I chose my ring today, which my mum and dad are very kindly buying me for my 21st Birthday!!!

It's gorgeous and very unique, it is 3 white gold bands with 6 diamonds on it!!!

I can't wait till I get it... I'll post a picture up when I do! :o)

Only 18 days to go....

Uni article...

When I was first asked to write this piece I was wondering how an earth I would fit 3 years of my life into one page but I’ll give it a try.

It all started just after Christmas in 2004. I was taken ill suddenly and was rushed into hospital. Various blood tests and injections took place and eventually a scan of my kidneys which showed they had shrunk and were no longer doing the job they were supposed to. I was told I had End Stage Renal Failure (ESRF) and needed to go on dialysis immediately and I would remain on this for the foreseeable future (3x a week) until a suitable donor kidney was found for a transplant. This came as a huge shock for both me and my family and we were all facing an uncertain future.

So 3 years on we are still facing that uncertain future - I am still on dialysis 3 x a week for 3 hours at a time and I’m still waiting for that phone call saying the transplant is going to take place. My mum went through the tests to see if she could become a donor for me but she wasn’t suitable. My family have been so supportive throughout this and I can’t thank them enough.

Having dialysis means I have to stick to a strict fluid restriction of 500mls per day and a special diet (low in phosphate, sodium and potassium) and also have to take various tablets each day. The dialysis itself is restrictive, time-consuming and has unpleasant side-effects. I have low energy levels, tire easily and suffer almost constant nausea. The actual haemodialysis itself takes its toll, it involves two needles inserted into my fistula which is a surgically enlarged vein (located in my upper arm).This provides access to the bloodstream for haemodialysis. The fistula buzzes all the time which is a good thing as this means the blood is flowing through it freely.

Haemodialysis removes waste products from the blood by passing it out of the body, through a filtering system called a dialyser and returning it, cleaned, to the body as well as removing fluid from my body (another job the kidneys should do) It leaves me feeling wiped out and very often light headed however it’s the only thing that can keep me alive unless I get a transplant.

It’s not all doom and gloom. I have met so many great people because of my situation, my fellow dialysis patients and of course the nurses who do an amazing job of looking after me and essentially keeping me alive. I try not to let all this get in the way of everyday life. I am enjoying my Early Childhood studies degree although I sometimes struggle fitting the work load in with my hospital visits however the lecturers have been sympathetic regarding my attendance. My social life is not that of a normal student but I can’t complain, I have understanding friends who are very supportive.

I am also proud to be an ambassador for the Live Life Then Give Life charity who do amazing work by promoting organ donation by putting on various events and selling cool T-shirts with catchy slogans on such as “I’d give you one”. (http://www.livelifethengivelife.co.uk/)

I would love to have my health and freedom back. I’ve got so much I want to do with my life but without a kidney transplant I just don’t know what the future will hold. I just have to keep hoping that one day I’ll receive the greatest gift of all – the Gift of Life. That call could come next week, next month or even in 5 years time! Over 8000 people in the UK like me need an organ transplant to save or radically improve their lives. However due to the chronic shortage of donors 450 people die each year waiting. The ever growing demand for transplants means that waiting lists are rising each year. When asked 90% of people say they agree with organ donation but only just over 20% have signed the register!

So it’s a waiting game for me now, for that phone call that will transform my life.

To read more about my everyday life as a dialysis patient and life on the waiting list you can read my blog at http://lifeondialysis--waitingforthecall.blogspot.com/

And to sign the organ donor register you can visit
http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ or ring 0845 60 60 400

Not much news really... Dialysis is the same old same old, but I'm feeling good so I suppose I can't complain.

I had a great night out on Saturday, It was my Best Friends 21st Birthday! I went with her, her family and her fella to an Indian restaurant in Manchester called East Z East!
Indian food isn't really my cup of tea so I just had some Egg Pilau rice, a poppadom and some naan bread!



The bloke that owns the restaurant actually appeared on the last series of Ramseys Kitchen Nightmares (you might remember the odd looking naan bread stands that Gordon told him to get rid of). So Ramsey obviously helped him as he now has 3 restaurants altogether and seems to be doing well and still has the naan bread stands!!!

Other news... I've passed another uni assignment, so chuffed about that!

It's a....

Girl!

I'm going to be an Auntie to a baby girl... I'm soooo excited.... only 131 days to wait!

So I went to see the consultant...

All in all it went well. I still sometimes have trouble with my blood pressure at the end of dialysis so he increased my dry weight again, which (as usual) I wasn't impressed with, but he is so lovely I couldn't argue with him! The only thing that was dodgy about my blood results was my phosphate level (unsurprisingly) as I have an aversion to taking my phosphate binders a.) because I hate taking tablets, I'm such a big kid. b.) they are Huuuuuge. and c.) I have to use lots of my fluid restriction up taking them. So I told the Doctor all this and he has put me on two different phosphate binders one called Calcichew which I take with breakfast and tea. I have taken this before and as the name suggests you chew it rather than swallowing it (which is good for me, requires less fluid) he also put me on another binder which I can't think of the name at the mo, but it is chewable too and I take that at lunch time.

Finally as I wasn't impressed with him putting my dry weight up he suggested I should go walking for an hour a day!!!!! Think I'll start with half an hour and build up and might get my bike out when the weather starts getting nicer! The consultant also prescribed me with a tablet to control or suppress my appetite so I can hopefully loose a bit of weight... fingers crossed these work and I won't be running to the loo all the time (they contain lots of fibre which expands in the stomach, making you feel full)

So that was yesterday, and today I've been out to Stockton Heath to a jewelers to see about getting a ring for my 21st birthday which my mum and dad have very kindly offered to get me! I found one I liked it's white gold and has 3 diamonds, but the gentleman behind the counter suggested I come back when he has another particular ring in stock to see if I liked that better. All in all a successful trip, so I'm going back next week to see which of the rings I like best.

So thats it really... I am still off uni for the Easter break and so have not seen much of my mates (I miss you guys)...Only one more Uni assignment left to go... and the countdown is on till my 21st... 25days to go...

So I was meant to be in uni today but I got up at 7 and threw up so I gave it a miss! I' ve just got back from dialysis, it went well apart from when I got off I went to weigh myself and my fistula started bleeding! To say I panicked would be an understatement, I felt sick and went dizzy, after a little sit down I was fine!


So other news, a friend of mine called keiran recently created a short video clip for a competition being run by clipstar.com, he is interested in becoming a model/tv presenter!



I said I would give him a quick plug on here, so click here if you want to watch it, and even better vote for him, he is currently in first place and stands to win $10,000 in this round and could potentially win $1million if people keep voting! Thanks guys!

Have a great weekend, I'll probably just be spending it doing boring uni work!

It's a....

Well.... we don't know the sex of the baby yet! It was a bit of an anti-climax, the baby was being awkward and wasn't in a position to be able to tell if it was a boy or girl! The radiographer said she thought it "might" be a girl but she wasn't 100% sure so we have to wait till 11th April to find out!

Nothing else significant to tell you, Uni work coming along nicely and dialysis has been going ok!

Have an appointment with my consultant next week, so will see how I am doing! Will let you know what he says!