Wednesday 7 May 2008


So on Monday I went for dialysis and there was a nurse on shift that is new to the unit, I don't want to say too much but put it this way we haven't set off on the right foot and not seen eye-to-eye on a few things... she was putting me on the machine and I could tell she was nervous (her hands were shaking) this is not so good when your about to stab someone in the arm with a huge needle! She couldn't get a blood flow, but proceeded to keep stabbing me a twisting the needle to see if it would come, in the end after about 8 attempts she decided to
call the other nurse over to do it, who succeeded first time! I know they've got to learn at some point, but I don't really want it to be me that she practices on!

Anyway after the session the nurse that managed to get the flow took me off and said that she suspected the previous nurse had blown my fistula (meaning she had gone in one side of the vein and out of the other) hence leaving me with a swollen and bruised (unsightly looking) arm! Which I wasn't impressed with as I had joked to the nurse about wearing a sleeveless dress for my birthday meal out, I still wore the dress but felt really self conscious of my arm being in sight and in the photo's!


So yesterday was my actual birthday and it was a hectic day. The folks and I were babysitting our friend's little boy Peter again. (we are doing this every Tuesday for the next 5 weeks), me and my dad took him to his usual Tumble Tots session where he went absolutely wild, running around like a little mad man! It's a fab set up, squishy things to climb on and wooden climbing frames followed by singing songs however the adults were doing the songs (with actions) while the kids were either running riot or just standing there (probably thinking to themselves look at these ridiculous adults.)

The rest of the day was spent speaking to visitors and playing with Peter. Me and mum then went to the airport to pick up a friend that is visiting from Northern Ireland for her daughter's wedding! So our house was like an open house, people in and out!

So last night we went for a meal at a local Chinese restaurant with my Gran, my parents, my brother and his wife (and bump)! It was lovely, I overate but it was too nice to leave any!
I wore all my new jewelry, the ring that my mum and dad bought me, and the earrings and necklace my bro bought me (which you can see in the photo below)! Heres a pic of me in the restaurant, my dads head seems to have been replaced with the balloon, oh well!


A very busy week for me, but have loved every minute... paying for it a bit now as I have a cold and feel a bit run down! I only managed to work a half day today and decided that I would work a full day on Friday instead which I'm really looking forward to (provided I feel ok.)


2 comments:

  1. Hi Holly,

    Sorry to here about your problme with your fistula. Dont sit back tell them off when the do things wrong like you say they need to learn but not at the expense of you arm. If she is that new she should have been supervised. Though i have met an experianced nurse or two who couldnt hit a vein if it were as wide as the M1. Anyway glad you had a good birthday you look fab in your pics.

    Love Tom

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  2. It's OK to let a new nurse try, but if he/she can't get it after 2 sticks, it's time for someone else to do it.

    Don't be afraid to speak up; it's your fistula, and it's your lifeline.

    How long have you been on dialysis, and how long on the transplant list? I started dialysis last August, and just got a transplant 10 days ago, although I was on the list for almost 3 years.

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