Get the Show on the Road

Now comes the hardest part of the whole ordeal for me........ waiting.

I'm done with the bloodwork (for the most part). I'm done with the urine collecting. I'm done with the xrays and the IV's and the radiologist and the therapist. I'm done with the social worker and the EKG. I'm done with the phone calls and the coordinating my schedule and the trips to the hospital. Now all I have to do is wait.

For those of you who don't know me very well, I'll fill you in. I'm not a very patient person. I tend to jump into things head first as quickly as possible. Dad used to have a saying - think first, then act. As often as he would tell me that, somehow I have always ALWAYS done everything in my entire life the opposite. I tend to act first and then think about it (after its too late). While I don't claim this as a very good method, I seem to have survived okay this far in life. I have gotten myself into a few messes.....I once sat our row of hedges on fire as a kid because, without thinking first, I was lighting and throwing fireworks into them. My friend and I once decided on our lunch break to go and get our hands pierced in the little fleshy part between our thumb and forefinger (not very convienant for a banker). I have had the cops call my parents in the middle of the night because I was using their vehicle, and without thinking, I parked it in a towzone while I went and partied. I once moved to Kansas City on a whim, without the financial ability to actually succeed up there, and had to move back only three months later. You get the point. I'm not proud of these things, but I'm drawing a picture here....

So yesterday as I was leaving the psychologist office, I was thinking to myself about how we could just have the surgery tomorrow if we wanted. I mean, all the tests are done. Nathanial is healthy now. WHY ARE WE WAITING?!?!?!? Lets get this show on the road already!

I get that its a process. I get that the doctors want to thoroughly go over my medical records before making the final decision. I get that Nathanial should attend one more of his 'advanced kidney recipient' classes. I get it! But at the same time....every day this is put off is another day things have a chance to go wrong. I don't want to be a debbie downer, but one can't help but think of Nathanials health. If he gets a cold, he'll be put in the hospital and it could delay things for weeks! If he gets an infection, same thing. What if I get H1N1 in the meantime!?

Here is the procession of what is left before surgery:
*my medical records have to arrive in the renal department and Dr Shields has to go over them
*Nathanial has to attend one more 'Advanced Renal Transplant' class (scheduled for October 20th)
*Mark, the coordinator, has to schedule a time that the surgeons can meet with Nathanial and I to decide on the actual date of transplant (I was told this meeting probably wouldn't take place until the last week of October-boo!)

Thats it! See how close we are now! OH man! Everybody please pray for Nathanials health between now and then pleeeeeaaaaaaase! In the meantime, I'm going to keep taking my vitamins and exercising everyday. I'm going to use the hand sanitizer and wash my hands everytime I shake someone's hand at work. I'm going to get plenty of rest and I'm going to eat my veggies. Hope that does the trick!

MORE Gathering....

This is Nathanial while on dialysis. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday he has to go to the hospital and do this for 3 or 4 hours. I can't tell much about the experience, but I had these pictures to share. Those tubes coming down his chest are the lines they hook the machine up to that dialysizes him. Blood is going out one side and going back in the other side. Apparently, having your blood taken out makes you extremely cold. He always has to have blankets with him and he has to dress warm. I believe he even takes warm fuzzy hats and mittens sometimes too, but I'll leave it up to him to describe the dialysis experience with you. I'm going to write a little about my day now.

This morning I woke up to my dog heaving. He was getting ready to vomit on my bed so I grabbed him and sat him on the floor to finish doing what he had started. Sick. Well, lovely to wake up to that on a Sunday morning! I asked the pups if they needed to potty and they jumped around all excited to run out into the cold for a few minutes. They're weird like that. Usually, my routine is to get up, turn off the house alarm, let the puppies out, and then I come in and go potty myself. Today I am doing more of the pee collecting for Dr. Shields. So after letting the puppies out, I had to get my tray and my jug before proceding. This threw my whole routine off!

I believe this is my last round of the pee collecting. Of course, if the doctor wants me to do it again, I will do it again. Whatever it takes. I hear this doctor of ours isn't one to mess with. If he says do it, we better do it. Period.

Today I have a lot going on, so today may be more difficult with the jug hauling. (I feel like inserting a bad joke here about how I'm used to carrying around big jugs) First we have church, then we are headed on a little road trip to Emporia to see my mom. Her birthday was Friday. I will need to call mom on the way and ask her to clear a spot in the fridge for my pee jugs. I'm sure she won't mind. Hopefully by next month right now, she is clearing room in the fridge to save jugs of Nathanials pee!