Plateau

Kaas plateau, India. Courtesy of panoromio.com

This week was like a plateau. After the angiogram last Monday, things have slowed down. Maybe due to the fact that it was the Holy Week. Like everything else, even Philippine medical services have to take a back seat for the long summer weekend everybody is yearning for. Doctors take a break and go on trips local or abroad, specialized labs/centers are closed and only the hospitals and basic emergency facilities reman open. I also, sort of, took a break. No trips, just stayed home and tried to attend/participate in Lenten activities.

Last Wednesday, just before the start of the long weekend, I went to see Dr. Celestial, my nephrologist, to tell him about my angiogram results. He concurred with Dr. Sy(cardiologist) that an angioplasty is necessary before clearance for a kidney transplant is given to me. So, it’s stop all work-ups and concentrate on the angioplasty first. As I have written in my previous entry, kidney transplant may be scheduled from 3 to 6 months after the angioplasty. Just when all the other work-up procedures are almost done. Ninette(my wife and potential kidney donor) even had her Nuclear GFR(Glomular Filtration Rate) done already, plus all the other blood labs. Even my dentist is posed to clear me already. We have to stop and just repeat most of them some other time. And only after the cardio’s imprimatur. To think that some considerable amount have been invested in the tests already...  

I too have reached a plateau in terms of weight loss. Maybe because I have balanced my caloric intake against my day-to-day activities, which have slightly dipped due to the fact that summer break has started(I work in a school). Also, this week’s activity level was quiet low since pain in my ankles have recurred, maybe because I had 3 dialysis days last week instead of the usual 2, and that could’ve tipped some chemical balance a bit. (I needed the additional session to flush out the dye that was used during the angiogram last Monday.) Therefore I gotta pick up my pace a bit and be more active so as not to gain back what I have so far lost.

This coming week, though might be a little more exciting. I am trying to schedule the angioplasty as soon as possible. So maybe things will pick up this week. We decided to have it done already. Just worry about the funds later. We’re in the middle of processing loans to augment what meager savings we have. That’s a bit of reality that we need to be reminded of. Health insurance in the Philippines gives so little. The medicare(PhilHealth) system too, is easily exhausted. 

A hospital group in India commented on my previous post. Plainly advertising that cost for angioplasty, among others, is cheaper in India. Hmmm...