18 | August | 2016 | WEGGIEBOY'S BLOG by Doug Thomas

This is the post I tried to do last Monday but was unable to complete because of photo uploading issues. Thanks to the IT people on WordPress, this finally is ready to go! The solution to the problem – no sheep had to be sacrificed…WHEW! – was to use a new link to this site instead of the one I got back in 2009. Makes no sense to me, but I am pleased to be back…I hope!!!

Dialysis is relatively routine, yet it gobbles up at least five hours at a time, three times a week. Some weeks, side issues to dialysis gobble further time. For example, this past Friday, I had an appointment before dialysis to get my dialysis fistula checked with an ultrasound.

81316 arrows on fiastulA SITE

Gad! That light-colored streak across my arm is sunlight, not a scar! My arms’s marked to aid in hitting the spot to get the best source of blood. Notice the cat hair trapped on the bandage???

I like ultrasound appointments. First of all, Peggy, the person who does them, is very time-conscious. If you get there before the appointment time, you may get in before scheduled. Great! But you still wait.

81316 waiting in the waiting room

The fellow going down the hallway will have to turn left at the end to get to the dialysis unit. This was one day Peggy was behind time as my appointment was for 9:00.

Friday was a bit better than usual because Beth, the nurse who hooks me up to the dialysis machine, wanted to be there during the ultrasound look at the dialysis fistula. We shared photos on our smart phones and had a nice chat while waiting.

There was some concern about the maturity of the fistula for use and where best to poke the needle in to get adequate blood flow. Ick! But necessary detail, I assure you! Beth wanted to mark the identified sites with a black Sharpie (unfortunate name for the pen…!) so she could poke those spots for my next dialysis session. That was to happen shortly after the ultrasound evaluation.

This is my view in the dialysis unit. There’s a television connected with a satellite television service to occupy us for the four hours of dialysis. The dialysis machine on the right side of the photo is one of six in the unit. I named mine R2D2, though “he” is a lot taller than the original R2D2 in Star Wars. I guess “he” grew up!

Marked up, I marched through the hallway to the dialysis unit. Thanks to the arrows, Beth was able to get good blood flow and I had an uneventful session.

Still having problems with uploading photos, so this is another retro post of old photos that did upload till as recently as the 13th of August. It is frustrating! The WordPress help people are working on the problem with me, and I hope something comes of it soon.

Till then, here are the kitties!

Well, I lied! That's a dog, eh?! His name's Benji and he is learning to be a service dog. He lives with Anarette in Florida.

Well, I lied! That’s a pup, eh?! His name’s Benji and he is learning to be a service dog. Good boy! He lives with Anarette in Florida.

Andy, relaxing on the washer, one of his favorite haunts. That machine was replaced with one that has no kitty perch, but it has a port where you can watch the clothes being tossed and turned. Both Andy and Dougy love that!