Here's some good news: Joe went to the surgery center on Monday and the doc said that he has "a beautiful fistula". So.....he started to use his fistula this week at dialysis! Apparently, however, the technicians at the dialysis center don't know how to find the veins yet...so he's actually using BOTH the fistula and the catheter. Basically, this means that they will use a needle in the fistula to remove the blood and then will filter the blood back in through the catheter. They will do this until they can start using the fistula for both removing and replacing his blood. Not sure if I explained that correctly or not. Long story short...it will still be a little while until they take his catheter out and he's able to swim.
As for me: I've had another nasty bout of feeling yucky: sinus/asthma/allergies/coughing/tired/achy/etc. No fever this time...but I had a mild asthma attack yesterday. I can't remember the last time I had one!
To catch you up...ever since we moved to Arizona, I've been using up an inhaler a month (which is bascially BAD in terms of asthma). So they put me on a steroid inhaler a few months back and that eliminated my needing to use my "rescue" inhaler every day. The rescue inhaler is to be used for immediate relief...the steriod inhaler is used to prevent the need for the rescue inhaler. Anyway, it seemed to work okay. But now that they are getting rid of the way inhalers were previously made (to reduce the CFCs released into the atmosphere), for some reason they switched me to Asmanex (the commercials you see on TV). It doesn't work at all. I used it every day as directed. And I STILL needed to use the rescue inhaler pretty much every day. The main rule regarding rescue inhalers is that if you're needing to use it daily, then your asthma is not under control.
Anyway, because of my sinus issues, my asthma has flared up over the past couple days and I ended up going to the doctor yesterday. He is having me start an oral steroid to reduce the inflammation in my lungs/bronchioles. It's only a 5 day treatment and I'm meeting with him again next week to follow up on it. I hope it works because he said that if it doesn't work, my breathing problems may not necessarily be asthma. So all in all, I'm hoping it works!
On a side note, I try to walk Lucy for 2 miles a day. I've slacked a little this week because of my breathing and sinus stuff. But anyway, on our walks we usually see something new every time. So....I wanted to share with everyone the wildlife that lives within a square mile of where we live:
There are so many jackrabbits around. I love them! I usually see at least 2 each day. They usually hide under short shrubs and, if they see Lucy coming, they generally run away in a flash.
This is a shovel-nosed snake. I was walking with Lucy one night. We were on the sidewalk and all of a sudden I heard a rustling next to us. It was a cream colored snake, no longer than a foot (or so I remember), and it fled away in a creepy s-shaped slither. After that walk, I searched online for snakes native to Arizona and this was it. Fit the description to a "t". Creepy, huh? But no worries...it's saliva is only MILDLY toxic.
On the same night as the snake spotting, I saw an owl perched towards the top of a really tall tree. I actually stopped Lucy because I wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things. But it was definitely an owl. I waited long enough to see its head move...so I know it wasn't one of those fake ones. Plus...I always look up in that same tree and I haven't seen it since.Finally...
Who knew there were bats in Arizona? I know that may sound like a dumb question...but I seriously never thought I'd see a bat in the middle of urban Phoenix. Several times (and it's equally as cool each time I see it), I've noticed bats flying around near the tree tops. Palm trees mostly...which is even weirder. Dusk is the time I have mostly seen these guys. It's so weird because, at first, I thought that there were some sick birds flying with broken wings because they kept flying in a weird, spastic pattern. But alas...they were bats.Also.......and only if you're REALLY lucky......you might even spot a BEAGLE!
Until next time,
XOXO
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