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Johnson putting on his brave
face...we take a breath...we think the worst is over.
I take this picture of
myself! Yes I know it is not very flattering and in reality
I'm much better looking! But if Johnson is willing for us to
all look at him...I think you all deserve to see me at my best!
Ha ha! As you can see...I am rather pale and gross looking.
This is me saying YUCK!
I show Johnson the picture I
just took of myself! He is in pain and tells me to stop making
him laugh cause it hurts!
Our nurse hooks up our first
bag of fluids...it weighs 5lbs. This fluid will be inserted
every 4 hours into Johnson's abdomen where it will sit 4 hours and
then be drained. This is called an exchange. So if you
think Johnson is looking a little bloated, think about an extra 5lbs
of fluid you have to carry around all the time! Johnson will
have to do 4 exchanges a day. Each exchange take approximately
40 minutes.
The exchanges are NOT successful. No fluid goes
in and none comes out. It is suspected there is some type of
blockage in the catheter. Heparin is injected into his
catheter to dissolve any fibrous material which could be clogging
the catheter.
Here we are leaving day one. We must now wait
overnight and try again.
That night is hard on Johnson and I. The
reality of dialysis hits us HARD! We have a good cry...OK I
have a good cry...he does not like what has happened to him.
He does not want to have to do dialysis for years while he waits for
a kidney. I have started the testing to see if I can give him
one of my kidneys. Our blood type matches...my tests continue
this week, and if I am accepted, we hope to do the kidney transplant
by January 2007. Wish me luck!
DAY 2
Our nurse collects fluids from Johnson dialysis bag,
as our first attempt at dialysis today is not successful.
There is still blockage. Our nurse tries the push/pull
technique with the needle injected directly into Johnson's catheter
to see if she can pull out any dissolved fibrous material which
could be blocking his catheter.
Many attempts at dialysis again today, none
successful. More Heparin is injected and we will try again
tomorrow. Looks like the catheter is either really blocked, or
may have moved into uncharted territory. We are scheduled to
go for a special x-ray on Thursday where they will inject a small
wire into his catheter to see if they can remove any blockage.
If during the x-ray they see that the catheter has moved, then
another surgery may be necessary for Johnson to put it back into
proper place. This x-ray procedure can be uncomfortable for
Johnson...we have come to learn that uncomfortable really means
PAINFUL!
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DAY 3
We are to meet with Johnson's
diabetic doctor. So far you have just heard about our
Nephrologists (Kidney doctors). Today we talk more diabetes.
You see...Johnson has two very critical illnesses. Type 1
Diabetes, and Renal Failure (Kidney Failure). Each is dealt
with individually and then collectively. I will update you all
again when I can.
We met with Johnson's new
diabetic doctor. He was a very stern Doctor, who definitely
intimidated us and didn't have much of a bedside manner! After
he found out Johnson was from Pakistan he loosened up and even
cracked a smile at one of our jokes.
Johnson is to take a few more
units of insulin each time now to try and bring his blood sugars a
little lower during dialysis, as the dialysis fluid is full of
glucose. We ran into a fellow Innovapost colleague at the
diabetic centre, who has been diabetic for over 21 years and it was
nice to see a familiar face.
Johnson learns to add Heparin
to his CAPD bags. (Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis) or PD
for short. He must be extremely sterile when doing this to
ensure he does not contaminate anything, or else he must throw
everything away on this table and start again.
Johnson practices his proper
handwashing techniques. He thinks his hands are very clean.
Then our nurse has Johnson rub a lotion on his hands which glows in
the dark under a blue light to show us where there is still
bacteria. Let's just say...his hands were VERY blue!
ewe!
Johnson learns to draw out
Heparin without contaminating anything first time round! Guess
it's been those 24 years of drawing out insulin which makes this
easy for him.
Johnson must inject the
Heparin into his practice bag without contamination. He does
great!
Tomorrow we will meet the
radiologist who will try to unblock his PD catheter.
DAY 4
Today we attempt to unblock
Johnson's PD catheter at the General Hospital.
Johnson checks in to
radiology. I am holding my breath and am nervous. This
procedure is known to be uncomfortable.
This day is a bust. The
radiologist meets with us to discuss the procedure. He finds
out Johnson's catheter has been in for 8 years unused, and tells us
there is a 0 to 1% chance this procedure will actually unclog his
catheter. He refuses to try and sends us back to the Riverside
Hospital to be reassessed by his doctors. The Radiologist
suggests that we have the surgery to remove this old catheter and
add a new one.
The doctor on rotation in the
dialysis unit today agrees with the Radiologist, and then it is
decided that tomorrow we will try injecting dye into his catheter to
see if there is any flow. We feel this is going to be a waste
of time. Most likely we will need the surgery. The
problem with this is that we will need to schedule this operation,
then once the operation is performed, Johnson will need at least 4
weeks to heal before the catheter can be used for dialysis.
What could happen? Johnson's health could deteriorate over
this time period and he could get very ill. If that were to
happen, then Johnson will have to have
Emergency Hemodialysis performed through a vein in his neck.
Yuck! So far this week has been a week of Stop and Go for us,
which has been emotionally exhausting. We catch naps whenever
we can! Depending on what we are told tomorrow, you may all
see us back at work on Monday if we have to do the waiting game.
Please send prayers our way! I will update you all when I can.
Continued...
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