HAPPY NEW YEAR, and HUGS AND KISSES TO ALL!!!!!!!!!

Now that it's 12:11AM here, on the East Coast (Cleveland, where I am for the holidays and past), let me say:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!
And, especially if you don't really have anyone to kiss...
A lifetime of hugs and kisses to one and to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love you!!
My Myspace and Facebook friends, as well as my blog readers, really and truly made 2009 one of the best years I had in ages...or possibly ever.
Together, may we make 2010 even better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
God bless you, and may we all be healthier, feel healthier, and have plenty of prosperity and good fortune in 2010 and in all the years to come!!!!!
Love ya, a gazillion times over, love ya!!!!!!

Quick-quick update

That cold I had this week seems to be clearing up. Still have a scratchy throat, but I think that'll clear up well, as it has.
I will confirm, though, that I have peritonitis (again). Oh, no biggie...y'know? This is only the 4th time in two years that I've had peritonitis. Every time has been dialysis-induced, just like the damn hemo infections I had over the last two years! But really...no big deal, right??
Damn!! This time, I'm getting chills terribly too! That, I'm pretty sure is new.
We have NO idea for sure what caused it this time. I'm pretty careful when I do my treatments. But, I am only human...possibly I accidentally contaminated something. (For the record, I am slowly beginning to HATE the word "contamination.") Or, possibly, I took too much Excedrin and gave myself another ulcer...which can well be causing this whole mess.
I don't know. All I know is, this is horrible timing, because I now hope to "fly away" on Monday night...so I'd better get better by then!!!!
Besides, I hate hospitals so much!!!
I'll keep you posted, but I can't stay here too long. I'm pretty damn sick.
xoxo

Another dialysis-induced infection~~

Looks like I probably have peritonitis (again). The last two nights, my "initial drain" was red and cloudy. Red isn't that hard to take. It just means that I did something that put too much strain on the "PD" catheter, and it started bleeding. However, with no kidneys, I would not want to cause too much bleeding, because if I get too anemic, I'll have to get Epogen injections, probably twice a week or so. And that's no fun! Cloudy, on the other hand, means that I probably have peritonitis (again). Oh, I've only had it four times in two and a half years. When does it all end, or does it ever end??!!! Why can't I be absolutely fed up with this nonsense???
The timing couldn't have been worse, either. I'm flying to Cleveland for the holidays...leaving this Thursday. I REALLY didn't need to get peritonitis this soon before leaving for my Christmas vacation, and I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't need this peritonitis to ruin my Christmas!!!!!!!!!! Bad enough that the two times I wound up in the hospital with this illness, were on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day (both in 2008). Those were hard enough. If I have to spend Christmas in the hospital, that's it...I will absolutely feel like quitting all dialysis treatments of any kind!!!!
The first time I had peritonitis, in the summer of 2007, it was mild, as it is now (so far). I gave myself antibiotics for two weeks, it cleared up, I was fine. In 2008, I almost died twice. The first of those two times, I was severely dehydrated too, complete with dizzy spells and passing out, which was why Dad had to carry me to his car, and I had to be in a wheelchair when we waited in the Emergency Room. The second time, in May of 2008, I was in so much pain that I was reduced to crawling. I was home, so Mom called 9-1-1, and two paramedics came and had to scrape me off the floor as though I was a damn fried egg. This time, I hardly have any symptoms, other than a little cramping. Today, I started with the antibiotic thing, so hopefully we're catching it soon enough this time that I will be spared of another hospital stay, because that is what would ruin my Christmas!!
I have had enough dialysis-related infections already. And the time I was on hemodialysis was no exception. No peritonitis...but plenty of systemic infections, which are infections that are detected in a person's blood. One of those infections that I remember well was in the summer of 2008...Every time I went for hemo. treatment, during treatment, I got terrible chills, and almost unbearable muscle aches, including bad headaches. Some time after being disconnected, the symptoms cleared up. That's how we knew it was from the hemo. catheter. In January of this year, I had a graft put in my right arm. The dialysis nurse promised me I'd have a lower chance of getting infections. A month later, the graft got infected and had to be taken out.
I've had too many infections already...I'm fed up!!! I've had it!!! How much clearer can I possibly be??? I am sick and tired of being sick and tired!!!
Excuse me. This is my blog. I will sneak in here and vent when I feel like I have to, so thanks for hearing me out.
Happy Holidays!!!!
xoxo

A bit of transplant info~~

It's been a busy few weeks here.
Although, with only two weeks before Christmas, and I still haven't started writing out greeting cards, I really should get to that...
But, I also want to give you a little bit of education, on Living vs. Cadaver kidneys...stressing how much more beneficial it would be for me to have a living, rather than cadaver, donor. And, I want to give you a little insight as to what the first two months or so, following my transplant, will be like...so you know.
Living donor kidneys have a greater chance of working immediately, following the transplant, and also a greater chance of staying working longer, than cadaver donor kidneys. Plus, a living donor kidney has probably been out of its original owner for less time than the average cadaver kidney.
Now then...the first two months or so, after transplant. For me, that means, a lot of doctor's appointments, which will be important for me to keep. Literally, my life will depend on keeping every appointment, and following doctor's orders. I'll have many anti-rejection meds to take, daily, and every certain number of hours apart like clockwork...no exceptions. In those first critical weeks, I'll have to rest much. I won't be able to drive, nor will I be able to lift anything over 5 lbs. And, I may have restrictions as far as whether I can walk up and down stairs right away. Oh, yes, and also, no going grocery shopping or being ANYWHERE where there are crowds, because as my immune system is compromised, I'll be very susceptible to even the slightest little cold, and if I'm not careful, that could kill the new kidney, and I'd end up back on f***ing dialysis again. So...no crowds, especially in the beginning. I'll be very fragile those first two months...I'll have stitches. They STITCH the new kidney in place...they don't weld it in and secure it with nuts and bolts, like a damn car. And it'll be up to me to rest plenty and not push myself too hard, so that it can all heal up properly. Will I be able to keep up my share of the housework?? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for reading on. I hope I've given you at least a little bit of useful information...food for thought.
Later, tweethearts!!!
xoxo