When I was diabetic(nice ring to it, huh?), I dreaded taking my blood sugar because I never knew what the judgmental meter was going to tell me. Since I've come home, my blood sugar varies between 95-105 ALL THE TIME. It makes me want to check my blood sugar just for fun. And maybe share it with everyone, because I'm proud, like I accomplished something…ha! As a diabetic, of course I took credit for good blood sugars, I guess I've got to let that one go now...
Other stuff to do: Apply a dressing. Uh oh. My incision is oozing really weird looking kinda-blood-kinda-not stuff. A lot of it. I need to call my nurse. Finish the rest of the morning. Try to eat. I get down a slice of bread with butter - small victory! Fold laundry and prepare stuff for work. The day goes by faster than I planned. I call my nurse with my list of concerns: I'm having night sweats, my nose is running and I have a little cough, my gums are swollen and tender, and my incision is oozing. I don't even know if any of these are important or not. She doesn't call me back. Pick up daughter's band shirt, go to grocery store, cook dinner, start the evening taxi route. Kids asleep tonight by 9:10 - awesome.
I have a few more things to finish for work tonight and then I'm done. I'll go to bed AND I wont have to do dialysis. There will be no throwing away old saline, no sanitizing, no setting machine up, and especially no alarms during the night. I will not be tethered to a 20 foot leash. I can check on my children without following a multi-step medical procedure to disconnect and remain safe. And I will wake up when my alarm goes off, not on final drain with a jarring tug.
Maybe its sinking in. Twenty two years of diabetes and a year and a half of end stage renal disease are over. It's surprisingly easy to adjust. There are very few down sides. The pain is slowly subsiding, I am slowly getting more energy.
Hi, I'm Michelle. :)
I am not diabetic. :)
I do not have kidney failure. :)
I think I'll start introducing myself that way. :)
Michelle I saw ur post on Kidney/pancreas group on facebook (i am also a member)and have read ur blog. first, congrats! I had my transplant on 6/13/12 so i can relate to the newness of the transplant. I had been diabetic for 20 years and also spent 18 months doing PD at home at night on that dreaded machine. `when I returned home I couldnt get the unused supplies picked up fast enough! when they took my pd cath out they left it open to heal from the inside out, i couldnt look at it for weeks! 4 months later my life is great, i am me again and I let everyone know! best wishes to you!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to you! I hope you have continued success! Thank you for reading!
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