The stats

With the anniversary now gone by and the move into my second year on dialysis complete, I have tried to compile some statistics.

Numbers aren't as good a friend to me as words, but here are some figures from the year that was:

There have been 364 nights of dialysis (one night off, with permission from my consultant).

That amounts to 2,912 hours of being attached by a line that runs from my tummy to the machine in the corner of the bedroom.

I have carried 546 litres of dialysis fluid around in my tummy throughout the daytime hours and by night a total of 4,368 litres have flowed in and out of my abdomen.

I have gone through (and duly recylced) rougly 1,752 cardboard boxes.

I have taken 4,004 tablets and 15 energy injections.

I have had approximately six pints of blood taken from me for various tests.

I have spent zero nights in hospital and only about one hour in the company of my consultants, spaced over approximately seven appointments throughout the year.

I have slept about 3,276 hours, an average of 9 hours per day, split between what I manage at night and naps in the afternoon.

I have maintained my weight in and around the 54kg mark and have had a blood pressure reading that has averaged out at about 115/75.

I have thrown up approximately 40 times (mostly in the last two months) and have had to kneel down in the shower to stop myself from fainting on about 30 occasions.

I have walked and run several hundred miles and driven thousands with Brendan in the boot.

I have disposed of about 100 bags of hazardous medical waste.

I have now been on the transplant list for ten months.

The average wait for a new kidney remains at two years.