in the immortal words of STEAM

na na na na

na na na na

hey hey hey

GOODBYE!

Joe is getting his catheter out tomorrow because they've been using his fistula successfully now. YAHOO!!! This means he can probably fully go swimming this weekend. It's so exciting!! [by "fully" I mean that he won't have to only go up to waist anymore]

So.......

Bye-bye, catheter. We'll really miss you catheter.....................NOT!!!

still alive

I know it's been a couple weeks since our last blog. Life definitely runs away with you sometimes. But I just wanted to say, "We're still here. We're still alive!"

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

Stuff

I figured I'd contribute, here's some random stuff.

It's freakin' hot ! 88 degrees today, and it's only been spring for three days. Because of my catheter, I cannot swim, and I'm not supposed to even shower. Thank God I got the fistula, as soon as it matures in a month or so I'll be able to swim, which is good because it'll probably be in the 100's by then. My fistula surgery went well, I went back to work today.

Our dog is a terror. It's like she forgot all her training, unless there's food involved. She only comes near us to nip at us, and cannot calmly sit on our laps or allow us to pet her. Occasionally she'll bring us a toy and allow us to play tugowar or throw it for her. I think she needs another dog to play with, or more training stat.

Arizona sucks for allergies. T has been sick for three days. She's pretty miserable.

That is all for now, I'm going to beat the dog.

-Joe(hammed)

March Madness

1. Joe gets his av fistula surgery tomorrow afternoon. YUCK! Hopefully there will come a day...and soon!!...when he won't have to be stabbed by doctors all the time. He needs a break!
2. Lucy is cute!
   
3. I forgot to fill out and submit my MarchMadness brackets for our work game pool - which means I'm not going to win!!!
4. Maybe we'll win PowerBall tonight instead?

Lucy likes sleeping on Joe's lap with her head at his feet.

Proof here is. Blogging Joe does.

Hemo Rhymes with Chemo

For those who aren't fully up-to-date on everything going on, we sincerely apologize. Life has...(how shall we put it?)...been a little on the hectic side for the past several months. Here's a quick recap, though, to catch you up:

• The Christmas season began to approach (way too quickly, as always) and Joe's vision became a little spotted.
• Joe decided to visit the eye doctor to see what is wrong.
  
• The optometrist told him to go to the ER right away because of high blood pressure (which was causing his optic nerve to pull away, thus causing spotty vision).
• Joe was admitted overnight for observation. The original plan was to get him on blood pressure control medication and send him home.
• But days passed and, after many tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, and a kidney biopsy, it was decided that he was in the end stages of kidney failure, or End Stage Renal Disease (which I will refer to as ESRD from now on).
  
• They discovered (somehow) that his ESRD was caused by a disease called Glomerulonephritis, specifically IgA Nephropathy, more specifically Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis. I've researched a LOT about this, but don't want to go into TOO much detail right now, otherwise this post will be a bojillion pages long.
• As a result of this disease, in which the immune system progressively destroys the kidneys, they decided to put him on chemotherapy (to sort of "attack" his immune system so that it would stop harming his own kidneys).
• After two rounds of chemo, Joe's lab results showed that his kidney function was getting worse.
• His doctors sent us to a modality class, which explain different methods of treatment for ESRD
  
• The options (and I'm TOTALLY paraphrasing here): Hemodialysis (a process done in a lab in which they remove the blood, filter out the toxins and return the blood to the body), Peritoneal dialysis (a process you can do yourself in which a solution is infused into the peritoneal cavity, the solution then acts as a magnet for all the toxins in the blood and then the solution with all toxins is removed from the peritoneal cavity), Transplantation, or no treatment (which would, obviously, have the worst effects).
  
• Joe's preference (in order): transplantation, peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis
• Because of the negative results of Joe's most recent bloodwork, he got a call late on Friday saying that they needed to start dialysis right away and, because of the urgency of it all, hemodialysis was the option available.
  
• Normally, in order to start hemodialysis, an arteriovenous fistula needs to be formed in the arm to allow for maximum blood flow. This is where a vein is fused with a major artery in the arm to make a sort of "SuperVein". This fistula, however, takes at least a couple months to mature and become strong enough for treatment.
• So....the only way to get quick access to Joe's blood was to put in a venous catheter in through his neck. It sounds kind of gruesome, but isn't that bad. It is a little scary to think about since the catheter goes in to the superior vena cava of the heart (for those who don't remember from 7th grade science class...it's the major vein that carries blood directly to the heart)...but it's something that is temporary...to be used until he has a chance for a fistula to mature.
• Catheter was put in on Monday morning.
• First dialysis treatment was this afternoon and...so far, so good. Joe's relaxing on the couch now with Lucy laying across his lap (she's FINALLY calming down).
• Now he begins treatment 3 times each week in addition to a very strict diet. FUN! At least we'll get to keep cooking new things and learning how to be more healthy (hey...I'm trying to put a positive outlook on this!)
  

Sorry for the earful....I just wanted to keep you all informed as best as I can for now. I don't know when dialysis patients start to notice results, but his first treatment was today, so hopefully there will be notable difference in his next round of lab tests. I've heard that a lot of people start to feel so much better, healthier, happier, having more energy, feeling less sick, etc. etc. etc. Ideally, Joe would like a transplant. And, since he's so young (and has 3 beautiful and healthy sisters who, we believe, are all willing to donate), he's a great candidate for transplantation. But [in the interim] I really hope this treatment works well for him because...well...that would just be wonderful if it did!

So wish him the best and MORE...

We'll definitely keep you posted.

Until next time,
XOXO