The First Treatment

Once at the hospital things went fast. I was admitted to the ER once again so they could get my chest catheter in and start me as an acute patient. When the nephrologist began to go over things with me, there was so much information given that I was overloaded and couldn’t take it all in. Information about dialysis. Details about why my kidneys had failed. Info on what I could expect over the next couple of days. Then he described the various kinds of dialysis and other treatments that were available. It was a ton of information and I wasn’t able to retain it all at the time. They admitted me to the hospital and I found myself all alone. There is a song that says, “Once I stood in the night with my head bowed low.” This was truly how it felt. I tried to sing, but there was no song. I tried to remember the positive things, but they seemed to disappear. What would happen next? Would I make it through the surgery the following day? How was life going to be after that? There were so many unknowns and there was no turning back. The only other option would be to leave the hospital. But my kidney disease was so severe that I would probably not survive the next week. That night was so long. Morning seemed so very far away, but morning did come. That morning my surgery was scheduled to place the catheter. By afternoon I went into surgery. When I awoke, I was beside a strange machine. It was taking the blood out of my body, running it through a filter and then returning it back to me. A nurse was by my side taking care of me. My first treatment ended not long after waking up and so did that day. The first day of dialysis was complete and as my day ended a new life was beginning.