The thigh catheter for dialysis

Well having a tube up my groin was not a pleasant experience.

I had to keep my thigh straight to avoid bending the tube that connects my artery to the catheter. I was told to lie down and not get out of bed at all.

The nurses afforded me the best care they could. I can never forget how far they went to make me comfortable. They had to put up with my nonsense, basically my temper, my frustration etc while still maintaining the level of care for me.

From the patient’s view, there was no dignity in having to do all your businesses on the bed but to the nurses, they are the ones having to clean me up after.

My ex transplant coordinator said that I complained and bitched a lot. The nurses definitely bore the brunt of it.

I went on dialysis 4 hours a day, still holding onto the hope that my kidneys will somehow come back to life and work again.

Dialysis at my stage is all about just connecting tubes and allowing my blood to flow into a machine to clean out the toxins.

The thigh catheter can only last 7 days as it is an emergency measure. The doctor told me that they will need to insert a catheter into my chest as a temporary access to my artery for dialysis.

At that point in time, there was nothing I can do. Totally helpless.