Hi there, I'm River

[River]

Hi, I'm River, a 47 (soon to be 48) year old married woman living in western Washington state, and about to start PD. I've never been on dialysis before, and have been doing research on it. My research still doesn't tell me what it's like from a patient's perspective.

I have three retrievers - one Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and two Flat-Coated Retrievers, both show dogs - and four cats. At the moment, I also have a "guest dog", a standard poodle, staying here until her owner can take her back. I have had to evict all the dogs from the master bedroom because I'll be starting PD soon and need a clean place to dialyze, and I'm told by most people I've consulted, including my nephrologist and his nurse, that they can't be in there any more because they'll leave hairs and dander and dust around. Well, they do, but I can clean it up, but to be safe, they're no longer permitted to enter the bedroom, let alone sleep in it. I miss them!

I like to make interesting jam. I specialize in flavor combinations like apricot-vanilla, blackberry-chocolate, and cinnamon-peach. I am the only person I know who makes chocolate jams, and I use a lot of Scharffen Berger 99% dark chocolate in my jam. (I probably shouldn't eat my jam.) My husband loves it, and he never runs out of jam for his peanut butter sandwiches. One of the jams I make is salal-rosemary, using our native salal berries and fresh organic rosemary. It's a savory jam, and I use it as the base of a sauce for wild salmon filets and for pork chops or roasts. I am stumping all the local dietitians by asking them for the potassium content of salal.

I also enjoy quilting, spending time with friends, playing D&D (my husband and I are in a regular Friday night game), kayaking, showing dogs, reading, and hanging out on the Net.

 

[okarol]

  Hey River,
Glad you found us - this is the best place to hear what it's like from a patient's perspective! I hope you get a chance to browse the posts.
Mmmm jam. Sounds great to me! I look forward to learning more about that!
Welcome!

 
okarol/moderator

[Joe Paul]

Welcome River, good to have you aboard.

[RichardMEL]

Welcome River... gorgeous smile!! I don't do PD so can't comment on that other than to welcome you to the site and I am sure you will find lots of useful perspectives and tips and support from the folks here

I love Washington state.. been there a few times (mostly visiting Boeing in some form or other) but the area is lovely. Seattle reminds me very much of my hometown (and yes, it's raining as I type )

[Sluff]

Welcome to IHD River,

Sounds like you keep yourself busy between the show dogs and trying to keep yourself out of a jam.. .. anyway I'm glad you found us and I hope you learn a lot from researching here on IHD. Another search engine you can try is www.kidneyoogle.com  I hope it is helpful to your search.

Feel free to post as often as you like and ask questions, someone here will have an answer.

Sluff/ Admin

[Laurie]

 

[Bajanne]

Welcome to our community.  So glad to have you join us.  Yes, though we do not claim to be professionals, there is lots of info here from the perspective of a patient.  So you have a lot of reading to do.  But don't just read, keep posting as well.   We want to know what's going on with you.  You have to excuse us, but IHD has become a family, so we will be all up in your business     When you do have your first PD session, we want a detailed account of how it was.  Here is a hug from all of us. 


Bajanne, Moderator

[lola]

  Jam yummy hope you get me next year for your secret santa hehe

[willieandwinnie]

  River,

Glad you found us.

willieandwinnie

[paris]

   This is the perfect site for you. There are lots of PDers who will be a wonderful source on information for you.   Ask any question, someone will have the answer!  This is an extremely well run site with great mods and admins.  We also have a lot of fun, because sometimes we just need to laugh.  You have already seen Sluff's sense of humor "out of jam". Looking forward to hearing more from you.    BTW, my sister lives in Roy, outside of Seattle. Great place to visit.

[bolta72]

 

[Aldente]

Welcome River.

[rookiegirl]

  River to IHD.  I've been on PD since 10/22/07.  So glad you joined our group.  You will learn so much from everyone here.  Don't hesitate to ask any questions.  I wish you the best.

[paddbear0000]

  You may know a family friend of mine! She shows Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers too. Her name is Terry Miller. Ring any bells? Anyway, it's great to meet you!

[Deanne]

Welcome! I'm not on dialysis yet and hopefully won't be for a few years, but have been torn between PD or HD because of the animal issue. I hope you post more about how you chose PD and how it goes for you once you get started.

[Wattle]

   Welcome

[oswald]

 

[brenda]

 

[Ang]

 

[Romona]

 

[Hawkeye]

Hello and 

[angellady07]

Welcome River. 

[keefer51]

  River.

[goofynina]

Hi River, Welcome to ihatedialysis.com.  Your jams sound interesting, and very delicious i might add, never heard of a chocolate jam, have you ever tried to market it?  Looking forward to getting to know you more,  this is an awesome place to "hang out" at.    The people here are nuts,  and i love every one of them   We have become one big family and i am so glad you joined us.    Hope to hear more from you soon.  Good Luck with everything you do.



Goofynina/Admin.

[kellyt]

Welcome and Good Luck!