Your life will change

This may seem obvious, but I'll admit I wasn't aware of how much our lives would change.  I haven't been able to work since my husband's surgery and I'm not sure if I will be able to work outside the home once dialysis starts either.  Every day seems full.  I get up early and I go until about 9 at night.  I check the online world, watch a little TV and then go to sleep, wake up and do it all again.

Emotionally things change too.  There are periods of crying that I can't explain, periods of joy when things seem "normal" and periods where I am just going through the motions and trying to move forward.  It really isn't something a person can understand until they are living it.  No one could have prepared me for all the emotions involved.

Physically things change.  I'm guessing it is mostly from the emotional roller coaster, all the appointments, and the extra things I am doing for my Hubby.  For me it is also from trying to do a ton of gardening... far more than one person can reasonably do.

For Hubby I can only imagine how hard this is on him.  I see him struggling, but I don't know that I fully understand just how much he is going through physically and mentally.

I don't have any advice for how to get through it, other than to pray.  Without faith, I don't think I could handle all of this.  Praise God for little miracles.

The very first kidney transplant

The very first kidney transplant was done in 1954.  Ronald Lee Herrick gave his kidney to his twin brother.  Dr Joseph Murray, a surgeon from Boston, performed this first successful kidney transplant, saving Ronald's brother's life.  It also proved that a transplant was a viable treatment for chronic renal disease.

Ronald and his twin brother

The history of dialysis is pretty interesting.  It was in 1943 that the first dialyzer was constructed.  It wasn't successful, however, until 1945.  To read more about the history of dialysis, you can read here.

I use to say I was born over 100 years too late, but now I know I was born right on time, because without advances with dialysis and transplant, I wouldn't have more time with my Hubby.

Boxes are here

34 boxes of dialysis supplies were delivered today.  Thankfully they fit in the spot I cleared for them.  Each one weighs about 24 pounds, so I won't be moving them.  Thankfully the man that delivered them, put them where they belong, so they are all in place.

We had two appointments today.  One with the surgeon to check up on Hubby and start talking about transplant and one with the dialysis nurse.  The dialysis nurse told us that we will be getting one more very large box with all the tubing in it.  These boxes are just the dialysis solution.  While at the appointment with the nurse we were taught how to take daily care of the catheter.  We came home with a bag of supplies for doing that.  Our house is starting to look like a hospital, but Hubby is worth it!

The cart is built!

To hold Hubby's dialysis machine and discharge bucket, I purchased a Choice Knocked Down Stainless Steal 2 shelf utility cart - 33 3/4" by 21" by 37.  A search online of prices saved me $10 by purchasing this cart from The Webstaurant Store.  Make sure you search for the cart you want and check out all the prices, including shipping to get the best deal.

Why did I pick this cart?  Originally Hubby wanted a cart with a lip around the edge to make sure nothing falls off, but after meeting with the nurse and seeing the actual machine we realized that wasn't a good idea.  The dialysis machine has a door on the front that you need to easily open, which can't happen if there is a lip.  This cart can hold up to 220 pounds, which is enough to hold the machine and the bucket.  It has 4" wheels, which can go from carpet to hardwood.  If you can find 6" wheels that is even better!  This cart fits though doorways and after a lot of rearranging, fits around our furniture.  

When I opened the box the first thing I did was make sure everything was there.  There were 4 wheels, 4 wheel protectors, 8 nuts and bolts with washers, 2 shelves, 2 handles, a small wrench, and a hex key.  I read the directions completely and followed them exactly.  I put it together by myself since Hubby is already asleep and I really didn't want him to do anything until he sees the surgeon again.  

Before assembling I used sanitizing wipes to clean every piece of the cart.  When I cleaned the handles the cloth was definitely black with dirt.  The shelves have a protective cover, which was a pain to get off, so when I cleaned them, the cloth still looked clean.  But it is a good idea to do it anyway, particularly if you are using it for medical equipment.

Assembling the cart - If you have someone to help you, it will make putting the shelves on easier.  I was able to do it alone, but it would have been nice to have help.  I loosely attached the screws, as per the instructions, and then when both shelves were attached I used the wrench and the hex key to tighten them.  At first I used the hex key to hold the bolt in place and the wrench to make it tighter, but I found it much easier to use the wrench to hold the bolt and the hex key to make it tighter.

The wheels were pretty easy to attach.  Don't turn the whole wheel, just turn the piece that actually screws into the cart.  It took me about 30 minutes to put the entire cart together.  It took me about 30 minutes to make sure all the pieces were there, wipe all the pieces down, and get that plastic off of the shelves.  So plan for about an hour to put the cart together, with help you could probably do this in about half the time.

Have a specific question about why I picked this cart?  Just leave a comment with your question and I would be happy to answer it.  Hopefully I covered everything that is important in the above text.

A little note about The Webstaurant Store - I ordered it in the morning and by the afternoon they had shipped my cart and it arrived the next day.  I just paid for standard shipping, so I was quite impressed.  They have a map on their site that will give you the amount of time it will take for your item to arrive.

Over the top

A friend told me tonight that I tend to go over the top with some things since my husband has been diagnosed.  Actually she didn't add the "since your husband has been diagnosed" since she has only known me during that time.  But yes, I have changed a lot since his diagnosis.

Why am I writing this post?  I want my friends to know that I don't mean to go crazy by eliminating all plastic from our lives, growing my own food to prevent chemicals from being part of our diet, and being so careful about what my family eats.  I'm doing it because I feel helpless to do anything else.  I can't perform a miracle to save my husband's life, this is the only thing I can do.  I can control what goes into his body to try to keep him as healthy as possible.  I can stop the chemicals in plastic from leaching into our food by storing it all in glass.  I can prevent chemicals and antibiotics and who knows what else from entering our bodies by growing and cooking everything myself and buying only from local farmers that I know well.  Am I being extreme?  Maybe.  Is my family worth it?  Absolutely.  Do I judge anyone for the choices they make in regards to food, plastic, and things they put in there bodies?  Never.  We all have to do what we think is best for ourselves.  When I say I worry about something or I won't eat a particular something, I'm not trying to preach, judge, or say someone else is wrong to make a different choice.  I need to do this, over the top or not, this is something I need to do.  Even if the only benefit is that I feel like I am doing something to save my husband's life.  I do hope my friends can understand that.

Checklist for PD

I have made a couple of posts that include items you will need to purchase for starting and continuing PD.  To make things easier I have created a printable check list that can be found here.  Make sure you not only print out one for yourself, but print them out for friends and family so that they are able to help you by buying some of the items on your list.  I know how hard it is to ask for help, but I'm learning that people do want to help and giving them a way to help makes them feel good.  I have been very blessed by my friends.

Clothes for after surgery and beyond

There are some things that you should be told BEFORE surgery that you aren't.  One of them being, you will need new clothes.  Depending on the doctor, the catheter will be placed around where your belt area might be.  It also depends on how you wear your shorts and pants.  If you wear them so the world can see your underwear, you will be fine, but if like my Husband, you like your underpants to be covered, you may need to purchase larger sized pants.  You don't want anything tight where the catheter is, so belts are not an option, so the choices come down to - larger pants with suspenders, regular sized pants worn below your catheter, or pants worn with the waist ban above your catheter (this option could be a little scary if there is a chance of them falling down and pulling on your catheter).

Hubby hasn't really decided which he prefers, but all of the options require the purchase of new shorts and pants.  This would have been easier before the surgery, when I had a little more time to shop.  Today I went to a few stores with my daughters and we had a hard time finding anything that would work.  We did end up with two pairs that seem to work, but that do require suspenders, which he doesn't own.

If you are having a surgery that affects your waist line area, consider doing some clothes shopping before so you will be prepare.