278) Waiting for the Winds of Ike

September 11, 2008
Thursday

El Milagro: Arrived here at 4:20 this afternoon and had NO wait. As I drove up I noticed workers were just finishing up boarding the windows in fear of the Winds of Ike, which will enter Austin on Saturday. I am a bit surprised that El Milagro is so worried. Later we all got a notice that the center will be closed Saturday and us Saturday folks will have to come in on Sunday for our blood cleansing. Carrie the Tech cannulates me and she is doubtful; thinking that these Winds of Ike will be “no big deal”. Jo the Nurse comes over, does my nursing eval and she doesn’t know what to think… although they both agree the windows boarded up, from the inside, seems a little creepy.

I get Carrie to call Susanne the Administrator over and probe her for the “answer” about the boards and closings… she reports that it was the Regional Boss who said, “close down the district” (which includes the Austin-Laredo corridor, except for San Antonio, and the Austin-Victoria corridor complete with Luling, Gozales, Quero… Beeville). Susanne says also that the boards belong to the building owner and they asked El Milagro if they wanted them up, so Susanne said, “Sure” and emphasized the statement with a shrug of her shoulders. Okay.

As Susanne was explaining the closing, Jay the Boss Nurse came up with a new machine, saying, “I want to introduce you to my new machine…” called a Transonic Flow Machine… very modern looking but not as cute as WALL-E. He told the TFM to measure my fistula’s performance and it turns out, of course, that I have “0” recirculation and my vascular access flow is 1350 ml/min. Jay the Boss says, “That’s perfect!” so I have to believe him cause he IS the big nurse guy that you don’t wanna mess with.

Right around that time, Gordy the Pointy-toed Dietician comes up all smiling and a twitter to tell me that my phosphous is back down to 4.4 and I am a good patient to have had the guts to bring that baby back down again. Well, that’s not exactly the way she put it, but you get the point. I am good! "All of your lab results are good", she says… and, "I knew you could do it!" so I report them to you, dear reader:

Albumin = 3.8 (>4 is best)
Hemoglobin = 12.9 (>11 is best)
Iron Saturation = 30% (20 to 50% is good)
Ferritin (stored Iron) = 636 (200-500 is good)
Calc Corrected = 9.2 (8.4 – 9.2 is good)
Phosphorous = 4.4 (3.5 – 5.5. is within the limits)
PTH Intact = 147 (150 – 300 is normal)
Potassium = 4.9 (3.5 – 5.5 is good)
Glucose = 112 (80 – 180 is good)

Okay! Now for some luscious enchiladas! And French fries, yum yum.

When ABC News comes on I watch Charlie Gibson interview Sarah Palin and it is not to informative or revealing, in my estimation. Now I hear her idioms and phrases and “party lines” every time I listen to her and I want her to be transparent and genuine. Phrases like “right off the back”, “you can’t blink”, “reform of government”, and “energy independence” and “energy is a part of national security” stick in my mind during the interview. And, of course there is a lot on the news also about 9/11 and what everyone is doing to commemorate that black day.

I read a bit on my Saleebey book and then make some notes about my class this afternoon and things I want to do more of or change for next week. And then I lay back and watch the Weather station for awhile to see what the Winds of Ike are looking like. Later I cruise thru the channels but none of the usual fare seems interesting… and I end up watching I Was Biten on Discovery. Scary show that makes me sqirm. And fortunately, Carrie the Tech comes up to unhook me and before I know it I’m back into the world of balm… thinking, “another humid Austin night…” And so it goes.

Notes: In at 76.6 Kgs. and out at 74.6 Kgs.