Gerald Slept Here!

[Whamo]

That sounds crazy to me.  I cramp like crazy when they take out more than 4.0.  And I'm 186 lbs.  That's a big strain on the heart muscle.  That could set you up for conjestive heart failure.  I take plenty of Standard Process "Cardio-Plus" to keep my ejection fraction up.  Mine has been as low as 19, and it was 75 during my last check.  70 is considered normal.  The lower, the weaker you are.  Have you been watching your fluid intake?  That must have been a horrible experience.  I wish I had the home dialysis.  I would love to just do an hour of "D" a night instead of sitting in the chair for 4 hours, and then some, waiting for them to finish up. 

[Gerald Lively]

Dialysis day.  Afternoon, about 12:30 PM.  Wife drives me to town because she wants to do some shopping.  I ask her to make a quilt, a big one with a dog-bone in the middle and doggie decorations where she thinks it looks good.  Yesterday she visited a fabric store.  The day before she visited a fabric store. The day before that she visited a fabric store.  Hey, there is only so much money in the world and I reason that she can’t possibly spend it all.  Can she?

Meanwhile I am planted in the dialysis chair, hooked up to a machine via two lines the size of a fish-tank tube.  Fish don’t blink, so I blink to make certain that I am not a fish. The equipment looks like a juke box and it goes click - click - click.  I find my foot waggling to the rhythmn of the dialysis machine.  My od, I must be warped.

Wife is supposed to stop at the gym and negotiate my membership.  I haven’t been in there since January 2011.  I was hoping they would give me another year.  With that I might start lifting again.

Wife goes to the gym.  Sees a sign announcing massages.  For $35 she goes in and has a massage.  Takes about an hour.  She comes out refreshed.  Forgets to ask about my membership problems.

Meanwhile, my butt is getting tired.  I do the shift to one cheek.  That works for about ten minutes.  Then I shift to the other cheek, another ten minutes.  I’m out of cheeks.  Two hours left. I am paralized from my ass to my knees.

Wife goes to a fabric store and sees a red fabric with little doggie bones on it.  She doesn’t buy anything.

By now I slip, or slump, lower in the chair, pull the blanket up and pretend to be asleep.  The Doctor sneaks up and loudly says, “Mr. Lively!”.  This guy is the devil.  He is grinning from ear to ear.  “Doctor Fergie,” I say, wiping my eyes.  I tell him I’ll be having my fourth surgery come Monday for this fistula business.  He looks sympathetic.  “Will it hurt?” I ask shyly.  “Its going to hurt like nothing you’ve ever felt,” he explains. He is a BSer so I think I’m okay. 

Then I hear a dialysis machine making odd noises.  Most of the patients have left, just three of us remain.  I hear something that sounds like hi-speed morse code. I’m picking up a character here and there but the sender is too fast.  It goes on for a while, so I call a tech over and ask him what it was.  At that very instant, it stopped.  I told him what I heard, he looks at me like I bonkers.  Never heard it after that.  PDST?  Tinnitus?

Wife comes in just as I got back to sleep.  She tells me about her day and how relaxed she feels.  I tell her about my day and how much my butt hurts. I ate two snacks and left a handful of grapes.  Mr. Bill, the boss there, told me most dialysis centers prohibit food in the dialysis room.  Maybe I will order a pizza next time.

They took out 2.5.  Creatinine is 2.9.  Everything else is good. Came home exhausted.

gerald

[galvo]

A pleasant day at the office.

[Gerald Lively]

This was sent to me from a truly good friend and veteran of the Intelligence Community in the Far East.  For all of these years he has been my guiding light.  Damn, we are getting old.  I weep, I swear to whatever God there is for setting this up.  Damn it to hell!!!!!  I will never be the same again.

Gerald

.................................................
You are aware that I have been seriously ill of late; the truth is that I came within 48 hours of “buying the farm” due to acute kidney failure.  In addition, prostate cancer has spread to the bone.  Depending on how aggressively the cancer is treated, the doctors estimate 12-36 months of life expectancy remaining – which is perfectly acceptable, since I am coming close to one’s normal life expectancy anyway.  Among other procedures, I will be undergoing procedures under general anesthetics as an in-patient on the operating table quarterly, probably for the rest of my life.

Our faith in the goodness of Almighty God sustains us in our times of need; we are indeed comforted by all of the blessings he provides us daily.  The outpouring of prayers storming heaven have surely been answered.
 
Sylvia and I wish to express our deep gratitude to the Knights of Columbus and our neighbors who have been and continue to help us during our hour of need.  Whatever Sylvia needed during my more than two weeks of treatment was provided for, whether it be transportation to/from the hospital and nursing home, taking her shopping, shopping for us.  I am still weak, and confined to the house except for necessary trips to the medical clinics.
 
I am able to negotiate the house with the aid of an electric scooter, which was provided for Sylvia’s use last year without charge through the assistance of KC-Help, a bank of durable medical equipment based in Kennewick.  It is my dream to have such a bank set up here in the Vancouver area, staffed by the Knights of Columbus.  Together, we can accomplish much more in the name of Charity than we can as individuals.

My youngest son, Donald, is preparing to move to Vancouver to live with us to help us with the tasks and chores that I can no longer do for us.  We are very grateful for his support; indeed, all three of our sons are being very supportive of us to the extent that they are able, not living here in the immediate vicinity.  We are fortunate to have three loving and caring sons.

Thank you for all of your best wishes and your concerns.  Especially keep the prayers going.  God always answers prayer, just not always as we would have it.  Remember – the emphasis should always be “Thy will be done!”

[willowtreewren]

  Gerald.

I think the thing that sucks the most about getting older (besides the onslaught of one's own infirmities) is the loss of our friends. It leaves such a hole in our lives.

 

[big777bill]

  Sorry to hear you friend is having such a tough time. It sounds like he's made his peace with God and is OK. God Bless you Gerald. God has touched your friend and eased his pain. He praises God even though he faces death. He is in good hands!

[Whamo]

Yes, it is one of the worst parts of getting older, seeing your friends pass.  My wife's ex-husband's mother, a dear friend, is in the IC ward, with pneumonia and a heart attack.  It's not so hard on me, but my wife and my son are definitely feeling it. 
I see my vascular surgeon next week.  My fistula is working, but only with the arterial vein.  I guess it takes time for the system to adapt to the stress of dialysis.  I walked 30 minutes at 2.8 mph three times yesterday, and it felt really good.  I listen to the doors or the stones or led zeppelin to make the time pass on the treadmill. 

[boswife]

Gl,,, this touches my very soull...  It hurts and what can we do about it but take it.  Well, and pray for peace with it. I survive by prayer, but it's still hard.  It's hard for me to watch Bo loose friends.  They are so dear to him and destroys another part of him each one he looses. This is my hardest part of life is watching others suffer these losses..  Im sorry Gerald and I wish you the same peace that your friend expresses..   
Wish i could change this sorrow for you

[ToddB0130]

Gerald .... if it brings you any comfort,  your friend is so very lucky to have you as his friend.  Just as we are all so lucky here that you joined this board.  You make a difference for him and for us.  Thanks for all you do.  My thooughts are with you and your friend.

[galvo]

'And like the old soldier in that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the sight to see that duty.'

Douglas MacArthur

[monrein]

I am touched by your love for and your tribute to your friend and also admire his courage and attitude...still thinking about others even as he is so obviously struggling. 
 

[Gerald Lively]

A Prayer for Duane:

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember . . .  nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. . . . be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and  . . . .   in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

I don't know what else I can say.

[del]

  Its so sad to have to say good bye to loved ones no matter how old they are.  He is very lucky to have you as a friend.

[Gerald Lively]

There remains a tight-knit group of us who participated in the pre-Vietnam/early Vietnam intelligence gathering under the authority of the NSA.  Some of us were lent to the CIA for short periods of time.  Those who stood out are remembered by us all.  About 1965 the Army took over and ruined the whole show.

There is a motto belonging to this unit:  No promotion, no pay, no recognition.

We were good at what we did and we soon discovered that those who do not understand what and how we did this work, could not supervise that work.  When one of us passes on, we know that an important piece of history, the lives we saved and the heroism within that unit, will also die.  Yes, it all remains classified.

I’ll try to end the Duane story here.  I need not cathart all over this forum.

gerald

[Gerald Lively]

This is important ftuff - memorize it:

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
 
2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. Buses stop in bus stations.   Trains stop in train stations.  On my desk is a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
 
14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
 
16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

18. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

19. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

20. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

21. You're never too old to learn something stupid.
 
22. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

23. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

24. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

25. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
 
26. Where there's a will, there are relatives.

[willowtreewren]

27. It is better to be thought stupid than open your mouth and remove all doubt! 

(I practiced that one all the way through high school. Now, I rarely leave folks in doubt!)

 

Aleta

[amanda100wilson]

I love these.

[Gerald Lively]

Fistula surgery #4 tomorrow.  This one is a new fistula.  the other one didn't work.

[galvo]

Me too! And I intend to pinch 'em!

[Lindia]

Fistula surgery #4 tomorrow.  This one is a new fistula.  the other one didn't work.

GOOD LUCK ! !     Will the new one be in the same arm ?    Sure hope this one is a success -  my hubbys first fistula failed, it was in his right arm, the 2nd surgery worked - in his left arm, and now he can cannulate with his right, so that worked out well for us in the long run .    Hang in there   

[Gerald Lively]

Same arm, left one.  It seems the first one never got going.  It seems I have a bottleneck that survived two angioplasties.  This one will be about three or four  inches down from the inside of my elbow, right there in the tender spot.  My right arm has seen chemotherapy and those veins are suspect.  Besides, I couldn’t stab needles with my left arm anyway.  Yucky-pooh. 

[natnnnat]

Good luck Gerard.

[willowtreewren]

Thinking about you. I hope you get a good thrill from this one! 

Aleta

[amanda100wilson]

I see the dog is back.  What happened to the picture of you?

[Gerald Lively]

That is me with my new teeth.

Change is good, unless you think I should put up a picture of myself.

An idea, vote for which avatar I should use!