My First Shower in Almost Three Weeks! Yippee

Yesterday, John, my PD training nurse, gave me the go-ahead to take a shower--my first since my surgery on Jan. 30.

In the weeks since surgery, I have washed my hair while kneeling before the bath tub or dunking my head with water poured from a cooking pot over the bathroom sink. Then I've sponge-bathed the rest of my body. This has been quite time-consuming, and I have had to allow for an hour and a half to shampoo, bathe, dress, and do all the tasks associated with dialysis clean-up and record-keeping each morning. Now, thank goodness, with a shower, I'll cut some of that time and effort.

But much more than the saved time and the increased convenience of a shower is the pleasure of the experience.

Taking a shower is one of the few sensual pleasures that is left to me.

* I don't smoke, take illegal drugs, or drink alcohol.

* My diet is restricted: I must avoid sweets, processed foods, dairy products, nuts, colas, and certain fruits and vegetables.

* Now that I'm on dialysis, travel is not completely impossible, but it will certainly no longer be spontaneous. (The supply company must be informed two months in advance of a domestic trip and at least three months in advance of an overseas trip, so that supplies can be delivered to my destination. And then there's all the surgical masks, cleaning supplies, towelettes, bleached towels, clamps, and other paraphenalia that I must pack. And beyond that, I have to be fairly certain that I'm conducting dialysis in a mold-free, clean space.)

* Intimacy, romance, companionship, and love seem even farther away than they have been during the rest of my life. I'm not even sure how a man would get physically close to me with all the tubing, tape, transfer set, and insulin pump that is around my mid-section.

So, taking a shower is one of the joys that is afforded me. I am so thankful to have a daily, hot shower back in my life!