Let's Water the Kidney, Shall We....

 Or let's NOT water the kidney.

To recap: 

Friday Babygirl was not permitted to eat or drink after midnight because they wanted to get her permanent dialysis port in, despite having been freshly diagnosed with Covid. They figured out that there wasn't room on the radiology schedule sometime after lunch, so say, 15 hours with no liquid to the kidney and no food to the kid.

Saturday she was also NPO after midnight because there was still an order in to remove her temporary dialysis catheter (which by the way they CANNOT do until the permanent one is in place and healed well enough to use).  This was figured out about....15 hours in, with  no fluids at all for the kidney. And no food for the kid.

Sunday she got to eat and drink, and she sent me a picture at about 10 PM of her "stockpile" of ice water that she was working to shove down before they took it away at midnight, because....

Today she was NPO, once again, as they thought they'd be able to "fit her in" to the radiology schedule, but there were "more urgent cases" that bumped her off the list.  This time she had to wait until about 6 PM (18 HOURS with no food or drink) to find out she was cancelled, again. And again, no IV fluid to hold her over.  No IV fluid to give this struggling, nearly dead kidney one last chance at survival. 

I called the nurses' station.  I was as polite as I could be as I pointed out the unnecessary suffering they are causing for Babygirl. But I think I got a little loud when I said, "I know the chances for saving this kidney are like a snowball's chance in hell, but you all could at least PRETEND to try!"  She could hear me crying, I'm sure.  She said they had ordered Babygirl's dinner, but I was there every day for over a week and I can tell you that THAT is going to take until 7:30 - another hour and a half of waiting for her. I calmed down some and asked her please to take her something NOW - apple juice, a frozen ice, some crackers? It was clearly a request that surprised her, but also something that she was enthusiastic about: "I'm going to go hunting!"

She also told me she'd have the doctor call me.  That was 3 hours ago. I'm not hopeful. I'm not sure I have the energy to call again.

Babygirl reported fairly quickly that she had fluids, and later was completely excited to have a cheeseburger. This is the kid who has sworn off red meat for over a year.  I guess if you get hungry enough.... LOL. 

This is what happens when there is no on-site advocate for the patient.  When I asked her how she was doing, she said, "Yeah, it was rough today."

She's been told her procedure is scheduled for "tomorrow morning." Oh. Dear. God. 

DeeDee