A Hard Day, But A Good Day

Yesterday was a rough day...the first day to use the fistula for dialysis. That means real needles in the arm as opposed to just connecting via the catheter. Things went well at the beginning and during treatment. However, when they took Brian off the machine there were some complications. Something called "infiltration" happened. That means the vein continued to bleed, but the blood stayed under the skin causing pain and swelling. The dialysis staff and Dr. Wahba got things under control pretty quickly, but now the arm is swollen and pretty ugly!! This will mean that it's back to the catheter for a while.

Came across this quote the other day that seemed to be appropriate yesterday:

"If God sends us stony paths, He will provide us with strong shoes."

Our "strong shoes" have come in the form of great people who have been so encouraging and supportive during this time. You can see some of this in the photo above. Brian's former co-workers at Country Hills School in Brea sent him a very generous care package full of good wishes and gift cards...it was just like Christmas!!! Thanks to everyone at Country Hills :)

A Great View

Brian has the best seat in the house at the dialysis unit. (There actually are no bad seats.) It's like a corner suite! The view is beautiful. It's so nice that they have a webcam on the building that broadcasts the scenery on the TV in the unit. We wanted to post some scenery pics, but it's been very foggy in the mornings. This shot of some of the trees is the best we could do. Hopefully we'll get some more later if the weather gets better.

Dr. Wahba saw Brian during his treatment yesterday. He was very happy with the most recent lab work, and he thinks Brian will do well on three and a half hours of treatment as opposed to four. It's always nice to hear that things are working as they should.

Friends

Brian took advantage of a day off from dialysis to visit his friends at Western Oregon University. They have been such supportive friends. While he was still able to work, they watched out for him and did some of his more strenuous duties. When he was no longer able to work, many of them generously donated sick leave for him. Big thanks to all our friends at WOU!!

Corvallis

Brian had his first treatment at the Corvallis unit today. It's a nice unit with a wonderful view. We'll post some pictures of it later...it was too dark/foggy this morning. The treatment was 3 and a half hours and went well. His regular time will be 6:15 beginning on Tuesday. Again...thanks for all the kind notes and support from you all!!

First Treatment

Brian had his first dialysis treatment on Tuesday at the Albany unit. It was a short run...just 2 hours. He did very well and has much more energy today than he has had in quite a while. We did some shopping this morning and went for a long walk this afternoon. Tomorrow he will dialyze again for a little longer period. On Saturday we will be moving his treatment to a unit in Corvallis (about 10 miles away, but very near his doctor). This is due to a mix-up with insurance info...the Albany unit is actually considered "out-of-network" for our insurance plan. His regular time in Corvallis will be 6:30am to 10:30am on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The early bird (Brian) is very happy with that time, but I say UGH!! Just kidding...we are grateful to have such good treatment....at any time!!

The Catheter is In

Today Dr. Hamlin (who also did one of Brian's recent biopsies) put in the temporary catheter for dialysis. It was an outpatient procedure, so Brian is home tonight. For now Ashley and I are just trying to keep him comfortable. He's holding up amazingly well, and we are proud of him : )

Tomorrow he will have a short (2 hours) dialysis treatment at the unit here in Albany.

A Splurge Before Dialysis

One thing we really miss up here is El Pollo Loco. A few months ago they opened one near Portland...about 70 miles (one way!). Well, we are a little "loco", so yesterday we drove up for lunch. Kind of a last splurge before beginning dialysis. I'm telling you, we are working hard to keep Brian fattened up...so pretty much whatever he wants to eat he gets it...as long is it isn't detrimental to his health!!