The waiting room of the dialysis unit was quiet & peaceful, with people waiting their turn on the list as they do week in week out. I was weighed and taken through to choose which bed I wanted, I chose the one at the end of Bay 1 next to the window.
I spotted a young student nurse and it was the same one who had pushed me back to my car after a visit to Dr Hirst's clinic last time - Megan.
After checking paperwork, a bit of a chat with the nurses, a good look & a prod of my arm, the nurse arrived with a tray and began setting up her equipment. Getting the needles in didn't start well. Although my fistula is very powerful and buzzes like billio, it's very windy & twisty and tricky - apparently. The first needle failed and hurt very, very much. Megan (the student nurse) held my hand as I am such a wuss and a nursing sister called Lorraine came and managed to get the next 2 needles in ok, after first numbing my arm with an ice cold spray.
For the next 2 hours I dozed a bit, watched the routine on the ward and played games on my i-pad, after being given strict instructions not to move the arm with the needles in!
Looking like a beached whale attached to the machine.
The procedure for coming off the machine seemed almost as long as getting on it. Everything was done in a perfectly well rehearsed manner. Apparently I'm a bit of a bleeder, so getting the needle sites to stop bleeding was a bit challenging, and hard balls of cotton wool strapped with tape were put on them to apply pressure. I was given a some cream to rub firmly into the bruises which were starting to appear.
After making sure I felt ok, not light headed or wobbly, we left the unit. Not a bad first session all in all. I hope the rest go as smoothly.
Bruising after my first session.
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