Matters of the Heart
Previously on The Diagnosis In my last post I talked about starting dialysis and mentioned the endurance of my fistula that I have had for over twenty years. The first month it was in operation, however, it had major issues. Clotting issues. One of the disturbing qualities of having a worm-like vein on your arm is that you can look at it and see it moving. Like, you can see your heartbeat in your arm. For the longest time, I could also hear it when I would lie down to sleep. I guess the sound waves carried through my bedding up to my pillow or something, but it was super weird and distracting. As gross as that is, it's also how you know your fistula is working. In the first few weeks they started using mine, it would frequently clot. As in, there is a clot of blood blocking the vein and it can't be used. You can see it not moving. This is not unusual, by the way. It's not uncommon to be in a dialysis clinic and to see someone leaving after a discussion of, "you're...