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| comment | | "parent_author":"",<br>"parent_permlink":"life",<br>"author":"lizzyib",<br>"permlink":"morning-dialysis",<br>"title":"Morning Dialysis",<br>"body":"![20180227_064807.jpg (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmY9cpUG14shurSStdV9kp8xbbnVshQMrSyEvdCSaW8xpx\/20180227_064807.jpg)\n\n**Catching a glimpse of the sunrise on the way to dialysis**\n\n\nDialysis in the AM today. Not my usual shift,<br> but the charge nurse asked me to come in early. I don't mind. I drive myself and I know it's harder to accommodate the patients that rely on other means of transportation.\n\nMy neighbor to my left is a chatty little guy. He's overheard a nurse say my full name and he's now using it to his advantage.\n\n*\"Hey,<br> Elizabeth? Do you know how to make Bananas Foster? It's real easy. But guess what the secret ingredient is? Guess! It's rum!\"*\n\nI hope to myself that he's not shoveling in bananas and rum on the regular. \n\n*\"Hey Elizabeth! Guess what? I'm going to be 60 this year. Yep! I was born in 1958. The year of the dog. This year is the year of the dog too. Did you know?\"*\n\nHe gets less chatty as his treatment goes on. Low blood pressure. No one wants to swap recipes when it feels like your head is underwater and you might vomit if you open your mouth.\n\nMy neighbor to the right upsets me. He doesn't mean to,<br> of course,<br> but his appearance alone startles me. Because the morning isn't my regular shift,<br> I only see this group of patients every so often. But this man,<br> my neighbor,<br> was a completely different person the last time I laid eyes on him about six months ago. He used to be a little chubby,<br> rosy cheeks,<br> walking normally,<br> if not a little slowly. \n\nHe used to be.\n\nNow,<br> he's frail,<br> gaunt,<br> skinny,<br> a mere shadow of his former self. His daughter has just brought him in via wheelchair. He's shaky. I look up and try to suppress a gasp. \n\n*\"He's lost a lot of weight,<br> right? He sometimes misses treatments.\"*\n\nIt's my nurse. She caught my reaction. Perhaps she thinks by dropping the fact that he misses his treatments will help lessen the shock. But it doesn't. I will never get used to the fast deterioration I see in some patients. \n\nAnd then there's the ultimate deterioration. \n\n*\"Hey Elizabeth. Did you hear Marilyn died?\"*\n\nI quickly flip through all the patients that I can in my mind. Marilyn....Marilyn. Ah yes,<br> quite an older lady,<br> very nice as most older ladies tend to be. I hadn't heard she had passed. I heard about Tom,<br> and Jean,<br> and Peter,<br> but not Marilyn. It seems the winter months are particularly hard on us.\n\nI finish my treatment without too much fuss. My blood pressure is a little low,<br> but nothing a hot cup of coffee won't fix. I walk to my car,<br> happy,<br> elated,<br> to feel the early afternoon sun on my face.",<br>"json_metadata":" \"tags\":[\"life\",<br>\"health\" ,<br>\"image\":[\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmY9cpUG14shurSStdV9kp8xbbnVshQMrSyEvdCSaW8xpx\/20180227_064807.jpg\" ,<br>\"app\":\"steemit\/0.1\",<br>\"format\":\"markdown\" " |
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