. They will have to move a needle around a little bit after the treatment starts occasionally, if they did not hit it right down the middle. But, all in all, there have not been too many needle problems.

Last night, however, there was a slight mis-hap. One of the trusted technicians was there to stick me for my treatment. He put in the first needle (the arterial line) and it went in with no problems. He then went for the venous line, and it was a little tricky. He thought he had it in, but it was not pulsing. He opened the line to let it fill with blood, and it filled rather quickly (which was normal). He then went to add heparin to the line, which they always do at the beginning of the treatment. Unfortunately, when he drew the blood in to the heparin needle, he also drew in a clot. So, he swapped out to an empty needle and tried to pull more blood, but could not. He ended up having to remove that line, bandage it up, and put the needle in slightly higher. It hurt a little more going in higher, but that was because it is not an area that normally gets stuck. So, he got me with that needle for the venous stick. They got some new heparin, and all was well. There were no major problems with the rest of the treatment.

The only complaint that they have at the clinic is that my blood pressure and heart rate seem to drop during my treatment. I have had it explained to me that the likely cause is my mitral valve prolapse. My heart rate is irregular, and the machine may not always catch the lighter beats. I think this is why is will register my heart rate as 44 one minute and 88 the next. This problem happens every treatment, but the nurse doesn't seem to have it noted in my chart that it is normal for me. Instead, she worries every week and asks if I am taking too much blood pressure medication.

I guess she did not see in the chart where my blood pressure was up over 150 back in November of 2005. Before we got my medication all worked out, I was having actual heart rate problems. Now, however, I think that everything is fixed, and the machine just doesn't like my heart.

Kala has her test at the end of next week, so I will update everyone as soon as I hear anything. They drew my blood at the clinic yesterday for the monthly (and yearly) tests, so I should have lab results for everyone next week.

Thanks for coming by!

Welcome to 2007

Good morning everyone, and welcome to 2007. I realize that it has now been 2007 for at least 48 hours in most time zones, but I am still here to wish you welcome. Thank you for coming by (from all over the world) to read my little blog. Allow me to introduce myself, for the new readers.

My name is Nathan. I am 28 years old and live in Texas. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease in 1998, at the age of 20, while in college. According to http://www.pkdcure.org/, polycystic kidney disease is: "the most common genetic, life threatening disease affecting more than 600,000 Americans and an estimated 12.5 million people worldwide - regardless of sex, age, race or ethnic origin. In fact, PKD affects more people than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, Down syndrome and sickle cell anemia — combined."

My kidney disease, which is supposed to be genetic, was not discovered until I went to the hospital with a kidney stone. In making sure that I was healthy, the doctors discovered that I had multiple cysts growing on my kidneys. I was told that my kidneys would eventually fail due to this disease, and that I should watch my blood pressure and get regular check-ups with a nephrologist (which is a fancy word for kidney doctor).

I followed up with a nephrologist and a cardiologist on a regular basis. My blood pressure was kept mostly under control. The cardiologist found that I have mitral valve prolapse, and that was monitored closely as well. My kidney function was tested after I moved to Texas, and it was around 25 or 30% of normal (which is not good). I was told that in several years, after my function had decreased under 10%, that I would have to start dialysis.

In February of 2005, I had a minor stroke. The cause was undetermined, though I tend to blame my kidneys. I fully recovered, and the neurologist put me on a blood thinner as a precaution to prevent further strokes. I was sick quite a bit after that, just not feeling 100%. At the end of May, I got some kind of infection in my left kidney. The cysts were bleeding into each other. I went to the hospital and got several blood transfusions, but the blood was all getting trapped in my left kidney. After about a week, the kidney had grown to a gigantic size. (See this post for details: http://nmccart.blogspot.com/2005/08/photos-of-kidney.html). Basically, they had to cut out my kidney, and it weighed 15 pounds when removed.

So, needless to say, my kidney function declined rapidly. By the next time it was checked, I was under 10% function. I had an AV Fistula placed in my lower left arm, and I was scheduled to begin dialysis. I started my treatments in the hospital at the end of July in 2005. That fistula never quite worked as well as it should have, and it eventually stopped functioning at all. So, after several minor surgeries on my arm, I finally got a new fistula in my upper left arm (above the elbow). It is quite twisty, which isn't so great for sticking giant needles into, but it has an excellent flow rate and helps me get a great dialysis treatment.

So, from a health standpoint, I am maintained by dialysis and watched carefully by a hand-picked team of doctors (all of whom I have acquired in the past five years). Once I had a fully failed kidney, I started looking in to the possibility of a transplant. Every doctor that I saw said that I was an excellent candidate, since I was only 28 and was relatively healthy, minus the horrible kidney disease. They recommended that I look in to transplantation as an option. I completed the paperwork and had my transplant orientation in December of 2005.

I had several people immediately volunteer as a possible donor. My father volunteered to be tested for me first. Unfortunately, he was not a good match. After he was denied, a friend of mine named Josh stepped into the volunteer booth. He, too, was denied the opportunity to have a vital organ removed and given away. Next, a lady in our church, Kala, asked if she could be tested. She had heard of my plight through my mother-in-law and wanted to see if she could donate a kidney to help me out. So far, all of her tests have been positive. The transplant committee has conditionally approved her, and she has one final test on January 18. Once we get the results of that test, she should be fully approved to be my kidney donor.

I am hoping that we will be ready to have the transplant in February of 2007 (this year!). It has been a long, difficult journey so far, but I am ready for the next turn.

You may be asking yourself, "Self, what can I do to help Nathan? It seems like he is a wonderful person with a great sense of humor. In fact, I would probably be his friend if I met him in person. He seems, oh wait, I was asking myself a question. Self, how can I help Nathan out?"

I am glad you asked that (and thanks for saying all of those nice things about me). As a Christian, I think that the most help that anyone can give is prayer. Pray for my health, and pray that Kala's tests will continue to go well so that she can donate her kidney. You can also send me e-mail or leave comments on my blog. The comments route is the more public choice, and works well, depending on what you want to say. If you have questions for me, or want to know more, then you can always e-mail me. I try to read and reply to all of my e-mail, it just takes a while to do so.

Well, now you have an idea of who I am and where I am going. I hope that this post will be a good start to 2007. Keep reading, and come back to find out when I get my transplant and what all wonderful things that they will then get to do to me to help me keep the new kidney!

(For those of you that are not new, thank you for reading this year-end recap. You may have also noticed that I updated the format on the blog page. Blogger recently upgraded their system, so I got a new look to the blog. I hope you like it.)

Merry Christmas Everyone

Luke 2: 1-20

1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Merry Christmas everyone. It has been a few days since I posted, so I thought I would give out a quick update. Last week I mentioned that I had the nurse turn my dialysis machine up from 400 ml/min to 450 ml/min. That means that the machine can now clean about 12.5% more blood during each treatment. Since the doctor was not there this week, I spoke to the Nurse Practitioner that was doing rounds at the clinic. I had her write in my orders that my machine should run at 450 ml/min (whenever possible). My fistula has been working properly, and that is always nice. I have enjoyed having the machine run faster and getting more blood cleaned during my four hours. Hopefully, my arm will continue to cooperate and I will continue to receive better treatments.

No new news about Kala, yet, for those of you still wondering. Her tests are scheduled for January 2 and January 18. After that, we should hear from the transplant committee and be able to set up a surgery date. Then, I will switch from dialysis to "post-transplant" doctor's appointments, all the time, at least for a couple of months. Hopefully, you will be able to enjoy my "I had to give another urine sample today" posts as much as you have enjoyed the dialysis postings!

That's about it for today. I have been getting quite a few e-mails from my readers (all over the world!). It is nice to hear from you every time you write. And, if I have not replied to you, that is not because I am ignoring you. It is because I have not gotten to you yet in the e-mail queue. And, you can always post comments on the blog (which everyone can read). I will try to reply to you (if you leave an e-mail address).

Thanks for coming by today! Enjoy your Christmas with your family.

Sorry for the Delay

Sorry for the delay, everyone. I was so busy at work and at home last week that I did not have time to update my blog. I realized that this was a blunder after the third or fourth person asked me how I was doing (since I had not updated). I repeatedly heard people wondering about my health, hoping that I had not been too sick to post. Well, fear not, loyal readers, I have not been ill, I was just busy.

It has been over a week since I last posted. Not too much has been going on lately, which is nice, I suppose. My arm is still sore from the infiltration on the 7th. There is some minor bruising above one of the needle sites. I think the tech pinched my arm while she was taping it up on Saturday, and it left a bruise. My arm does not hurt too much, except for about an hour or so after each treatment. Most of the yellow coloring has gone away, which means that most of the blood has been reabsorbed into my arm. Thankfully, it was not a bad infiltration, so there was no damage.

I had mostly good treatments last week. Tuesday’s treatment ran a little slower because I don’t think the technician that stuck me has quite as good of an aim as some of the others. There are three technicians that I really like, and two or three more that do a decent job. The lady I had on Tuesday gets the needle in, but it must always be brushed up against the vein wall because it can’t pull blood quite as quickly as normal. Thursday and Saturday, I had some of the better technicians, and my machine was able to run at 400 ml/min.

My fluid intake has been pretty good lately. I had my dry weight raised to 71.5 kg, and I think that has helped a lot. My poor remaining kidney doesn’t do too much work when my dry weight is too low, so I try to get it raised up every once and while just so the kidney doesn’t get too lazy.

Well, it’s probably time for me to do some work today. I just wanted to shoot out a quick update to everyone and let you all know that I am doing well. I have not heard from the transplant doctors yet about Josh’s kidney, but when I do … you guys will hear everything.

Please continue to pray that God’s will be done in that situation. And, continue to pray that I have good health and good dialysis treatments.

Thanks!!

4 Needles, and then 3

I am here at dialysis tonight, and I have a few minutes, so I think I”m going to update my blog. It is Thursday, August 10, and I have been to two treatments since I wrote to you last. Let me tell you how it's going.

Tuesday night, it took four sticks to get my treatment started. The technician, who does a great job, got the first needle in with no problems. She stuck it easily, and got “the flash” right away. But, because they were drawing labs that night, she did not dilute the line with saline. She spent about five minutes trying to get in the next needle, and it ended up that the area was clotted. She had to pull the needle out and find a new location. She spent another five minutes or so looking for a spot, and finally got a replacement needle in place. Unfortunately, by this time, the first needle that was inserted had become clotted. So, she had to remove it and find a new location. She went ahead and drew my labs, and then put in saline to dilute the line so it would not get clotted, too. The fourth needle was successful, and we were able to do the treatment. The machine ran at 300 for a while, but they had to turn it down to 270 after an hour or so.

So, now let me bring you to Thursday. Tonight was only three needles. The first went in easily, and was diluted with saline right away. The second needle went in easily, but pulled a clot. I think there must be several clots hiding under my skin just waiting to get out on a nice friendly dialysis needle. So, it only took about 30 minutes to get me ready, and then we got started. The machine was started at 300, and we bumped it up to 350 after an hour. It has been running successfully at 350 for about an hour now, which is great. If the stick goes well on Saturday, then I will go to 400 (which is the fastest that they like to run the machine). 400 ml/min helps you get the best possible treatment available.

They drew labs on Tuesday, so I should have the report next week. I think I have been doing well on my diet, so I want to see if all of my numbers are in range. The one that causes me the most problems is the phosphorus. Last month, it was a little low. So, maybe this month, I will be back in the middle of the range.

I had a friend ask me about Josh. He is the guy that has volunteered to be tested as a kidney donor for me. As of today, I have not heard anything new. It took about two weeks after my dad was called before he got his packet of test information. So, I am guessing that they are processing a pile of paper work for Josh, and that he will have his packet in the next week or so. I'm looking forward to his test results.

Please pray that God will prepare the kidney that he has for me, from whomever it may come. Pray that Josh's testing will go quickly and easily. And, please pray that my fistula will behave and not have so many clots (that require re-sticks).

I've got 45 minutes left on the machine. I'm going to watch “Who Wants to be a Superhero?” on the SciFi channel. So, you guys have a good night, and I'll give you more information as I get it!

Three Sticks

Well, I had a few more sticks than I would have preferred this weekend. I normally go to dialysis every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evening from 4:30 – 8:30 pm (or there about). Unfortunately, I had a minor problem this most recent weekend. I went in for my normal treatment on Thursday, the 3rd. I arrived at the clinic around 4:15pm (which is normal for me) and headed over to my chair for dialysis. I requested my usual technician (who has had several good sticks with my new upper arm fistula). She had some trouble getting in the first needle, though that is not unusual. It finally flashed (which is what dialysis people call it when the blood pulses in the needle). So, she taped the needle down and began working on the other side.

The second needle was a bit more of a problem. She poked around, but it seemed that all she was able to find was a sticky mess of clotted blood. So, she thought she would try a third location. This was not altogether pleasant, but I wanted to have dialysis, so I let her continue to look for a spot to stick my fistula. Sadly, by the time this needle was properly placed (and only barely at that), the first needle had become clotted. By this time, it was about 5:30. I told them that I would just prefer to go home and come back to try again tomorrow. They charge nurse scheduled me for a 4:30 appointment on Friday afternoon and I went home to ice my arm. It did not bruise, though it still is sore today (Monday).

So, I had 3 needles on Thursday, but they just didn’t work. I went in on Friday, and had a different technician. She tried an entirely new area of my fistula and was able to get the needle to flash right away. Since the area was new, there was not any fear of coming up with clots. She is still using the same place on the lower half of the fistula, so it is at least a little more scarred over (which makes the needle stick slightly less noticeable). The treatment ran Friday night at about 250 ml/min to start, and then up to 300 ml/min for the rest of the treatment (I think).

I came back for dialysis again on Saturday (even though I had only gained about 1.5 kilos). The same technician from Thursday was there again, so she stuck me again. She put the needles in about the same places as she had used on Friday night, and they both stuck. The upper needle gave her a little trouble, and she had to move it around inside the fistula a little bit to get it right down the middle of the lane. The treatment on Saturday ran at 300 ml/min for the entire time, which is better. The best treatment that they give at our clinic runs at 400 ml/min using the 15-gauge needles. So, I just have to let my fistula grow its way up to 400 ml/min, and I should be okay. That, and I need the fistula to start accepting needles better.

Here are some prayer requests for this week, if you don’t mind:

• Pray for my friend Josh. He has volunteered to have his kidney tested as a possible donor. He has also told me that he’d be willing to go in for an experimental treatment. You can read about that here: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Health/story?id=2243837&page=1


• Pray for the technicians at dialysis. Please pray that they will be able to find two good spots on my fistula to stick in the needles.


• Pray that in addition to the good sticking, that we will be able to run the machine at 400 ml/min for an optimal treatment.

I’m hoping for two good weeks worth of treatments in a row. Thank you for coming by to read today. If you look over the ABC news article, don’t panic. I have not talked to any doctors about this, and I do not even know if they are testing it in the Dallas area. If they are, I will talk to the transplant team and see if they would recommend something like that for me. I know I would enjoy the possibility of no drugs (and keeping the kidney longer).

Thursday Blogging

It’s Thursday, and it’s time to blog again. I haven’t filled anyone in since last week, so I need to keep the information up-to-date. As I told you last time, I found out my blood type is A Positive.

I got my thyroid function test results, and everything was normal. Everything has been normal for four or five months now, so the endocrinologist’s nurse said that if I would get tested again in October and in January, that I will not have to come back to see them. She told me to monitor my symptoms, and to be sure to call if I notice any problems.

My machine ran at 400 ml/min last Thursday using the 15-gauge needles. They tried to use them again on Saturday, but I had a slight infiltration. So, they had to use a 17-gauge needle for the upper needle in my arm, which meant that the machine could only run at 270 ml/min. Also, it left my arm kind of sore. Luckily, it has not bruised (as of almost a week later). It is still sore, but I can move it fully.

When I got home, I had low blood pressure and high heart rate, along with a fever of around 99.4. I felt bad for about an hour, and then decided to go to bed after it did not seem to get any worse. When I got up, I was feeling better, but I did not feel well most of the day at church. That’s probably due to the slower running of the machine.

Tuesday, they were able to use two 15-gauge needles again. The machine ran at 400 for the entire treatment without any problems. The only issue was that my heart rate was over 140 at the end of my treatment (when I stood up). The nurse had wanted to give me a hepatitis shot, but she decided not to, given my vital signs. They made me call Jenny to pick me up, though by the time she got there, I was fine enough to drive myself home.

I am hoping that today (Thursday) I will not have any problems. Maybe they will give me the hepatitis shot at the beginning of the treatment. Hopefully they will not have any problems sticking me with the 15-gauge needles. Hopefully I will not have any arterial or venous pressure alarms that make the machine have to slow down. And, hopefully at the end of my treatment, I will have a decent blood pressure and a decent heart rate when I stand up.

Well, I’ve got to go get stuck now. You all have a great day, and thanks for coming by!

After My Vacation

Hello everyone. I realize that my last post was eight days ago, but I have not been around much. Last weekend, Jenny and I took a short trip to Arlington to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. We had a good time, but I did not do any computing while we were gone, so I am a little behind on my blog. I have several updates to make, and hopefully I will not forget any of them.

I went to the nephrologist’s office after work on Friday, July 14. He took out the chest catheter and bandaged me up. This catheter had been in since March 24 (almost four months). They used it off and on, and even cleaned it out once. I am glad to be finally rid of it. I can now take showers (like a normal person) and sleep on my stomach again.

Like I said, we went out of town over the weekend. I had a dialysis treatment on Saturday, which wasn’t all that bad. The technician that I got on Tuesday was new (to me). Since I have not had a lot of success recently with my needle sticks, I figured it would be okay to let someone different have a shot at my arm and see if maybe she was better at sticking me. She was not. She had to go and get another technician to stick the arterial side of my access. I don’t think it was her problem. I have determined that there is only really one or two technicians that can consistently find my arterial access.

Saturday’s treatment had lots of struggles. So did Tuesday this week. I got a decent stick, but the machine didn’t seem to like it. According to the technicians, there is not quite enough stickable area on the fistula. They have to stay one inch away from the surgical site (on both ends) and try to keep the needles from being too close together. This is difficult, as the entire fistula is only about 4 or 5 inches long. It is also slightly curved, which leaves less spots in which to insert the needles. Fortunately, someone has been able to find a spot to go in each treatment so that I can be dialyzed.

Thursday’s treatment went fairly well. I got a quick, easy stick, and the machine ran at 300 ml/min for most of the treatment (and at 290 ml/min the rest of the time). My thought is that if I can get six good treatments in a row (no machine problems, and little to no sticking problems) that I will move from 17- to 16-gauge needles. The larger needles give a better treatment, but I do not want to try and use something larger until I can get the little needles to work properly.

In other news, I have been working with the financial department at Baylor to figure out who is going to pay for my father’s transplant evaluation. It turns out that the paperwork was initially misfiled, but that the current balance is $0. This is good news, and it means that I can contact my other donors and get them started. So, if you see my name pop up on your caller ID, then it’s time. I haven’t decided if I am going to do one donor, or have all three of the people that live in town and completed their paperwork to go at the same time. I might try that, just to confuse everyone. It should be fun.

Aside from that, I have nothing too interesting to report. I have an appointment with the endocrinologist on July 31. I don’t think I will have to go back to see him after that. My TSH levels have been normal for nearly a year now, so I think my thyroid problems have subsided. It would be nice to have one less doctor to keep up with. Maybe I should try and schedule a neurology appointment and get rid of her, as well. I haven’t had any stroke problems in over a year, and maybe she can reduce some of the medications she prescribed. I’ll have to get on that one.

I have a few prayer requests for you to consider:

• Pray that the technician at dialysis will get a good stick that works well for the next several treatments(by works well, I want the machine to run at 300 ml/min and to not have arterial alarms caused by being unable to pull my blood)


• Pray that we will find the right person with the right kidney at the right time to be a donor for me

I am currently searching my records to find out what my blood type is. When I get it, I will let you know. I have had many people as me about this, and I wanted to be able to give the right answer.

Home for the Weekend

Today is Friday, July 07, 2006. Let me tell you about my dialysis treatment last night. I went in to dialysis, hoping for a normal treatment. I weighed in, and got into my seat. The needles were placed in the normal up/down fashion (as they should be) and I was set to go. The machine ran at 270 ml / min (remember that 300 is good for this size of needle). My treatment went great, and when it was time to go, I only weighed 70.0 kg. My dry weight is supposed to be 70.5 kg at this time. Now, a half of a kilogram may not sound like anything to you (in fact, it probably doesn’t sound like anything, it’s a little over a pound), but in terms of your body’s fluid level, it is kind of a lot. Basically, they dehydrated me.

I went home, and was okay for about 30 minutes. But, about 9:45, I began to feel nauseated. I had uncontrolled vomiting for the next two hours, so we decided to go to the emergency room. Sadly, uncontrolled vomiting is not that bad of an ailment, so we sat in the waiting room for an hour. I think by that time I had gotten rid of EVERYTHING from my stomach, so I did not throw up any more. When we went back, the doctor gave me some Zofran for my nausea, and then hooked me up to a bag of saline to get me re-hydrated. I slept for about an hour, and then they gave me one more shot of Zofran and sent me home. I did not go in to work this morning, because I needed the sleep.

Today, Jenny and I are traveling to Fort Smith for my 10-year high school reunion. On the way, we are going to stop in Poteau, OK, for my dialysis treatment tonight. I normally dialyze on Saturday nights, but I could not find a clinic in the area that would treat me Saturday night. So, I am going to experience “traveling dialysis.” I don’t know if this is a good thing, or a bad thing, but I am going to try it out.

Please pray for me that this treatment will go well. Pray that we have safe travel to and from my reunion. And, pray that I get to feel better as the weekend goes on so that I can enjoy seeing my old classmates.

Thanks for coming by!

Monday All Over Again

It has been another week since I have updated my blog. A bit has happened, so I’ll see if I can remember everything to fill you in.

The technicians at dialysis continue to use my fistula. Thursday, I had a different tech. He stuck in one needle up and one down, and the machine ran at 310 for four hours. That was a pretty good treatment. I asked the next tech I had (on Saturday) to sick up and down as well, and she was able to get the needles in. The machine didn’t run quite as fast, but I don’t think she hit the fistula quite as well.

I am planning on going to my high school reunion this weekend. It has been 10 years since graduation, and I’d like to head back. So, I am going to try out “traveling dialysis”. I’ve scheduled an away appointment for Friday night in Oklahoma (on the way back home). Hopefully everything will go well and I won’t have a bad experience. I am looking forward to my treatments this week. Now that the needles are both pointing the correct direction, it should be easier to stick me this week. The tracks should start to develop and the arm may scar up a little (which will help with the pain).

Thanks to the class reunion, I’ve rediscovered some high school friends. I’ve gotten four e-mails from people that I haven’t spoken to in ten years that have read through my blog. I have only had time to reply to two of the so far, but I’m working my way through my Inbox trying to get to everyone. So, if you’ve written, don’t despair. I am getting to you as quickly as I can.

I found a new service the other day that I really enjoy. I read several blogs, and I find that it’s easier to do if they are e-mailed to me. There’s a site, http://www.r-mail.org/ that allows you to subscribe to anyone’s blog and get it over e-mail. It just takes a couple of days to set up, and it works like a charm. They have a form on their web page that you enter the information in to, and it sends you a confirmation. It's easy!

Another Week

I see that it has been almost one full week since I posted last, and I apologize. I should post more often, because it keeps people from having to ask me (in person) over and over how I am doing. I don't mind telling everyone, but I do think it is probably easiest if they can just read my update as it happens.

The technicians were able to stick my fistula on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday of last week. Each time, they did the two needles both pointing up. This results in a slightly slower treatment, but they got better through the week. My kT/V went from 1.02 on Tuesday to 1.28 on Saturday (with the machine running at 300 ml/min for nearly 2 1/2 hours). The target rate is 1.4, so I am getting closer. The technician also showed me another number, but I don't recall what the number was or what it means, so I won't try to list it here.

I've got another treatment scheduled for this afternoon. I'm going to stay with the 17-gauge needles for at least one more week. I am not quite ready to stress out my squiggly fistula with big honking needles. I'd rather the fistula develops for at least another week before we try and stick anything bigger in it. If nothing else, I have an appointment with my vascular surgeon on Thursday, so I can ask him what he thinks.

I might also ask the vascular surgeon if he thinks that they should be able to go up/down with the needles like they are supposed to. If so, I will suggest it to the technician on Thursday night (if I trust her). Hopefully, I will get a good tech tonight (and all week) that will not cause me any harm.

So, please pray that my treatment will go well tonight and that there will not be any problems. I have been doing well, with the machine running fairly quickly (the max with this sized needles is 300, so that's is the goal).

Please pray 3 John 1:2 for me this week: "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."

After Tuesday's Treatment

I am posting today to let everyone know how Tuesday night's treatment went. The technician brought out the 17-gauge needles, and was ready to stick me. I had prepared my arm with the Emla cream, and it had a small numb area. The technician put in the first needle, the venous, and it did not pulse. This is a problem, as the blood needs to flow in order to have dialysis. So, she poked around for a little while, and finally pulled that needle out.

She decided to give the arterial needle a try next. She stuck it in, and some black goo oozed into the needle. This isn't good, she said, it's already clotted. So, we pulled that needle out and decided to start again. By this time, the first spot had stopped bleeding. The technician decided to run both needles in an "up" direction, since there didn't seem to be enough room to go down. I'm not exactly sure why there would be room to go one way and not another, but I guess that's what makes me a patient and not a dialysis technician.

So, the tech stuck in the first needle facing up instead of down. This is alright, but does not give the best treatment. She had to quickly flush the line with saline, because my blood wanted to clot right away. It was very thick Tuesday night, and I am not sure what caused that. I wonder if it had to do with all the bruising that has recently gone down in that area.

She ended up finding a spot to put in the second needle, also facing up. She had to quickly dilute that needle with saline as well, since my blood was still attempting to clot. She got some Heparin into my line, and then hooked me up to the machine. She ran the machine at 230 ml/min for most of the night with no problems. My only real complaint was that my arm still does not quite bend all the way out, so it wasn't exactly comfortable to sit in the chair with my arm at a funny angle.

So, thank you all for your prayers. Keep praying that they will be able to stick me correctly and that my blood won't try to clot the second that I am hooked up. I'd also enjoy having the machine slowly run a little faster, so that my blood gets a more thorough cleaning. Thanks for checking in on me. E-mail or comment if you have any questions!

Special thanks to Connie Parr for letting me know that she was praying yesterday!

June 2006 Lab Report

Well, it is time once again for lab reports. This month, everything sounds like good news, so be glad (and thank you for all of your prayers).

Albumin – 4.6 (goal is 3.8 to 4.5)

enPCR – 0.59 (goal is greater than or equal to 0.8)
Your protein catabolic rate (protein intake) is low. Eat more: fish, seafood, chicken, turkey, lean red meat, lean fresh pork, eggs, or cottage cheese.

eKdrt/V – 1.28 (goal is greater than or equal to 1.2)
Your eKdrt/V is adequate. You are receiving enough dialysis.

Potassium – 4.7 (goal is 3.5 to 6)
Your potassium level is normal. You are doing a good job with the potassium in your diet!

Corrected Calcium – 9.4 (goal is 8.4 to 9.5)
Your corrected calcium is normal.

Phosphorus – 5.0 (goal is 3.5 to 5.5)
Your phosphorus is normal. Great job limiting high phosphorus foods and taking your binders with meals and snacks!

Hemoglobin – 13.3 (goal is 11 to 12)

Average Fluid Weight Gain – 2.23 kg or 3.2% (goal is 3 – 5% of dry weight unless you have signs and symptoms of fluid overload).
Your nurse will discuss this with you. (Acceptable)

So, as you can see, my lab reports all looking great this month. My phosphorus went down from over 7 last month to 5.0 this month. This is a good thing, as I do not want to have squishy bones when I grow up. So, I will keep watching my phosphorus levels, and I’ll try and keep them low. I want to watch all of my labs, but that is the one that I’ve had the most trouble with.

Fistula update: my arm is still quite bruised and sore. I cannot straighten my arm out fully, yet, due to the pain. My bicep is bruised from the elbow to the clavicle (all the way over the bicep muscle). I’ve been using a heating pad and an ice pack (though not at the same time) to try and reduce the bruising and swelling. My arm has gone from a very dark patch to a big brown area of pain. I did not let them stick me on Tuesday, and I do not plan to let them stick me until my arm feels better. Thankfully, my catheter worked fairly well Tuesday night, and I was able to have a treatment at about 270 ml/min (which is not fast enough, but it’s better than the machine stopping every two minutes).

I guess that’s all for today. Keep praying that my arm will heal quickly so that I can go back to using my fistula. And, pray that when I do go back to using the fistula that it will work properly and not have any problems with the needles. Also, keep praying that we will get the payments for the transplant testing worked out with the insurance company so that I can get some more people tested. Thanks for coming by to read!

Catheter Again

So, today is Saturday, June 10, and I am writing to you from the dialysis chair. There are 15 minutes left on my treatment, so this post might be kind of short. I thought I would update everyone on how my treatments have been this week, and what kind of trouble my fistula has been having.

Tuesday night, I was hoping for a better stick in my fistula. Unfortunately, only one needle really got in well. The second needle caused a bit of infiltration, which made my arm swell up a bit (rather quickly) and hurt really bad. I had to do my treatment with the catheter, and it did not run very well at all. It stopped and started all night, and it was hard to keep still while holding a glove full of ice on my swolen and bruised arm.

And, let me tell you, my arm got bruised. The worst pain I had was trying to remove the one needle that they had inserted, and hold it to stop bleeding. It was really not enjoyable, and removing the tape that was holding in the needle was unpleasant to say the least. I left with one bandage taping up the small hole in my arm, and I could barely move it. It felt as if I had bruised my entire bicep, making it nearly unbearable to bend my arm.

I slept with the arm elevated, and it felt better in the morning. When I looked at it, though, it was kind of disgusting. There is a large hematoma (bruise) all around the area where I was stuck, minus a square when the bandage had been pressing, keeping the blood from pooling there under my skin. The pain was less, and a warm shower felt nice. My arm is still sore today, but it is much better than it was Tuesday night.

I used the catheter again on Thursday and Saturday, since my fistula is still quite bruised. The doctor mentioned that we should probably wait a few treatments before we go back to trying to stick me again. I also think I am going to have them use the 17-gauge needles for at least two weeks, since they tried 15-gauge on Tuesday night. Hopefully, using the 17-gauge will help my fistula develop a bit better before I try and use anything larger.

The only other problem was that my catheter did not work on Thursday. They had to use an unclotting medicine (which stays in the catheter for thirty minutes) to get it flowing again for my treatment. This meant that I had to stay later, but at least the machine was able to run better. Previously, it had been stopping every couple of minutes because it could not return my blood. Today (Saturday), I am doing great. The machine ran at 300 ml/min and only stopped a few times during the whole four hours.

There are only a few minutes left in my treatment, so I will try and wrap up. My blood pressure is 116/63, with a heart rate of 96. If you remember back to a few months ago, this is a huge improvement. I think that my current medications along with the "profile 2" that they are using to remove fluid, has really helped. I hope to continue to do well with this combination.

Please pray for my arm and fistula this week. Pray that the swelling and bruising goes away, and that my fistula will be ready to use again (soon, but not so soon that it causes problems). The insurance company called, complaining about paying for my dad's transplant testing. Pray that that will get worked out so that I can get started on testing someone else.

Thanks for coming to read my chronicles. They may not be as fanciful as Narnia, but they are mine. Enjoy!

Saturday's Update

Welcome to Tuesday everyone. I have another dialysis treatment scheduled for this evening, but I thought I’d try and update everyone on what happened Saturday night. My treatment was not as good as it could have been.

When I woke up Saturday morning, my arm was bruised around my fistula. My guess is that it was from Thursday’s treatment, but it just took a while to show up. So, when I went in to dialysis Saturday night, the technician wanted to avoid the bruised area. She put in the first needle, going down, in about the middle of my fistula. Now, I had pointed out that the lower end of the fistula and the upper end of the fistula were really the best places to go. But, she got it in the middle, and had a hard time getting “the flash”. The flash is the blood that initially shoots into the needle when it is inserted into the fistula.

She filled the first needle, and went to work to find a spot for the second one. She could not find one, and after several minutes, decided to use the catheter to return the blood. Unfortunately, by that time, the blood in the first needle had clotted, because it was not pulsing (it was just sitting there). So, they had to use my catheter for both needles, since they did not want to attempt to stick me a third time.

As you may remember, we stopped using the catheter because it was not really providing a good treatment. The only reason it is still in is because the doctor wants it to be available for a “just in case” basis. I guess that is good, since that had to use it Saturday night. But, the machine could not run above 300, so I did not get as high quality of a treatment as I would have wanted.

So, if you read this on June 6, then I’d ask that you pray that the technician is able to get two needles in to my fistula tonight so that I can have a decent treatment. I think they are going to try the 15-gauge needles, so the machine can run up to 400 with those. I think that the technician I have scheduled for tonight is the one that had no problems with my fistula the last time she stuck me. I am hoping to repeat that tonight.

Thanks for coming by to read. I’ll let you know what happened tonight on another day.

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

I went to see my vascular surgeon Tuesday afternoon to talk about my fistula and my gall bladder. The appointment was originally set up so that the surgeon could say that it was okay to start using my new upper arm fistula. However, since my catheter was not working as well as hoped on Saturday, they used one needle in the fistula then. The appointment turned out more to be us talking about my fistula and us setting up a surgery for my gall bladder.

I’ll start by telling you about the gall bladder. I am having a “Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy”, which just means that they are using four very tiny incisions to remove my gall bladder, rather than slicing me open to fish it out. I have been having a lot of nausea and stomach pain since my kidney was removed last year (it has been almost exactly one year). The gastroenterologist had done several different abdominal scans, and she decided that my gall bladder could be the cause of my problems. A couple of stones showed up on the scans (I saw them) and it seems that removing it would be a good idea. The surgeon said that he would rather take it out now then to have it cause an infection after I get my kidney transplant and cause me to lose the graft (“the graft” is what people in the kidney transplant business call the transplanted organ, just so you know).

I have an appointment for Friday morning (11:30am) to have my gall bladder removed by the same surgeon who has done all of my fistula surgeries. By using the same surgeon, I don’t have to add any more doctors’ business cards to my already full wallet. But, it also gives me the assurance that this doctor knows about my other conditions. I also trust his surgical abilities, as he has not had any problems, yet.

Additionally, the surgeon and I talked about my fistula. My nephrologist had been worried that the new fistula was too short and curvy to be of any use. The surgeon explained to me what had happened. When he laid the vein after moving it closer to the surface of my arm, he put it in a nice smooth arc. He said that after you connect it to the artery (making the vein a fistula) that it can get “scrunched up” a little bit. So, rather than maintaining it’s perfect arc, it ends up with a small curve. He showed me the vein on the sonogram, and it seemed to be fairly straight. He said part of what the nephrologist might have seen was some bulged areas of the fistula. The fistula is a little wider in some places than it is in others, and that might feel like curves if you are in a hurry (which the nephrologist always is). The surgeon said not to worry about the vein. If the technicians do have problems with sticking it, then he can always go back in (another surgery) and tie the vein down in a straighter line. So, the nephrologist said to leave my chest catheter in for a few weeks while we start using this new fistula. That way, if the surgeon needs to put in some ties to straighten it out, I will still have an available dialysis access (regardless of the fact that it does not work too well).

The nephrologist also prescribed Fosrenol for my high phosphorus. Since my calcium was near 10, he did not want to have me add more PhosLo. Instead, he added a new medication to take after meals that will help bind the phosphorus in my diet. I will probably send that prescription off tomorrow and will have it in a few weeks. It won’t be early enough to help on my June labs, but maybe by July my phosphorus levels won’t be so dangerously high.

Please pray for me as I have surgery on Friday. Also, continue to pray for my dialysis treatments. They are running me slowly with this new fistula, and I don’t think I am getting as good of a treatment. I have not felt well since Saturday. Hopefully that will clear up as my fistula matures and it can run a faster dialysis treatment. And, continue to pray for my dad’s lab results. I will let everyone know as soon as I hear something. Thanks!

Started New Fistula on Saturday

I had another exciting dialysis treatment on Saturday. Normally, the dialysis treatment runs without issue for four hours, and then you go home. On Saturday night, however, I was not so lucky. My machine was having trouble with the arterial pressure. The arterial pressure is the amount of suction that the pump has to use to remove the blood from your body. If the pressure gets out of range, that can be very dangerous, so the machine stops drawing out blood. I was having problems with my arterial pressure after about five minutes on the machine.

The nurse tried everything she could think of, including laying my chair down flat and switching the lines on my catheter. Since nothing was working, she called the on-call doctor and asked if she could use one needle in my new fistula. This is the fistula that was placed above the elbow on my left arm almost seven weeks earlier. The doctor said yes, so the nurse placed one needle in my arm, and left the other in my chest catheter. The needle did not hurt too much going in, which was nice. I still had pressure problems with my catheter, and they ended up switching which side of the catheter they used about three more times during the next three hours of my treatment. The bad part of it all was that I don’t think I got as good of a treatment with the machine running slower and it stopping all the time.

Sunday morning when I woke up, I felt sick (which is not abnormal). Before we were ready to go to church, however, I began to vomit. This did not make me feel better, so we stayed home from church. I felt pretty sick for a couple of hours, and did not try to eat again until almost 11:00 am. The soup stayed down, so I figured that I was better. I did not really feel better until after I took a nap (I hadn’t slept well Saturday night). By Sunday evening, I felt better, and I did make it to work on Monday.

I have an appointment with the vascular surgeon Tuesday morning. I’m not really sure how it is going to go. Since they have started using my fistula, I don’t suppose I really need his permission to use it. I have to make him page my nephrologist so that they can talk about my fistula, but aside from that, the fistula information should be easy. I am also supposed to talk to the vascular surgeon about my gall bladder. The GI doctor thinks that it needs to come out, so I have to see if he has read my records and if he agrees. If so, that’s one more surgery that I have to schedule and another delay in the transplant (if my dad is approved as a donor).

Please continue to pray for the transplant team as they process my dad’s results. I would like to know as soon as possible whether or not he will be a good donor for me. Also, pray for my appointment with the vascular surgeon on Tuesday morning. I don’t enjoy talking about having more surgery, but I want to do whatever will be the best for me. And, pray that my arm will finish healing. The needle didn’t cause many problems for me, but the skin is still quite sensitive around the surgical incision, so the tape that holds the needle in place was kind of painful to remove. The skin was red for quite a while. I am hoping that it will heal or toughen up a little.

Thanks for reading with me today.

May 2006 Labs

Well, it’s Friday afternoon, and it looks like it has been over seven days since I last posted. I have my lab reports from May for you today, as well as some information on the stomach ache front.

ALBUMIN – 4.6 (Goal is 3.8 to 4.5)

eKdrt/V – 1.56 (Goal is greater than or equal to 1.2)
Your eKdrt/V is adequate. You are receiving enough dialysis.

POTASSIUM – 4.1 (Goal is 3.5 to 6)
Your potassium level is normal. You are doing a good job with the potassium in my diet.

CORRECTED CALCIUM – 9.9 (Goal is 8.4 to 9.5)
My corrected calcium is high. Check with the doctor for more information.

PHOSPHORUS – 7.2 (Goal is 3.5 to 5.5)
Your phosphorus is high. Your Dietician will review high phosphorus foods to avoid. Take your phosphorus binders with meals and snacks.

HEMOGLOBIN – 13.2 (Goal is 11 to 12)

Average Fluid Weight Gain: 1.78 kg or 2.6& (goal is 3 – 5% of dry weight unless you have signs and symptoms of fluid overload). Your nurse will discuss this with you.

So, as you can see, everything is going fine, except for my phosphorus level. It had been under control for four months, but the last two months it has been high. The dietitian went over all of the high-phosphorus foods with me and discovered that my diet is very good in relation to high-phosphorus foods. I told her that I am taking two of the Phoslo pills with each meal and that I rarely snack. So, she gave me a sample of Fosrenol to try out. Fosrenol is an after-meal chewable pill that helps bind phosphorus without raising your calcium levels. It is apparently very expensive, so she wanted me to check with my insurance to see if it was covered. It is, so we will ask the doctor to prescribe it for me next week. That’s just one more thing to add to my list of medications.

In other news, I had a NM HIDA scan on Monday, May 1. That is a nuclear medicine scan on the gall bladder that tests to see how well the gall bladder is working. Mine apparently has a low ejection fraction (near 30%). I’m not sure what that means, or what a normal ejection fraction is, but mine is low. The gastroenterologist referred me to a laparoscopic surgeon to talk about surgical options for removing my gall bladder.

I saw the surgeon on May 11, and he said that my gall bladder is not working correctly. He also said that he would recommend me having my gall bladder removed because of my upcoming kidney transplant. He said that he would hate to leave the gall bladder in there and for it to cause an infection once I get my new kidney and my immune system is suppressed. He said my best bet was to have it taken out ahead of time.

He also referred me back to the surgeon who did my vascular surgery. It seems that he also does laparoscopic surgeries. I have an appointment with him on May 23 already, so I will just talk with him about my gall bladder then. Hopefully we can schedule a surgery for a Thursday, to give me the most time to recover (the pamphlet says that it can take 5 – 10 days to get back to work after the surgery, even though most people go home within a few hours of the procedure). It is laparoscopic, which means that they cut tiny holes which helps speed the recovery process.

Please pray for the surgeon as he looks over my records and decides about removing my gall bladder. Also, keep praying for my fistula. I go see the surgeon on May 23, and he should tell me whether or not the new fistula is ready to use for dialysis. If it is ready, then I can start using it and eventually get off of this catheter. Pray that the new fistula will work well and not have any problems.

Thanks for reading!

April 2006 Lab Reports and More

As promised on Tuesday, I am bringing the rest of my long-overdue update. I apologize for the wait, but I have been quite busy at work and at home, so I haven’t had a lot of time for blogging recently. I will try to be better about it in the future (isn’t that what they all say?).

• ALBUMIN: 4.3 (goal is 3.8 to 4.5)My albumin (blood protein) is normal.


• POTASSIUM: 4.3 (goal is 3.5 to 6)My potassium level is normal. I am doing a good job with the potassium in my diet.


• CORRECTED CALCIUM: 8.7 (Goal is 8.4 to 9.5)My corrected calcium is normal.


• PHOSPHORUS: 6.6 (Goal is 3.5 to 5.5)My phosphorus is high (up from 4.3 last month). The dietician recommended that I watch my diet and make sure to take my phosphorus binders with all meals and snacks.


• HEMOGLOBIN: 11.2 (Goal is 11 to 12)My hemoglobin is normal, and my anemia is under control.


• AVERAGE FLUID WEIGHT GAIN: 2.31 kg or 3.3% (goal is 3 – 5 % of dry weight unless you have sign and symptoms of fluid overload).This is Acceptable.


• HEMOGLOBIN A1C: 4.9 (Goal is less than 7.5) My hemoglobin A1C is well-controlled. This means that my average glucose (blood sugar) has been normal for the last three months.


• PTH: 415.6 (Goal is 100 – 300)The parathyroid hormone is too active. This means that I started receiving Hecetor (Vitamin D) during dialysis.

So, the lab report was not all good news like it normally is. My phosphorus was way up, which is not a good thing. Too much phosphorus can make your bones brittle. The other problem was the parathyroid hormone, which I have no control over. Hopefully the Vitamin D that they inject into my blood each week will help balance that number out. The only negative side effect is that it can cause your phosphorus to go up. I guess I’ll find out in May how I did with my diet and see if I can get off of that Vitamin D shot.

On Monday, April 24, I went to see the endocrinologist. I actually just saw a nurse practitioner who wrote me three prescriptions for blood work to be drawn at dialysis. They want to see my thyroid hormone levels in April, June, and July, and then to follow-up with me after that. She said that since I have not been exhibiting any symptoms, that I am probably doing okay, but she needs to see the lab reports to make sure.

On Tuesday, April 25, I went to see my vascular surgeon to follow-up, one month later, on my new fistula surgery. He removed all the stitches (not so pleasant) and then ran an ultrasound over the fistula. He said that it looks like it is healing nicely and is developing at a good rate. He scheduled another appointment for one month later, and said not to use the fistula before then. I guess he will check it at the end of May to see if it is ready for dialysis. If so, then I can get off of the chest catheter, and I can go back to using a fistula like a normal dialysis patient. The fistula is a little easier to care for, and gives you a better treatment, so I ultimately want to get back to using a fistula.

I have had dialysis on Tuesday and Thursday this week already. The treatments have been going fine, right up until the very end. After I have finished my treatment and have been removed from the machine, they like to take one final blood pressure with you standing up. On Tuesday night, the pressure was only 93/61, and they wait about fifteen minutes for me to get up to 110/69. Thursday night, my pressure was 94/58, and they waited about ten minutes to get me up to 113/60. My standing blood pressure (at the end of dialysis) has been low since Tuesday, the 18th. I wish this would balance out so I could go home when dialysis is finished.

My gastroenterologist called this week. She thinks that my stomach-ache problems might be caused by my gall bladder. There is a test that can be run (inject a dye and watch it go) that will tell her if the gall bladder is the culprit responsible for my pain. I have this appointment scheduled for Monday.

Here are my prayer requests for today:

• Pray that the gall bladder scan goes well, and that the GI doctor will learn what she needs to learn to help me


• Pray that my blood pressure will get to where it needs to be at the end of my dialysis treatments


• Pray for my dad as he is being scheduled for testing as a kidney donor.

Thanks for coming by to read. I’ll try to be better about updating next week.

New Fistula Follow-Up

I just got back from the vascular surgeon. Today was my one week follow up for the new fistula that he put in (back on Monday, 4/3/06). He unwrapped my bloodied bandages, and felt around my bruised skin. He then put the ultrasound wand over the fistula (which is a few centimeters above the incision) and took a look inside. He said that he liked what he was hearing and seeing, and he said that the fistula looks like it is doing just fine.

I am scheduled to come back in two more weeks (three weeks after the surgery) to have my arm looked at again. He said that at that time he may remove the stitches (depending on how well I am healing). It is not a problem that my incision is still leaking a little blood. In fact, it’s just part of the healing process, and my arm is healing fine. It takes several weeks for a surgery like the one I had to heal completely.

So, all-in-all, life is going well. My arm is not quite stretching out completely without pain, yet, but that is part of the healing process. My dialysis has been going mostly okay recently. The only exception was a week or two ago. I had what seemed like a good treatment, but I was awake for the next hour feeling hot and nauseated. I haven’t had that problem again, and I think it may have been caused by taking off too much fluid. So, I am sticking with my 69.0 kg weight and hoping that everything works from there.

My work life is going well, too. The person that helped me get my job left the company on Friday, and I am slowly working my way in to covering his old duties. He worked on many things in a lot of areas, so it may be two or three weeks before I feel competent. The good thing is that this job is full of challenges, which is what I really enjoy.

I continue to desire your prayers this week. I have had two family members and two friends get their blood tested for kidney transplantation. The transplant coordinator should contact me soon to let me know the results and have me think about picking someone out to be fully tested. Please pray that God will show me the right person to have tested and that the testing process goes quickly and smoothly. Also pray that I will continue to do well while I am on dialysis.

The pastor at our church spoke last Sunday about bringing glory to God through our lives. He said that glory is just raising the opinions that others have about someone or something. So, I want to live my life, kidney disease and all, so that it raises other people’s opinions about God. I want to be a good example of a Christian. Please pray with me that I will continue to show those around me how wonderful God really is. Thanks!