This December sucks. It that way it is the perfect end to a mostly crappy year. You might wonder, "Why are you posting this now, Orion?" Well because in all the turbulence of the month so far I thought the worst was over. Of course, I was wrong. There is one final horrible circumstance to make this month of FAIL cross the line into EPIC FAIL territory. So let's begin.
As many of you know, the Portland area is having a blizzard. From the point of view of someone who doesn't have to drive, and lives in a newer apartment with a great heater and stable power, it's been pretty awesome. For the drivers, and those with older homes and less stable power lines, it sucks. Freeways and roads are closed. People are trapped in their homes. Some areas have lost power. It has all the makings of a disaster. For me, however, it's mostly just been inconvenient. Unfortunately I am in a position where such inconveniences can become life threatening very quickly.
On Saturday my ride to dialysis just didn't show up. No phone call, no warning, just no ride to dialysis. I called Medical Transport and they said they didn't know anything, and couldn't do anything. They gave me the number to the cab company responsible for my ride. Their line was busy - for 2 hours. I was able to convince Raseny to drive me there instead, but I was 2 hours late. The drive took an hour, and it was a stressful and dangerous drive. Because I was so late I only got 2 hours of dialysis. That's a little more than half my usual time. The nurse there arranged for me to get into another unit today to make up those missing 2 hours of dialysis, but because of the weather I couldn't get a ride to that other unit. So I'm running on less than normal dialysis on a weekend, and that sucks. Not necessarily life threatening, but it means I have to be careful. It also means I feel like crap. Thankfully, I told myself, there will be dialysis tomorrow, and I just have to make it through 24 more hours. I can do that.
About 30 minutes ago I got a call from Lyndsey, the tech at my dialysis unit. They are closed tomorrow. She is snowed it, as well as the nurse as the unit manager. There will be no dialysis tomorrow.
There is another option. Sorry, there is ONE other option. I can go to a hospital and get dialysis. Wait, let me rephrase that. I have to go to a hospital to get dialysis. Unfortunately that is not without its dangers. Raseny will have to drive me, and her car is not equipped to handle this kind of weather, and neither is she. Driving to the hospital will be an adventure. The biggest hurdle is the fact that her car is mostly unable to go up icy hills, and I can't think of a route to the hospital that doesn't have a hill or two to climb to get there. Just getting out of this complex requires overcoming hills that have trapped many vehicles at the bottom. The same applies for getting home from the hospital. The hill leading to our driveway has proven to be almost insurmountable for many cars, and the thought of having to deal with it has kept Raseny from going anywhere.
But the luxury of comfort isn't one I have right now. I'm not scheduled for dialysis in Orange County until the 26th - 4 more days from now. That would make 6 days without dialysis, and that's very very dangerous territory to be in. "Insurmountable" is a word I don't have time to contemplate, I just have to hope that Raseny's car and driving skills are in good enough shape to overcome.
All I need now is a zombie invasion for the perfect compliment to this scenario.
As many of you know, the Portland area is having a blizzard. From the point of view of someone who doesn't have to drive, and lives in a newer apartment with a great heater and stable power, it's been pretty awesome. For the drivers, and those with older homes and less stable power lines, it sucks. Freeways and roads are closed. People are trapped in their homes. Some areas have lost power. It has all the makings of a disaster. For me, however, it's mostly just been inconvenient. Unfortunately I am in a position where such inconveniences can become life threatening very quickly.
On Saturday my ride to dialysis just didn't show up. No phone call, no warning, just no ride to dialysis. I called Medical Transport and they said they didn't know anything, and couldn't do anything. They gave me the number to the cab company responsible for my ride. Their line was busy - for 2 hours. I was able to convince Raseny to drive me there instead, but I was 2 hours late. The drive took an hour, and it was a stressful and dangerous drive. Because I was so late I only got 2 hours of dialysis. That's a little more than half my usual time. The nurse there arranged for me to get into another unit today to make up those missing 2 hours of dialysis, but because of the weather I couldn't get a ride to that other unit. So I'm running on less than normal dialysis on a weekend, and that sucks. Not necessarily life threatening, but it means I have to be careful. It also means I feel like crap. Thankfully, I told myself, there will be dialysis tomorrow, and I just have to make it through 24 more hours. I can do that.
About 30 minutes ago I got a call from Lyndsey, the tech at my dialysis unit. They are closed tomorrow. She is snowed it, as well as the nurse as the unit manager. There will be no dialysis tomorrow.
There is another option. Sorry, there is ONE other option. I can go to a hospital and get dialysis. Wait, let me rephrase that. I have to go to a hospital to get dialysis. Unfortunately that is not without its dangers. Raseny will have to drive me, and her car is not equipped to handle this kind of weather, and neither is she. Driving to the hospital will be an adventure. The biggest hurdle is the fact that her car is mostly unable to go up icy hills, and I can't think of a route to the hospital that doesn't have a hill or two to climb to get there. Just getting out of this complex requires overcoming hills that have trapped many vehicles at the bottom. The same applies for getting home from the hospital. The hill leading to our driveway has proven to be almost insurmountable for many cars, and the thought of having to deal with it has kept Raseny from going anywhere.
But the luxury of comfort isn't one I have right now. I'm not scheduled for dialysis in Orange County until the 26th - 4 more days from now. That would make 6 days without dialysis, and that's very very dangerous territory to be in. "Insurmountable" is a word I don't have time to contemplate, I just have to hope that Raseny's car and driving skills are in good enough shape to overcome.
All I need now is a zombie invasion for the perfect compliment to this scenario.