Pictures of the Day 12/15/09 and Blog- Fistula

[MikeF9]

Tuesday December 15, 2009
Pictures of the Day



There is a large menorah on the Green at the University of Vermont. We were at a stoplight when I noticed it. I scrambled to grab my camera and got two pictures. Photos were taken Saturday, as you can see two "candles" were lit.

FISTULA
On January 13th, I will be going in to have a fistula put in my wrist, in anticipation of going on hemodialysis in the future.
An artery goes down one side of your arm and into your hand, does a u-turn, and travels back up the other side of your arm.
On one side, they will make an incision, and connect one of the arteries to a vein, allowing for better blood flow to the vein. When I am on dialysis, they will insert needles into the vein and hook me up to a machine, which will filter my blood.
Sigh.
I am still fighting to remain as healthy as I can for as long as I can. My doctor even admitted that this may be Murphy's Law. I get a fistula, stay healthy, and a kidney comes along, so I never have to go on dialysis. Here's hoping.
The doctor, back when I saw him around Thanksgiving, also said that one thing I have in my favor, is that I only have the polysystic kidney disease. Sometimes a lot of patients also battle diabetes, or heart disease, or take handfuls of medicine daily for other things, all which can further help in the deterioration of the kidney.
I will probably be out of work for a week or so. I also need to be careful not to use it for a while, not lift heavy things with it, etc.
A friend of Anthony's went through a kidney transplant, and I talked with him about it. He had me touch his fistula, and it kinda freaked me out. I thought it was a little pump or something, because you could feel it vibrating or buzzing. It is simply the turbulance of the blood flowing through the fistula.
What happens will happen, I guess.
I'm just going to keep chugging along.

[Henry]

Keep your spirits up Mike - Seems like every time I go some place I run into someone who has had a really rough time with something.  Met one of my fellow retirees, some 10 years younger than I am yesterday, who has really been through so much, I hardly recognized him.

Last night about midnight, something prompted me to turn my front light on and as I looked out there was light snow falling.  I turned all the lights off in the house, the TV was off and I just sat there in my Lazy Boy watching it snow and thinking how fortunate I really am.

Mike, you have so many things to be thankful for and we in turn have so many things to thankful for that we have you.  Your many contributions to the community are felt by many of us and it is our hope that things, as my Mother always told me, "Will always work out for the best."

[MikeF9]

I hang on to two things my parents told me.
My father once said, "Everything has a way of working out."
Mom once said, "God never gives you something you can't handle."
Although I am not really a religious person, I do think that some things happen for a reason.

Thank you for the kind words, Henry.
I'll hang in there.

[NorthFairfaxBoy]

Does the green have a Nativity scene?

[MikeF9]

I didn't notice, and to be honest, I wasn't looking for one. The menorah caught my eye.