An easy life, well, kinda...

[aharris2]

...as if life can ever be easy for someone with kidney disease.

After our trip out west into the freezing cold and snow, i appreciate even more how easy we have it here. The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and it is comfortably warm. As bad as it is to get up at 5:30am to go out to dialysis, at least we don't have to dress in layers and pull our hoods up tight to fight against the wind and snow. We don't have to scrape the ice off of the car and warm it up to make it at least tolerably cool inside instead of freezing. We don't have to hope and pray that the roads remain passable and not too unsafe due to snow and ice.

To those of you who fight these conditions to get your dialysis and keep on keeping on, my hat is off to you. It really makes it so much harder. (Come on down, there's still room in FL!)

What is your worst winter story? 

Alene

[Slywalker]

My worst winter story?  Gosh I have so many that I don't really have a worst.  I live in Vermont and anyone who knows anything about the Northeast of the United States knows that from day to day from October through April you don't know what the weather is going to turn out to be.  On my way back from a doctor's visit a couple of weeks ago, 60 minutes away from my house, I drove directly into a blizzard.  WHEW!!!  Some of the problems are that the weather can be fine where I live and then you drive ten to thirty minutes and it is entirely different. 

I truly hope you enjoy your warm weather and no ice.  When I get to retire I too will leave the snow and ice behind!!!

Take care
Sandyb

[Sluff]

Probably when I drove truck and it took 8 hours to travel 200 miles.
Then there's the time in Illinois when My truck started freezing up.
Then there's the time I traveled all night on back roads because the interstate was closed because of snow and Ice conditions I left Omaha and delivered on-time in Chicago.
That will keep you for awhile..

[KT0930]

I lived in Massachusetts from 1988 until 1992/1993 (I was away at college starting in Sept 92, mom and dad moved to Georgia in Jan 93). I was going to college in Virginia, and went to visit mom and dad for spring break (March) 1993. It was snowing so bad the night I got home, that the airport in Hartford closed about an hour after my flight landed. Five days later, another snowstorm blew in, and my roommate (who lived in Connecticut) and I were supposed to fly out on the same flight Sunday morning to return to Virginia. The flight, along with most others, were cancelled, we couldn't get a seat on another flight until Wednesday, so her father decided to drive us back. It took us about 15 hours (normally about an 8-9 hour trip), and let me just say that in 1993, Pennsylvania did not know how to plow their interstate! The right lane, all the way through the state (north to south) was a solid sheet of ice. We were exiting at one point, and a tractor trailer about 50 yards behind us started to jack knife...very scary!

I am so glad to now live in Georgia where we only get an inch or two of snow at a time! (BTW, I'm going to Florida next week to visit mom and dad, who now spend every February on St. George island!)

[Psim]

Can you believe my worst winter story has no snow in it? Lots of wind though. Last winter our power was out a total of 3 weeks from trees falling on the power lines. One night a tree fell on our house -- luckily it wasn't that big (a foot in diameter) but it pierced the metal roof and we had to climb up and put plastic over it to keep the rain out. Trees came down all over the island and the road to the ferry was blocked for a few days. Lots of people on the island had no alternate to electric heat and so they opened up the clubhouse at the local ballpark which has a big old wood stove and folks just brought their sleeping bags and food to share and settled in until we got power back the next week. Whew.

[jbeany]

Most snow I remember here in Northern Michigan- got some tremendous amount like 7 feet in a weekend.  Had to call out the National Guard to plow us out.  Geez, when was that - 96?  97?  It snowed about 3 feet, poured rain for a couple of hours, then snowed another 4 feet.  So it was 4 foot drifts on top of 3 ft of solid ice.  Regular plows wouldn't do a thing to it all - we had to hire out back hoes to shovel it away.
 
The only thing worse than that was the winter of 76, when I was traveling with my parents to visit my grandparents in Texas.  We were in Ohio when the worst storm I've ever seen hit.  We couldn't get off the highway because the exits were plowed over.  We ended up in a convoy of semis - wedged in between in our big mint green station wagon, listening to the truckers on the CB complaining that the National Guard was plowing the road with teaspoons.  (Yes, I'm dating myself.  Yes, I had a CB handle.  We all did back then.  No, I don't remember what it was - I was still in elementary school!)  The snow banks on either side of the highway were almost as tall as some of the semis.  We drove at a crawl thru half the state before we finally got to an unblocked exit.

We had a few good storms while I was still in jr. high.  I got tossed out the 2nd story window on occasion after a storm.  If the wind drifted the right way, the snow would pile up so high in front of the doors that we couldn't open them.  I was smallest in the family, so I got the job of climbing out the window to scrape loose the drift so the rest of the family could get out to shovel and snow blow.  I was still young enough to think that was fun. . .

[Ken Shelmerdine]

I think the worst winter for those of us in the UK was the winter of 1979. Just about everybody employed in public sevice industries went on indefinate strike.This created a huge energy crisis causing frequent power cuts and every business was reduced to working a 3 day week.  Rubbish was piling up in the streets and we were all getting prepared for petrol rationing in fact I still have the ration book that I as issued with. There was even a stike by grave diggers! so bodies were piling up in funeral homes. It lasted foerabout 3 weeks and eventually lead to the fall of the then labour government and the birth of the Thatcher govenment.

[Joe Paul]

Just about the worst day in recent history (mine) was Feb 14th, 2007. This was a slight snow storm, covered by 3/4 inch of ice. Of course, it was a dialysis day, made the 19 mile trip to dialysis intresting to say the least.

[Psim]

I was smallest in the family, so I got the job of climbing out the window to scrape loose the drift so the rest of the family could get out to shovel and snow blow.

Wow jbeany, I think you get the Worst Winter Award! The prize? Your very own IHD snow shovel, of course. 

[Ohio Buckeye]

I think my worst winter memories was Christmas 04.
An ice storm hit and people lost power for days.
It was Christmas so you can imagine.
I was in a room with the fireplace and tried to close off room with blankets
to keep heat in.  It was a nightmare.  Trees were down everywhere.

[del]

We had a few really bad driving days in the 6 years hubby was in center. I thnk the worst was a couple of years ago when we had 70 cm of snow overnight. We were driving a 4 wheel drive pickup truck. Of course the road wasn't plowed when we left home at 6 in the morning.  On the road to get to the trans Canada the bottom of the truck was scaping over the snow.  When we got to the Trans Canada it was worse.  More snow. There was no way the truck would go through it. We had to wait at a gas satation for 2 hours for the snowplow!!!  We followed the snowplow all the way when it finally came.  It was just like going through a tunnel. There were times the snow on each side of us was higher than the truck. When you looked out the side windows all you could see was snow.  What usually took about an hour - it took us 5 hrs to get to dialysis that morning. 

[Lori1851]

Live in Indiana and the weather changes constantly lol!!
Lori/Indiana

[kitkatz]

I live in So California so your stories of ice and snow are foreign to me.  All I can say is Brrrr and be safe!

[CW]

Most snow I remember here in Northern Michigan- got some tremendous amount like 7 feet in a weekend. 

O..M..G Jbeany! I have never heard of anything like that

I don't think anyone who hasn't lived in a area where it snows know how scary it can be. I have seen a lot  of bad storms in NY and it is magnified because of the amount of people in such a small area vying for limited resources during an emergency. I walked for a hour in the about three ft of snow to keep a promise to my friend to photograph him and his new bride. The snow was so deep one year we dug tunnels through it and built a six foot in front of the driveway (the car was going no where - we did use it to warm up while we built the snowman). I always play with the kids in the snow they are my excuse to be doing something other than shoveling it! Some of these times were tough but we weathered the storms OK as long as our family was together  .  

CW

[aharris2]

Just about the worst day in recent history (mine) was Feb 14th, 2007. This was a slight snow storm, covered by 3/4 inch of ice. Of course, it was a dialysis day, made the 19 mile trip to dialysis intresting to say the least.

Love that picture, JP. Ice is so pretty...unless you have to conduct your daily business in it.

Alene

[Joe Paul]

Just about the worst day in recent history (mine) was Feb 14th, 2007. This was a slight snow storm, covered by 3/4 inch of ice. Of course, it was a dialysis day, made the 19 mile trip to dialysis intresting to say the least.

Love that picture, JP. Ice is so pretty...unless you have to conduct your daily business in it.

Alene

Thanks Alene, this picture is after coming home from dialysis the same day. It is a Cardinals nest, ice covered, just thought id share.

[aharris2]

Thanks Alene, this picture is after coming home from dialysis the same day. It is a Cardinals nest, ice covered, just thought id share.

Pobrecitos!!! I hope you brought them some hot chocolate and wrapped their home in a nice electric blanket.

[thegrammalady]

there's a joke in colorado......if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes.............strange sounding but true. it can be sunny and reasonably warm and 15 minutes later there's snow.  the weather can keep you housebound one day, but the roads are fine 24 hours later. our mountains have really been getting slammed this year, feet upon feet of snow. one of the mountain counties has really been hit hard. people stuck at home, unable to get out for a week. the biggest problem has been the wind. denver however, has had a reasonable winter, i'm just SICK OF IT. spring can't come soon enough for me. somebody send daffodils!