Hello again, my recovery is continuing and I have been able to get out of bed and move around using a modified Zimmer frame. I am lucky enough to have had lots of visitors and cards from people wishing me a speedy recovery. I am hoping to be out of hospital in three weeks at the latest but I do not know if this is just wishful thinking.
Dialysis is going well after doing several extra shifts to get rid of the excess fluid I had on me because of the operations I received. The only thing does not change is the boring nature of sitting on a dialysis machine for four hours.
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Friday, 28 March 2008
Message from Mel
Hello this is being posted for me because at the moment I am stuck in the trauma ward of UHW following my car crash. I still have to do dialysis three times a week in Suite 19. The only good thing about it is that I do not have a 45 minute journey to the dialysis unit. It is just downstairs!
I am having physio to help with my injuries and I notice the effort it takes isn't helped by being exhausted after dialysis. I hope to be up and about in the next week and then I will be a step closer to coming home. Once home again we will be able to continue with home dialysis and then the longest trip I will have to make is across my own landing.
I will keep you up to date with my progress and am looking forward to typing my own Blog.
I am having physio to help with my injuries and I notice the effort it takes isn't helped by being exhausted after dialysis. I hope to be up and about in the next week and then I will be a step closer to coming home. Once home again we will be able to continue with home dialysis and then the longest trip I will have to make is across my own landing.
I will keep you up to date with my progress and am looking forward to typing my own Blog.
This is surprisingly the first time I have composed anything on Mel's Blog. Unfortunately it is to explain why Melanie has not been able to update the Blog in the past few weeks. She was involved in a very serious road traffic accident on 7th Mar 08. The accident was near to Cardiff airport and was early in the morning.
Melanie suffered many broken bones which thankfully have been repaired and are healing well. Luckily there were no internal injuries and no renal complications, so dialysis goes on as normal.
She is an incredibly courageous lady, who has been through an awful lot recently. Through it all she still manages to keep smiling and keep all around her smiling as well. She is an inspiration and I am proud to be her husband.
Melanie suffered many broken bones which thankfully have been repaired and are healing well. Luckily there were no internal injuries and no renal complications, so dialysis goes on as normal.
She is an incredibly courageous lady, who has been through an awful lot recently. Through it all she still manages to keep smiling and keep all around her smiling as well. She is an inspiration and I am proud to be her husband.
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Back at last
Apologies for being away from the blog for such a long time, there is no single reason for this but a whole raft of conflicts that have joined together. I have been writing to Nick every night which has given me a chance to put my feelings on paper and so I have not felt the urge or requirement to vent my feelings here, if that makes sense? I hope it does.
I attended a meeting at the Assembly buildings Tuesday and it was extremely informative amd good to know that the issues surrounding and affecting renal services in Wales are taken seriously by the politicians in the Welsh Assembly however there is a big BUT; we need more AM's involved in the campaign to improve renal services and transplant rates in Wales. What can we do as individuals that's easily answered: Lobby your own AM's, write to them, ask to meet them and if they fail to relpy to your requests continue to write until they do. Politicians are there to serve us the public, they are paid out of the public purse. We as renal patients are the public, we are the people who voted our political representatives into office. Never forget this fact.
Ok rant over.
What did become clear to me was the need for a public education programme to make people fully aware of the issue of the opt out scheme (more commonly called the presumed consent system) I personally believe calling it presumed consent is a missnomer and gives people a false idea of the whole idea, hence the need for public education.
I attended a meeting at the Assembly buildings Tuesday and it was extremely informative amd good to know that the issues surrounding and affecting renal services in Wales are taken seriously by the politicians in the Welsh Assembly however there is a big BUT; we need more AM's involved in the campaign to improve renal services and transplant rates in Wales. What can we do as individuals that's easily answered: Lobby your own AM's, write to them, ask to meet them and if they fail to relpy to your requests continue to write until they do. Politicians are there to serve us the public, they are paid out of the public purse. We as renal patients are the public, we are the people who voted our political representatives into office. Never forget this fact.
Ok rant over.
What did become clear to me was the need for a public education programme to make people fully aware of the issue of the opt out scheme (more commonly called the presumed consent system) I personally believe calling it presumed consent is a missnomer and gives people a false idea of the whole idea, hence the need for public education.
Saturday, 22 December 2007
Christmas is fast approaching and I don't feel at all Christmassy this year. I have managed to fit in my Christmas shopping in between going to the dialysis unit. It really eats into your time having to go 3 times a week into the hospital.
I had a very interesting conversation with someone yesterday; he felt that there was a lot of emphasis on transplanted patients and those who are on the list when there is in fact a lot of patients who have no chance of a transplant and will be on dialysis for ever.
I have to agree with him and we must make sure that dialysis is as painless and as easy as possible. We need to improve the dialysis units comfort and surroundings and the transport to and from the units could be vastly improved for many patients.
This is something that definitely needs to be brought up in the patients rally in January, I hope that as many people as possible are able to attend.
Merry Christmas to you all.
I had a very interesting conversation with someone yesterday; he felt that there was a lot of emphasis on transplanted patients and those who are on the list when there is in fact a lot of patients who have no chance of a transplant and will be on dialysis for ever.
I have to agree with him and we must make sure that dialysis is as painless and as easy as possible. We need to improve the dialysis units comfort and surroundings and the transport to and from the units could be vastly improved for many patients.
This is something that definitely needs to be brought up in the patients rally in January, I hope that as many people as possible are able to attend.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Thursday, 20 December 2007
I have been completely rubbish at keeping up with this blog recently. All I can say is sorry. Life just seems to be escaping me at the moment no sooner have I been to the unit and had my dialysis that I am going back there for the next session. I seemed to do much more with my time when I dialysed at home. That is probably because when I do it at home I don't settle down on the machine until at the earliest 6pm and so I have much more of the day to get things done.
I am just so fed up with driving at the moment, I have clocked up an amazing 1115 miles since Nick left and that is only in 6 weeks. My poor car is going to conk out with exhaustion let alone how I am feeling. I just feel tired all the time and I am finding it increasingly difficult to motivate myself to do even the simplest of tasks. I am just so grateful to my Mum for helping me with the hoovering and with my laundry. That sounds pathetic I know, a 38 year old woman having her mother doing her laundry but I feel as if I am fighting a loosing battle and all I want is to have massive re-enforcements come from the flank and win the war! Anyone have a magic wand handy?
Anyway Merry Christmas.
I am just so fed up with driving at the moment, I have clocked up an amazing 1115 miles since Nick left and that is only in 6 weeks. My poor car is going to conk out with exhaustion let alone how I am feeling. I just feel tired all the time and I am finding it increasingly difficult to motivate myself to do even the simplest of tasks. I am just so grateful to my Mum for helping me with the hoovering and with my laundry. That sounds pathetic I know, a 38 year old woman having her mother doing her laundry but I feel as if I am fighting a loosing battle and all I want is to have massive re-enforcements come from the flank and win the war! Anyone have a magic wand handy?
Anyway Merry Christmas.
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
I am feeling a bit low this past few days, I am recovering from a bought of tonsillitis. It felt as if I had swallowed 2 golf balls and I am sure some one stole my voice and replaced it with someone else's because although it has come back it is still very croaky.
To be completely honest I am very upset because of this infection I had to miss my first WKPA meeting and a weekend at my friends in Norfolk. Isn't it always the same; when ever you are really looking forward to things something usual comes along to spoil it. I know it is because I am so tired and run down with all the traveling I am doing back and forth to the hospital and my parents house. I am feeling so exhausted and I don't ever seem to catch up with myself.When I am tired like tonight I can't sleep and end up feeling even worse the next day. Oh well there's no point moaning about it; moaning about it won't change anything so I'd better just sign off and try and get some sleep. Goodnight or should I say good morning?
To be completely honest I am very upset because of this infection I had to miss my first WKPA meeting and a weekend at my friends in Norfolk. Isn't it always the same; when ever you are really looking forward to things something usual comes along to spoil it. I know it is because I am so tired and run down with all the traveling I am doing back and forth to the hospital and my parents house. I am feeling so exhausted and I don't ever seem to catch up with myself.When I am tired like tonight I can't sleep and end up feeling even worse the next day. Oh well there's no point moaning about it; moaning about it won't change anything so I'd better just sign off and try and get some sleep. Goodnight or should I say good morning?
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