#24 Self Sufficient

Well today was a great day! Why might you ask?  Because mom had her stent removed today!!!  Which means her body is functioning on it's own fully and completely!!!!!  Yeaya!!  Besides her daily medication (which she will have to take for the rest of her life), she has no other instruments, gadgets, etc helping her survive.  They have decided to leave her fistula in for good.  When they went to install her fistula, they had a hard time, because mom does not have very god veins, and they actually had to remove a vein from her leg I believe, to construct the one she has.  So instead of surgically removing it, and having to reconstruct one if by chance her kidney fails, they are just going to leave it there.  However she is gaining weight so it does not look as dramatic as it did before.
That's right folks, I said she is gaining weight!!!  She's always been skinny-minny in her adult life,  but she was at that TOO SKINNY point during dialysis.  She also has ENERGY!!!!!  She gets worn out easily, but at least she has it in her to do stuff, which is why she gets worn out.  She hasn't been able to really leave the house yet, she still isn't allowed to drive, and being around the public isn't good for her because her system is still vulnerable.  The last thing she needs is to get sick.
Her only complaint, and she doesn't even complain about it, is since she didn't have to urinate for 2 years, her bladder atrophied a bit.  So she has to use the bathroom about every 45 minutes.  This doesn't pose a problem during the day, but it has been interrupting her sleep.  But she is also on order to be drinking 3 liters of liquids a day, so I think that also contributes to the frequency.
The thing she is looking forward to the most is traveling across many many states to visit my brother and his family at the end of April.  I have volunteered to go with them on this nearly cross country drive.  I also have volunteered to do most of the driving.  I wonder how that will go with mom's frequent bathroom requirement.  Maybe we should pursue this in a Nasa girl, murderous cross country getaway fashion..........