Vada’s Story

Site created on February 29, 2020

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Feel free to follow us and walk through this journey with us. Prayers, comments and suggestions are welcome from any and all. My husband David, sons Matthew (Steph), Greg (Beth), grandsons, Evan and Jamie, and daughter Amanda (Christopher), thank you for visiting.

Many of my friends do not know that I have been battling End Stage Kidney Disease for more than 5 years. It is due to the damage that was inflicted on my kidneys by 42 years of high blood pressure. I was kept off of dialysis by the Grace of G-d and the skill of my nephrologist for as long as possible. However, after several hospital admissions in one year and an increased difficulty in managing the problem, dialysis was started in November of 2018. I have been on the kidney transplant list since July 2018. I am on Peritoneal Dialysis, which is done every night on a machine for 7 hours. The impact on my life and that of my family is major. The worst part was not being able to travel to Florida when my 94 year old mother-in-law fell and needed surgery. My bedside machine, 5 liter bags of fluid, all cleaning and dressing supplies must travel with me. I also need to stay close to home when I am not feeling well in order to monitor my electrolytes and blood count. I have worked on keeping this situation close to the vest, but my transplant team is now encouraging me to increase my visibility. I am told that the wait time from a deceased donor is 3-5 or 5-7 years depending on the individual requirements. I am also told that a transplant from a living donor will work better and longer than a transplant from a deceased donor. There are programs, or chains, that have been created to not only help me but others that you may know. Visit www.kidney.org for additional information. I am registered at Lankenau Medical Center, Wynnewood, PA and if you would like more information regarding helping me, visit mainlinehealth.org/kidney or call 1-484-476-8485. Thank you for taking the time to read this and know that I fully realize that organ donation is a decision not made quickly or without research. Everyone cannot nor wishes to be an organ donor. You can help by simply learning about kidney disease, spreading the word and assisting in any manner that you feel comfortable.

Newest Update

Journal entry by Vada Conant

It had happened before, and in March 2021, Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) became more and more uncomfortable.  My prescription for PD was for 7 hours every night.   PD is based on placing a catheter in the abdomen and using the peritoneal membrane in the abdomen the same as the filter on a hemodialysis (HD) machine.  For the second time in as many years, the process became more and more painful with each treatment.  The abdominal discomfort lead to multiple appointments with several Gastroenterologists, radiological studies and another hospital admission.   The catheter had to be surgically repositioned but had already damaged my bladder.  A Permacath was surgically placed in my left chest as access for HD while my abdomen healed.  My hemodialysis schedule was 4 hours Monday-Wednesday-Friday.  After 4 weeks of HD, I returned to nightly PD.  While dealing with the abdominal issue,  frequent foot and leg cramps (attributed to dehydration) was affecting my mobility, sleep and general comfort.  One extreme episode resulted in another hospital admission after a call to 911.  PD was administered by the dialysis nurses while I was an inpatient.  PD is every day.  No vacation allowed.  The machine is even approved by TSA to travel with me on a plane or cruise ship.  Nice.

In March, a colorectal surgeon determined that my abdominal pain was due to a structural problem and performed laparoscopic surgery in May to hopefully fix things.  Five weeks post op and I have been cleared to attempt PD again.   The “flush” of my catheter yesterday went well.  No pain.  I would be able to do PD tonight but I have to show the clinic nurses tomorrow that I have not forgotten how to connect myself to the machine that I’ve lived with for four years.  I’ve been on HD 109 days today.  47 three and a half hour treatments.  Nothing compared to hundreds of nights on PD.  How do they think that I could EVER forget how to wash and sanitize my hands, put on a mask, clean the catheter, and plug myself into the machine next to my bed?  The machine that has my husband’s middle name because I spend every night with it.  The machine has an LED screen that walks you through every single step, not allowing any step to be missed.   Perhaps someone thinks that I have lost my ability to read.

Apologies if I sound annoyed.  I am.  I know that after much prayer and some sleep, I will be fine.
Patients and caregivers love hearing from you; add a comment to show your support.
Help Vada Stay Connected to Family and Friends

A $25 donation to CaringBridge powers a site like Vada's for two weeks. Will you make a gift to help ensure that this site stays online for them and for you?

Comments Hide comments

Show Your Support

See the Ways to Help page to get even more involved.

SVG_Icons_Back_To_Top
Top