If I stare at my dialysis machine hard enough…will it set itself up?

Today was a long and tiring day for me.

I woke up today at 6:15am. This is certainly much earlier than I’m used to. The earliest I usually wake up is 6:50am, and that’s only on Saturdays when I have to go to work for 8am. I’ve always thought this, but didn’t actually realize how much an extra 30 minutes or so can mean a big difference between being exhausted and being rested.

I woke up early today because I was going to go and get my hair done. Anyone who knows anything about getting your hair braided etc. knows that it is usually quite the event. I’ve sat down as long as 10 hours just getting my hair braided. I didn’t know what to expect because the amount of time it takes to do one’s hair depends solely on the person doing it. Some people doing it without stopping and are really fast. Others stop to do things…like make phone calls, cook 3 course meals, etc. I don’t wish for the person to do my hair to starve themselves because they want to get my hair done quickly, but I also don’t think I need to sit there while you construct a 5 tiered cake either!

Anyhow, thankfully my father wasn’t working today so he was able to drive me to my hair appointment. When I got there, a lovely lady by the name of Ola did my hair. Considering how my hair looks and the number of twists she put in my hair, this is the fastest I’ve ever had my hair done. It took just over 4 hours. I’ve sat for DOUBLE that amount of time for a similar hairstyle. I was pleased with the results.

The whole time that I was getting my hair done I continuously yawned. I knew that when I got home I’d need to make myself some lunch and hit the hay for a bit. I did make myself some rice, veggies, and baked some fish. I did go and lay my head down for a bit, but something told me to check my email.

When I checked my email, I saw an email from Rose. She told me that she had received a fax back from the dialysis clinic in England. They had requested updated HIV, Hep B & C, and MRSA results. Since it was already 3pm, I asked my dad to take me to the hospital to get the blood tests done. Apparently the HIV test takes a bit of time so that needed to be sent off ASAP.

I definitely wasn’t happy when I got to the blood clinic and the phlebotomist (is that what they call them?) had no idea what the deal was with the msra. By that time, Rose and all of the other home hemo nurses had already left, and I had already been in that hospital for about 30 minutes waiting to get my blood drawn. My dad was waiting outside in the car.

I went back to the home hemo unit where I got information regarding the requisitions for the blood I’d be taking. Megan, the receptionist, didn’t know anything about me needing to re-do the mrsa. Perhaps Rose forgot to mention this to Megan before she left. I took the swabs and went back to the car. I decided I’d get more information from Rose and perhaps drop the swabs off later.

After that, myself and my Dad headed back to his station where he responded to important emails and printed off a couple of things for work. Then it was home sweet home.

Now i’m home on my bed with my laptop, staring at my dialysis machine, willing it to set itself up.