Blake started dialysis today with his new catheter. They did five cycles, manually. What this means is that instead of using his machine to fill him up with solution and the machine to drain him, our dialysis nurse was there to do it.
They have to start slowly to make sure he is draining well and to not push the new catheter too much so that it could spring a leak or something terrible like that. Just to compare, pre-surgery his fills were 500 mL and today we started at 130 mL, so we have a ways to go to get him back where he needs to be.
The good news is that he drained like a little champ! Dr. Jetton and Jen, our nurse, were very happy with how today went. Tomorrow, they will start him back on his machine (the cycler) and up his fill volumes to 200 mL. We continue to pray that the catheter does it's job!
Can I just also say that even though this hospital stuff is not my favorite, there are always good things that come out of it? For example, we had visitors to keep us company and I got to see two of my high school classmates!
It's always nice to talk to other parents and see what other kids have to go through. I love the perspective you get in this place. It keeps you in check about the trivial things in life and for that...I'm grateful.
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