I went up to dialysis--4 beds in a room that needed a touch by the Fab Five. The machines make no noise. The nurses are very competent and reassuring.

Dr. Richard Cotteiro is the nephrologist in charge. It looks like he and Jim Myers are going to be my primary caregivers for years to come. The plan was to give me four days of dialysis, clean out the poisons and some of the fluid, and then see what my kidneys could do on their own. They painlessly threaded a catheter into my internal jugular vein, and hooked it up to a machine. You lie on a bed. The machine makes no noise. You feel absolutely nothing. The room is very cold, so they bundle you in blankets and you can sleep for three hours. When you get off the table, you feel no different. That night, I made 200 cc urine on my own. I dedided that I would live after all. Carol  spent the day with me. She appears to be cheerful and upbeat, without anxiety, competent, and totally devoted to me. She is amazing. John Barylick comes every night, bringing goodies, such as Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fish ice cream. He is full of good spirits and stories, always a twinkle in his eye, such a good friend. Duffy and Larry drop in. I spend the day on the room phone and my cell phone, talking to patients, family, friends, colleagues. It's all so new.