Well that was quite the adventure. Six nights in Kelowna hospital. I was mentioning a few issues with my chest catheter for my dialysis and had been travelling to Cranbrook for some antibiotics and in-centre treatments. They were not able to eradicate my blood infection as it was pretty much embedded in the line. The line needed to be removed and replaced very soon.
So off to Kelowna for an emergency procedure that had been put off for 3 months as they called it ‘elective’ until it became critical. They ran me on dialysis two days in a row to get my fluids and toxins really low, then pulled the line out and flooded me with vancomycin for three days to clear the line before installing a new line. It is on the other side of my chest so it will take some operating adjustments. They ran me through hospital dialysis immediately as that was a long time to go without a blood cleaning. That was a long day. The next day was driving home through the Roger’s Pass. I am now safely home but will be doing dialysis in Cranbrook a few more times to finish up on antibiotics.
I am sorry that I was unable to get an issue of The Valley Peak out last week but you know, health matters. I basically had to drop everything and get this done. It reminded me of when my kidneys first failed. Things that I thought were really important instantly became meaningless.
I have been quite careless with my health through a lot of my life. Like many of us, I was aware that I was eating unhealthy and not getting enough vitamins and exercise but I did not make the changes that I knew I needed until it was too late. I ask that all of you folks start to make the changes that you know you need to make so you can live a longer, healthier life.