2/13/09 - "Two is One Too Many"

Alyssa had a very busy day, probably too busy. Going through plasma pheresis is an extremely tiring process. Add on top of that a three hour session on the dialysis machine and you feel like you have just run a marathon. That's what Alyssa has been doing daily for two weeks. Today it all caught up with her. Exhausted, she spent the afternoon trying to gain back the strength that was zapped from her, after being hooked to her "machines" for seven consecutive hours.

However, it did help us to make a decision though...when she leaves the hospital, (yes, you read that right,) she will need to continue dialysis and plasma pheresis treatments on a three times per week, each, basis. Two per day is just too many, so Alyssa has decided to go six times per week for shorter periods of time, versus seven-hour sessions, three times per week. So here is her future out-patient schedule. Plasma Pheresis - M-W-F at 9:00 am & Dialysis - Tu-Th-Sa at 6:00 am. Alyssa is not a morning person, so getting to Irondequoit by 6:00 am may be our biggest, future challenge. The fact that she can't drive for a while due to her seizures, will put mom & dad right square in the driver's seat...creating our second biggest future challenge. Why 6:00 am? Time slots for dialysis are difficult to come by. The other option was 9:00 pm.


Blood Pressure had a couple hiccups today, for the most part has been very good. Blood labs were also excellent. She is scheduled for a dialysis treatment on Saturday morning, then nothing more until Monday morning.

So just when will the heroine of our story be going home? You'll have to keep blogging with us to find out, but don't stay away too long....
dd