The final steps to liberation...tougher than I thought

Cannulation was first, priming was next. The last frontier is actual connecting the tubes together and starting blood flow and dialysis.

The way I mastered cannulation and priming, I thought starting dialysis would be a piece of cake. I could not have been more wrong!

The whole process of getting so much blood out of your system and getting it to flow through the tubes, making sure the heparin is started on time, opening and closing the correct valves can be quite unnerving.

Well, I'm sure the more experienced dialyzors are smiling as they read this and wondering what all the fuss is about. But, for me, the whole process has been a little confusing.

Maybe the process is not as complicated as I'm making it out to be but the stakes are much higher than cannulation and priming. With blood actually out of the body, I am more panicky and careful.

I'm sure I will gain confidence with every treatment and eventually get out of this mode.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I admit I was smiling. You're doing great.