July

July has come and gone--dialysis training is almost done.  John has passed all the exams in order to start home treatments.  His fistula is mature enough to use, so he needs to practice with it and it will become bigger and easier to use.  Monday was the first run with the fistula, and he was severely bruised.  He will be doing treatments exclusively at home within the next couple of weeks.

The treatments are working well.  John pulls his own blood and sends it for analysis each week.  There are five pages of results, measuring all aspects of kidney and dialysis function.  All of his bloodwork is now showing 'normal' --or expected-- range for his goals.

One of the nutritional goals for John is to consume 81g of protein each day.  Doctor's orders: eat steak.  I don't think this part of the treatment bothers him.  Shrimp and salmon, too.

The home machine was delivered yesterday, and next week we expect a supply for one month of dialysis to be delivered.  78 boxes.  Each of John's treatments use 20L of dialysate.  He does 6 treatments per week, each treatment takes 5-6 hours.  It's like having a full-time job!

Once we have the home treatments as routine, we will begin the protocol for the HepC.  I believe that will take about 12 weeks, at which point John will be placed on the transplant list as 'active'.  The transplant list is slow-moving, he will probably wait for 5-7 years for a deceased donor match.  A living donor is a far better option, I will post more about that later.

We have done some normal family things this month, as well:  family reunions, beach days, and watching good friends complete an Ironman event in Lake Placid.  John has not had energy for this type of activity in a long time, so this is great!

Happy summer!  And as always--thanks for the positive thoughts and prayers.