Prayer4PJ is moving!

I'm grateful for the many years that this site (blogspot.com) has been home to Prayer4PJ.  Although the site had it's limitations, it was very capable in serving to communicate updates and other ministry happenings with you as my prayer and financial supporters.  

In the next several weeks, I will be planning to migrate my prayer blog posts to another site.  Please take a moment to visit the infant beginnings of my redesigned website at:  http://johnkenpo.wixsite.com/prayer4pj

As I reconfigure my current ministry with JEMS, please join me in prayer as the work continues, albeit in a more homefront capacity.  Learn what that means.

Catching my breath

I am grateful to God for the opportunity to have served as interim pastor at the West Los Angeles Holiness Church for the last fifteen months. I served concurrently with my JEMS ministry.  The WLA pastoral responsibility has drawn to a close as Pastor Brian Nakamura assumes the full-time position as senior pastor.  It was a privilege and honor to use the pastoral gifts that the Lord invested in me so long ago.  

Now is the time to catch my breath and to listen to God's voice for next steps.  My last message at West LA was "Planning Ahead."  I will certainly apply that to myself.

In the meantime, I continue my ministry with JEMS, serving as the Director of Strategic Development for South America.  A large part of that task will involve serving churches here at home as a missions mobilizer (to recruit and train for missions service) and a resource for missions awareness in an increasingly global era.  

This past month (June 19th) I was able to share at the San Diego Japanese Christian Church in small groups and in their morning worship service.

Since San Diego JCC was a church I had formerly pastored, I was able to reconnect with some precious, long-time friends.  

The next few months will have me serving in different churches as a Sunday morning worship speaker.  Please pray for my time and travel commitments.

July 17 - Crossroads Community Church, Mission Viejo
August 7 - Victory Fellowship, Torrance
August 28 - Japanese American Christian Chapel, Camarillo.

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Japan via South America

We are pleased to welcome again the Okada family who will be serving the Lord in Japan.  As mentioned in earlier posts, the South America Missions Department has been working to cultivate relationships with the Japanese church in Japan.  There are particular churches working with the Brazilian Nikkei community there.  Pastor John brokered a meeting between Pastor Adriano Kuroki and Mark Okada in Tokyo to determine if a ministry opportunity could be pursued this summer.

JEMS is delighted that God opened all the doors and that the Okadas are responding with such good hearts.  They will be serving in a camp ministry outside of Tokyo.  Please pray for (L-R) Mark, Lilly, Leighton, Lauren, Luke, Lindsey, Pam.  (Click photo to expand).

Good stuff!

There's so much good stuff going on ministry-wise.  I'm grateful for your prayers as God is opening doors on several fronts.  

Armed with brochures and my notes in Portuguese, I am sharing at the Brazilian Baptist Church in Los Angeles (below).  

  

Arranging for meetings in Tokyo with a Brazilian Nikkei pastor in order that a possible team ministry might be created there for this August.

Preparing our North American young adults for short-term service.  

Praying with JEMS SoAm alumni who will be serving in Brazil this summer with another agency that deals with human trafficking.

Traveling to San Diego to meet with potential supporters and to express appreciation to the SD Japanese Christian Church for their many years of financial and prayer support.  

My schedule is delightfully full these days.  Thank you for allowing me to serve with JEMS through your prayers and financial support!

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Forgetting how to engage

In a series of messages that I am preparing, I share the idea that we are living in perhaps the loneliest generation.

We are perhaps the most social media savvy generation in the history of mankind.  Email, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Line, Kakaotalk, Periscope, text, telephone and separately, air travel.  All of these resources are available on a device as small as our cellphones.  At the same time despite having all of these things at our fingertips, we are also one of the loneliest generations in the history of mankind. 

With our thumbs and our keyboards, we've lost the ability to interact with others.  To have a conversation.  To engage people in meaningful dialogue.  And without that ability, families and the church are lost. 

Cultivating connections to our friends, family and community is key to having healthy relationships and to the growth of the church.  - From Pastor John's message on "building bridges."

Really though, this guy explains it far better and more eloquently than me:

In an article entitled, "How to Talk to a Brazilian," the author, Regina Scharf makes this observation as it relates to cross-cultural ministry:

Question: What new global trends are likely to impact the way short-term missions is done in the future?

Answer: Probably the most significant trend would be technology, and it’s both a positive and negative influence. Positively speaking, short-term teams today come back with more ability to stay in touch with the people they served alongside of.

Unfortunately, technology can also have a negative impact. It’s getting increasingly difficult for Westerners to be emotionally present where they’re serving. Rather than becoming culturally immersed, they go out during the day and do ministry, but come back at night to check their Facebook pages and update their blogs. They don’t become part of the local culture because technology is keeping them connected to home.

JEMS is not opposed to using technology (websites, blogs, etc.) for the cause of missions, but articles like these can help us to stop and consider how we use the technological resources that are available to us. Do not let them distract from your primary purpose.  And consider if the technology is being used for God’s glory.  

This is food for thought.

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Our Performance or God's Provision (Presence)

We're all influenced by the performance model in our lives. We were taught from the earliest ages that success and failure are based on our performance. If you do your work well, you will be rewarded. If you perform poorly, you will find no reward and perhaps even punishment. Performance appears to be the key to success. 

Unfortunately since reward is positive and punishment is negative, it became very easy to interpret relationships in the same way. Positive relationships come from good performance; negative from bad performance. I am accepted if I do well; rejected if I do poorly. I am loved if I do well; “unloved” if I don’t do well. 

You see how the process works. We could refer to this as “performance-based relationship.” Many people inherit that from their family values. 

A form of this performance system found its way into the Philippian church. It took the form of a performance-based spirituality. And we will learn what that means as we study Philippians 3:1-14

Full message online:

 

Message from May 22, 2016 - West Los Angeles Holiness Church

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Alternate horizons

Reaching Brazilians in Japan?  What?

There are over 250,000 Brazilians of Japanese descent currently living and working in Japan as dekasegi or short term workers.  The economic crisis in Brazil and globally has caused many to return to the home of their grandparents to seek better opportunities for themselves and their families.  While many dekasegi make a short-term commitment and return to Brazil after six months to two years, many choose to stay on in Japan perhaps due to uncertain prospects at home.

This has created a unique opportunity for the church to reach out and encourage a displaced and often, disheartened community.  Marital, family, acculturation problems have all created challenges for the Brazilian Nikkei.  The Nikkei church in Brazil has responded by sending missionaries and pastors to open churches in Japan with a specific calling to minister to that community.

One of those churches has invited JEMS to work in partnership with them.  As a result, we are now in the process of recruiting Brazilian Americans from here in LA to respond to that invitation to go to Japan.  I met with the Primeira Igreja Batista Brasileira de Los Angeles to invite their church members to consider serving the Lord with JEMS this summer.  After talking and praying together with the church's pastor, we are trusting God and moving forward.

With flyers in hand, I visited the church's worship service on Sunday, May 15th and gave a missions appeal in Portuguese.  Praise God for his provision and that the language gifting continues!  In addition, I was able to show a short video describing the ministry in Toyohashi.

 

It's wonderful how God was already speaking to hearts at the church.  I was received with openness and met with about eight people who indicated their desire to either go or (in one person's case) to support the team financially.

I ask you to pray for these folks pictured who are now considering a "YES" to the invitation to serve this summer in Toyohashi.  An additional Brazilian friend of mine in Northern California contacted me last week to ask if he could also participate in this project and join this team.  Let's pray that God will bring this all together!

Interested members of PIBBLA with PJ

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Training for summer mission is underway

JEMS is preparing its workers for the 2016 season in South America.  We are grateful to God for providing two workers who will be serving in Brazil and Paraguay this summer.  The news out of Brazil has not been conducive to our recruitment efforts.  Reports of government instability, corruption and violence associated with the Olympics, the spread of the Zika virus, have discouraged many from considering serving in Brazil this year.  

Although JEMS has had a stellar history in South America regarding the care and safety of its workers, it's difficult to offset the influence of CNN.  Hopefully we will have better success in 2017.  

That notwithstanding, we are pleased that Holly (pictured below, right) from Los Angeles Holiness Church, and Diana (pictured, left) from Crossroads Community Church in Mission Viejo, have responded to the invitation to serve this July in South America.  

Holly will be serving her third mission to Brazil with JEMS.  This July, she will be serving the Holiness Church in Presidente Prudente for her first week and the Free Methodist Church of São José dos Campos during her second week and a half.  

Diana will be serving as a JEMS worker, seconded to a missions team from the Mission Valley Free Methodist Church.  In a new model, this JEMS/MVFM hybrid team will be an effort to create new partnerships with local churches.  Diana will be serving at the Free Methodist Church in Sorocaba, Brazil and at the Free Methodist Church in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay.  Diana continues the long tradition of ministry in Paraguay which JEMS began in 1992.  

This past weekend (May 7th), training was conducted for both workers.  I am grateful for the willing participation of Darryl Wong and Rianna Wong (no relation) in providing insights and practical lessons.

Both Darryl and Rianna have had prior experience in working with the churches in which Holly and Diana will be serving. 

On a personal level, it was exciting to hear about Rianna's own plans to serve on a six-month mission trip to Brazil, beginning in June.  

She, together with former JEMS summer worker, Alyssa Gozun (and another friend) will be serving with the organization, 27 Million which addresses the issue of human trafficking.  27 million is the estimated number of labor and sex slaves in our world today.  Our prayers are with Rianna and Alyssa as they serve in various cities in Brazil through the end of the year.  

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Local partnerships

Ministry continues amidst the changes related to my medical treatment.  Last week I was able to meet together with Pastor Miguel of the First Brazilian Baptist Church of Los Angeles (Primeira Igreja Batista Brasileira de Los Angeles).  We spoke together about JEMS working together with his church to encourage one another and to explore possible mission opportunities.

Pastor Miguel and Pastor John meeting in Culver City

We are currently investigating the possibility of mobilizing members of his church to consider serving with JEMS in Japan this summer, specifically in the city of Toyohashi.  

Why is the South America Department going to Japan?  Because there are approximately 275,000 Brazilian Japanese living in Japan today.  They migrated to Japan to escape the economic instability that has been impacting the Brazilian economy for the last thirty years.  These migrant workers are called dekasegi (Portuguese:   decassegui).  

  

The original Japanese word dekasegi  roughly translates as "working away from home".  Many of these Japanese Brazilians have chosen to make Japan their home.  In so doing, they face discrimination, language barriers, cultural adaptation and other difficulties.  Although some have lived for a number of years in Japan, many Japanese nationals consider them as "gaijin" or outsiders.  As these Japanese Brazilians continue their life in Japan, their children are facing challenges of acceptance and adaptation in their adopted land.  

The Igreja Evangélica Holiness do Brasil (Nikkei), based in São Paulo, has established five mission churches in Japan to meet the spiritual needs of the dekasegi population.  The challenges  facing the churches are as numerous as the problems faced by the dekasegi themselves.

 

Each summer, the Brazil Holiness Churches in Japan work together to offer two weeks of camp for children and teenagers.  JEMS has been invited to work in partnership with the Brazilian Holiness Church to share the good news of Jesus with this migrant community in Toyohashi.  In turn, JEMS is asking the Primeira Igreja Batista Brasileira de Los Angeles to consider serving in this missionary project.

  

The wonderful advantage of sending Brazilian Americans to work with Brazilian Japanese is that the language is already in place.  However, the challenge for these Brazilian Americans will be one of entering into a country with different cultures and customs. 

Please join Pastor Miguel and me in praying that the First Brazilian Baptist Church of Los Angeles will be able to form a team to send workers to minister to these young people in Toyohashi, Japan.  

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For your prayers . . .

Thank you.

Tradução portuguesa abaixo / Tradución español por debajo

The journey to undergoing dialysis was not an easy one.  For anyone who has had a lifetime of good health, the idea of being connected to a machine three times a week is a challenging one.  Honestly, I found myself delaying the start of my treatment simply because it was an emotional hurdle to overcome.  In January, I made the decision to go to a Christian counseling center because of the sadness, anxiety and hesitation I felt about beginning this process.  

Twenty years ago, counseling was not a choice I would have made.  Whether it was due to pride or the Japanese cultural feelings of shame, I wouldn't consider going to a counselor.  It was difficult as a pastor to acknowledge that I didn't have all the answers or that I was wrong.  Thank God I've grown up enough to understand the value of receiving the counsel of others.  Especially in times of distress.  I only wish I understood this back when my marriage was struggling.  

Since beginning dialysis, it's been a lesson in adaptation.  Needles.  Physical reactions.  Dietary changes.  

I have never been fond of needles.  Thankfully as I begin, I'm starting out with the baby needle of the dialysis family.  But in time, I will be working up to the big boy needle (14 gauge, pictured here)

Photos are courtesy of http://theflattire.blogspot.com/

That's a darn big needle!!   The needle size determines the amount of blood flow.  Since the purpose of dialysis is to clean the blood, the larger needle enables more fluid to pass through the dialysis machine.  Right now, in a three-and-a-half hour session, about one-third of my blood is being cleaned.  As I move up the needle ladder, the amount cleaned during the same period will be 100%.

Prepping to insert the needle.  Gahhhh!

As these treatments begin, they have not been without some physical reactions.  Because dialysis tends to take out certain important vitamins and minerals, I have been diagnosed as anemic because of the amount of iron being removed from my blood.  Supplements are being prescribed for me.  But in the meantime, anemia means feeling physically tired.  My answer of course, is more coffee!!

  

Another mineral that is being dialysed out is calcium.  I'm currently under my target numbers for calcium and this means that I am at a higher risk of muscle cramping.  

You know the cramps that you might get in your calf or your foot late at night?  The kind that finds you trying to adjust your position to undo the cramp?  Yeah, that one.  I'm getting those in my legs and stomach and it's not been too pleasant.  The solution for now is to add some Tums to my diet.  Tums contains calcium carbonate which provides for my calcium needs.  And I hope these will help offset some of the cramping.

Why not eat a banana, you ask?  Hang on a second for the answer.   

One of the minor complaints of the dialysis treatment is the feeling of coldness.  Because the blood is being circulated outside the body, somewhere around the two hour mark, I find myself shivering from the cold.  It's not something that wearing warm clothes or being covered with a blanket will help as the cold is internal.  I'm not sure yet how to deal with this.  

During and at the end of the dialysis treatment, the nurse or tech will monitor my blood pressure.  This is due to the fact that with blood being processed outside of the body, blood pressure drops.  During the week of March 7, as an example, after my treatment was completed, I had to do a standing blood pressure reading.  As I stood, the room swirled and I was seeing stars.  

Wow!  Never had that happen.  I almost fainted.  The reason?  My blood pressure was 80/30.  (Normal is 120/80).  This side effect of dialysis resulted in an additional hour in the clinic while they ran a saline drip.  After an hour I was able to get into my car and drive home.  Thankfully this only happened once. 

But this also provided an important lesson for me.  On that day I had skipped lunch and had come into my treatment with an empty stomach.  Dialysis quite frankly, depletes the body.  And if I come into my treatment already depleted, then the result can be disastrous as it was last week. Never again.

So diet then becomes an important part of the dialysis treatment.  The restrictions are very interesting.  My friends imagine that I need to eat healthier, and will list off many things that are actually now not good for me.  The things I cannot eat are not super intuitive.  Two minerals are the culprit basically:  potassium and phosphorus.  These two elements put a great deal of stress on a weakened kidney.  

So that answers the earlier banana question.  Bananas and oranges, for example, are high in potassium and are on the list of foods that are not recommended for kidney patients.  Bananas and oranges are otherwise a pretty healthy food option, but not for us.  

Other surprising items on the list include dairy (including cheese), yogurt, potatoes, tomatoes (no more spaghetti bolognese), nuts, dried fruits, high fiber and whole grain foods, pumpkin, asparagus, avocado (good-bye guacamole!!), beans (lentils, including hummus), brown rice (thank goodness, I'll never have to eat brown rice!  haha!).  

I have a food list prepared by the National Kidney Foundation.  It's pretty straightforward and means a change in my eating habits.  Thank goodness, meat, poultry and certain fish are still allowed.

Amidst the changes, it's been nice to have friends who stop by and offer support and encouragement.  They have been a blessing.  

  

Although one might think that a three-and-a-half hour treatment would lend itself to productive work or reading, it's actually quite difficult.  We are placed in a reclined position, with one arm immobile due to the placement of the needles.  The other arm is semi-immobile due to the blood pressure cuff.  While the procedure is not painful, it is sometimes very tiring.  Many times, I will take a nap.  

Some have asked if I can use a laptop.  But that's pretty difficult given the positioning and the inability to use my arms.  At most, I will listen to podcasts, to music or will try to set up my iPad to watch something online.  Texting and talking on the phone will be skills that I need to pick up without my arms to help me.  

I'm appreciative of your prayers for me as I undertake this new chapter in my life.  I am still able to work at JEMS as my treatment hours are in the evening.  Some days run a bit shorter (MWF are my treatment days).  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm trying to work 10-hour shifts.  

The decision to finally start came with my January labs.  My doctor, after looking at my bloodwork contacted me and said, "Your blood toxicity level is pretty high.  Unless you start dialysis soon, you may risk going into a coma."  Great.  So it comes down to needles or coma.  I chose needles.  

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A viagem para a começar diálise não foi fácil. Para qualquer um que teve uma vida de boa saúde, a idéia de ser ligado a uma máquina três vezes por semana é um desafio. Honestamente, eu encontrei-me atrasando o início do meu tratamento simplesmente porque era uma barreira emocional para superar. Em janeiro, eu tomei a decisão de ir a um centro de aconselhamento cristão por causa da tristeza, ansiedade e hesitação que eu sentia por iniciar este processo.

Vinte anos atrás, o aconselhamento não era uma escolha que eu teria feito. Se foi devido ao orgulho ou os sentimentos culturais japonesas de vergonha, eu não considerei que ir a um conselheiro. Como eu era um pastor, não queria mostrar minhas fraquezas. Graças a Deus eu cresci o suficiente para entender o valor de receber o conselho dos outros. Especialmente em tempos de aflição. É uma grande pena que eu não entendi isso quando meu casamento estava sofrendo.

Desde o início de diálise, tem sido uma lição de adaptação. Agulhas. As reações físicas. Mudanças na dieta.

Eu nunca gostei de agulhas. Felizmente, como eu começar, eu estou começando com a agulha bebê da família de diálise. Mas com o tempo, vou ter que usar a maior agulha (14 gauge, foto acima)

Isso é uma grande agulha !! O tamanho da agulha determina a quantidade de fluxo sanguíneo. Uma vez que a finalidade de diálise é para limpar o sangue, a agulha maior permite que mais fluido passe através da máquina de diálise. Agora, em uma sessão de três-e-um-meia hora, cerca de um terço do meu sangue está sendo limpo. Como eu subir a escada da agulha, o valor limpo durante o mesmo período será de 100%.

Como estes tratamentos começar, eles não têm sido sem algumas reações físicas. Porque diálise tende a tirar certas vitaminas e minerais importantes, tenho sido diagnosticado com anemia por causa da quantidade de ferro que está sendo removido do meu sangue. Suplementos estão sendo prescritos para mim. Mas, entretanto, anemia significa sentir fisicamente cansado.

Outro mineral que está a ser dialisado para fora é o cálcio. Estou actualmente abaixo dos níveis saudáveis de cálcio e isso significa que eu estou em um maior risco de cãibras musculares.

Você conheça as cãibras que pode entrar no músculo da panturrilha ou seu pé tarde da noite? O tipo que você tentar arrumar ajustando sua posição para desfazer a cãibra? Sim, esse mesmo. Estou ficando aqueles em minhas pernas e estômago e não tem sido muito agradável. A solução para agora é adicionar alguns Tums a minha dieta. Tums contém carbonato de cálcio que fornece para as minhas necessidades de cálcio. E eu espero que estes irão ajudar a compensar algumas das cólicas.

Por que não comer uma banana, você pergunta? Espere um segundo para a resposta.

Um dos menores queixas do tratamento de diálise é a sensação de frio. Porque o sangue está circulando fora do corpo, encontro-me tremendo de frio. Não é algo que o uso de roupas quentes ou ser coberto com um cobertor vai ajudar como o frio é interno. Eu ainda não tenho certeza de como lidar com isso.

Durante e no fim do tratamento por diálise, a enfermeira ou técnico irá monitorizar minha pressão arterial. Isto é devido ao facto de que com o sangue a ser processado no exterior do corpo, a pressão arterial diminui. Durante a semana de 07 de março, por exemplo, depois do meu tratamento foi concluído, eu tinha que fazer uma leitura da pressão arterial em pé. Enquanto eu estava, o quarto rodopiou e eu estava vendo estrelas.

Uau! Nunca teve que isso aconteça. Eu quase desmaiei. O motivo? Minha pressão arterial era 8/3. (Normal é 12/8). Este efeito colateral de diálise resultou em uma hora adicional na clínica recebendo uma infusão intravenosa de solução salina. Depois de uma hora eu era capaz de entrar no meu carro e ir para casa. Felizmente isso só aconteceu uma vez.

Mas isso também forneceu uma lição importante para mim. Naquele dia eu não tive tempo para almoço e tinha ido para o meu tratamento com o estômago vazio. Diálise francamente, esgota o corpo. E se eu entrar no meu tratamento já esgotados, então o resultado pode ser desastroso como foi na semana passada. Nunca mais.

Assim, dieta, então torna-se uma parte importante do tratamento por diálise. As restrições são muito interessantes. Meus amigos imaginarem que eu preciso comer saudável, e irá listar muitas coisas que são, na verdade, agora não é bom para mim. As coisas que eu não posso comer não são super intuitiva. Dois minerais são o culpado, basicamente: potássio e fósforo. Estes dois elementos colocar uma grande quantidade de estresse sobre um rim enfraquecido.

Então, que responde à pergunta de banana antes. Bananas e laranjas, por exemplo, são ricos em potássio e estão na lista de alimentos que não são recomendados para pacientes renais. Bananas e laranjas são de outra maneira uma opção de alimento muito saudável, mas não para nós.

Outros itens surpreendentes na lista incluem comidas feito de leite (incluindo queijo), iogurte, batatas, tomates (não mais do espaguete bolonhês), nozes, frutas secas, cereais e pão rica em fibras e alimentos integrais, abóbora, espargos, abacate (adeus guacamole !!) , feijão (lentilhas, incluindo hummus), arroz (graças a Deus, eu nunca vou ter que comer arroz integral! haha!).

Eu tenho uma lista preparada pela National Kidney Foundation. É bastante simples e significa uma mudança nos meus hábitos alimentares. Graças a Deus, carnes, frango e alguns peixes ainda são permitidos.

Em meio às mudanças, tem sido bom ter amigos que parar e oferecer apoio e encorajamento. Eles têm sido uma bênção. (Fotos em cima)

  

Embora se possa pensar que um três-e-um-meia hora de tratamento, prestam-se ao trabalho produtivo ou lendo, é realmente muito difícil. Nós somos colocados numa posição reclinada, com um braço imóvel, devido à colocação das agulhas. O outro braço é semi-imóvel devido ao punho da pressão sanguínea. Enquanto que o procedimento não é doloroso, às vezes é muito cansativo. Muitas vezes, vou tirar um cochilo.

Alguns perguntaram se eu posso usar um laptop. Mas isso é muito difícil, dado o posicionamento e a incapacidade de usar meus braços. No máximo, eu vou ouvir podcasts, música ou vai tentar montar o meu iPad para assistir alguma coisa online. Mensagens de texto e falar ao telefone será habilidades que eu preciso para pegar sem os meus braços para me ajudar.

Estou grato de suas orações por mim como eu realizar este novo capítulo na minha vida. Eu ainda sou capaz de trabalhar em JEMS como minhas horas de tratamento são à noite. Alguns dias correr um pouco mais curto (MWF são os meus dias de tratamento). Às terças-feiras e quintas-feiras, eu estou tentando trabalhar em turnos de 10 horas.

A decisão de iniciar finalmente veio com meus laboratórios de Janeiro. Meu médico, depois de olhar para o meu bloodwork contactou-me e disse: "Seu nível de toxicidade no sangue é bastante elevado. A menos que você começar a diálise em breve, você pode correr o risco de entrar em coma." Ótimo. Então se trata de agulhas ou coma. Eu escolhi agulhas.

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El viaje para comenzar diálisis no fue fácil. Para cualquier persona que ha tenido una vida de buena salud, la idea de estar conectado a una máquina de tres veces a la semana es un reto. Honestamente, me encontré retrasar el comienzo de mi tratamiento simplemente porque era una barrera emocional para superar. En enero, he tomado la decisión de ir a un centro de orientación cristiana a causa de la tristeza, la ansiedad y la duda que yo iba a comenzar este proceso.

Hace veinte años, el consejo no era una opción que habría hecho. Si fue por orgullo o por sentimientos de vergüenza culturales japoneses, no me considero ir a un consejero. Desde que era un ministro, que no quería mostrar mis debilidades. Gracias a Dios que crecí lo suficiente para entender el valor de recibir el consejo de otros. Sobre todo en los momentos de angustia. Es una gran pena que yo no entendía que cuando mi matrimonio estaba sufriendo.

Desde el inicio de la diálisis, ha sido una lección de adaptación. Agujas. Las reacciones físicas. Los cambios en la dieta.

Nunca me ha gustado agujas. Afortunadamente, al comenzar, estoy empezando con la familia de diálisis bebé aguja. Pero con el tiempo, tengo que usar una aguja más grande (calibre 14, en la foto)

Esa es una gran aguja !! El tamaño de la aguja determina la cantidad de flujo de sangre. Puesto que el propósito de diálisis es limpiar la sangre, la aguja más grande permite más que el fluido pase a través de la máquina de diálisis. Ahora, en una sesión de tres horas y media de duración, está siendo limpiado alrededor de un tercio de mi sangre. Mientras subo la aguja escalera, valor limpia durante el mismo período es de 100%.

A medida que comienzan a estos tratamientos, que no han estado exentas de algunas reacciones físicas. Debido a que la diálisis tiende a sacar ciertas vitaminas y minerales importantes, me han diagnosticado con anemia debido a la cantidad de hierro que ser retirado de mi sangre. Los suplementos se prescriben para mí. Pero mientras tanto, la anemia significa sentirse cansado físicamente.

Otro mineral que ha de ser dializada a cabo es el calcio. Estoy actualmente por debajo de los niveles saludables de calcio y eso significa que estoy en un mayor riesgo de calambres musculares.

Usted sabe que los calambres que pueden entrar en el músculo de la pantorrilla o el pie a altas horas de la noche? El tipo se intenta obtener mediante el ajuste de la posición de deshacer el calambre? Sí, que uno. Me estoy poniendo los de mis piernas y el estómago y no ha sido muy agradable. La solución es añadir ahora algunas Tums mi dieta. Tums contiene carbonato de calcio que proporcione para mis necesidades de calcio. Y espero que esto ayudará a compensar algunos de los calambres.

Por qué no comer un plátano, lo preguntas? Espera un ratito para respuesta.

Una de las quejas de tratamiento de diálisis más pequeña es la sensación de frío. Debido a que la sangre está circulando fuera del cuerpo, me encuentro temblando. No es algo que el uso de ropa de abrigo o cubrirse con una manta ayudará a que el frío es interno. Todavía no estoy seguro de cómo manejar la situación.

Durante y al final del tratamiento de diálisis, la enfermera o el técnico supervisarán mi presión arterial. Esto es debido al hecho de que con la sangre a procesar fuera del cuerpo, la presión arterial disminuye. Durante la semana del 7 de marzo, por ejemplo, después de mi tratamiento había terminado, tuve que tomar una lectura de la presión arterial de pie. Mientras yo estaba, la habitación se dio la vuelta, y yo estaba viendo estrellas.

Wow! Nunca he tenido que pasar. Casi me desmayo. ¿El motivo? Mi presión arterial era de 8/3. (Normal es 12/8). Este efecto secundario de diálisis resultó en una hora adicional en la clínica de recibir una infusión intravenosa de solución salina. Después de una hora pude entrar en mi coche y volver a casa. Afortunadamente esto sólo ocurrió una vez.

Pero también proporciona una lección importante para mí. Ese día yo no tenía tiempo para el almuerzo y había ido a mi tratamiento con el estómago vacío. La diálisis francamente, agota el cuerpo. Y si entro en mi tratamiento ya vendió, entonces el resultado puede ser desastroso como lo fue la semana pasada. Nunca más.

Por lo tanto, la dieta, a continuación, se convierte en una parte importante del tratamiento de diálisis. Las restricciones son muy interesantes. Mis amigos se imaginan que tengo que comer sano, y aparecerá una lista de muchas cosas que son, de hecho, ahora no es bueno para mí. Las cosas que no puedo comer no son súper intuitiva. Dos minerales son los culpables, en esencia, potasio y fósforo. Estos dos elementos ponen una gran cantidad de estrés en un riñón debilitado.

De manera que responda a la pregunta de plátano antes. Naranjas y plátanos, por ejemplo, son ricos en potasio y están en la lista de alimentos que no se recomienda para los pacientes renales. Los plátanos y las naranjas son una opción de lo contrario la comida muy saludable, pero no para nosotros.

Otros elementos sorprendentes en la lista incluyen hechos de alimentos lácteos (incluyendo queso), yogur, patatas, tomates (no más de espaguetis boloñesa), nueces, frutos secos, cereales y pan ricos en fibra y granos enteros, calabaza, espárragos, aguacate (adiós guacamole !!), frijoles (lentejas, incluyendo hummus), arroz (gracias a Dios, yo no tengo que comer arroz integral! jaja!).

Tengo una lista preparada por la Fundación Nacional del Riñón. Es bastante simple y significa un cambio en mis hábitos alimenticios. Gracias a Dios, carnes, pollo y pescado algunos todavía están permitidos.

En medio de los cambios han sido bueno tener amigos que parar y ofrecer apoyo y aliento. Han sido una bendición. (Fotos arriba)

  

Si bien se podría pensar que un tratamiento de tres horas y media de duración, se prestan para el trabajo productivo o la lectura, es realmente muy difícil. Estamos situados en una posición reclinada, un brazo de propiedad, debido a la colocación de las agujas. El otro brazo es semi-inmóvil debido a la manguito de presión arterial. Si bien el procedimiento no es doloroso, a veces es muy agotador. A menudo, voy a tomar una siesta.

Algunos han preguntado si puedo usar un ordenador portátil. Pero esto es muy difícil, dado el posicionamiento y la imposibilidad de usar los brazos. A lo sumo, Voy a escuchar podcasts, música o a tratar de montar mi iPad para ver algo en línea. mensajes de texto y hablar por teléfono serán las habilidades que necesita para salir de mis brazos para que me ayude.

Estoy agradecido por sus oraciones por mí, ya que emprender este nuevo capítulo en mi vida. Todavía soy capaz de trabajar en JEMS como mis horas de tratamiento son por la noche. Algunos días corren un poco más corto (MWF son mis días de tratamiento). Los martes y jueves, estoy tratando de trabajar en turnos de 10 horas.

La decisión de iniciar finalmente llegó con mis laboratorios de enero. Mi médico, después de mirar en mi sangre me contactó y le dijo: "Su nivel de toxicidad de la sangre es muy alta a menos que inicie la diálisis pronto, puede correr el riesgo de entrar en un estado de coma .." Gran. Así se trata de agujas o coma. Elegí agujas.

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