Into the New Year

 Still taking life one day at a time.

Still dealing with covid. Have had 2 shots and a booster and am doing ok so here's hoping covid doesn't get me!

I can't believe it's been going on for 2 years now!

I also can't believe we're into February already!! 

So still going along doing my thing but some days are a bit MORE.

The thing nowadays is that we are having to use trickier parts of my graft in order to USE more of it and make it last longer.

So there are parts on both sides that are now unusable and are avoided and we have to get the needles in shorter parts to access the graft. They go in each end of the curve around my cherry blossom and also on either side of the one blossom (to avoid the ink). They go into the short space above the curve (and it's tricky around the curve because...it curves!! Can't always fit the whole needle in there...and the last places they use are up closer to the scar on my inner elbow on both sides. I generally don't move my arm much once we start so it's ok and I'm good with whatever they have to do. Grafts don't last as long as fistulas because they are made of plastic but my nurse explained that the graft is like layers so that's why you can use it for so long before it gets compromised. (3 years before the two spots became unusable)...when you see it on the sonosite (ultrasound machine-which makes everything easier) you can see that both sides are no longer shiny and look used up. So here's hoping the tricky spots take another 3 years before we have to figure out what next!!

In the meantime,

I am feeling tired and sometimes stressed and sometimes antsy.

It will pass but in the lows I'm just TIRED. More than one way.

Take a deep breath and carry on!