Day 4, Thursday October 5

Writing an action blog is difficult, not because of a lack of material to write about, but because time seems to pick up speed. Before you know it a day goes by in a whirl, and you get too tired to fight through it. 

Today was such a day. There is no greater icon in Sydney than the Sydney Opera House (although the Sydney Harbor Bridge is a close second). As befits its design, it is located on Sydney Harbor, appearing to jut out into the water.

Currently, the Opera House is celebrating its 50th anniversary of opening to the public.You can tour the outside of the structure (magnificent), or dine at the several restaurants and bars. If, however, you wish to tour the interior of the building, you must take a timed, guided tour. I had quickly scheduled such a tour once I knew my dialysis dates and times. I was able to get 10:30 AM for the one-hour tour.

The tour was magnificent, as befitting the wondrous building it highlighted.

Opera house at dusk

The tour ended in a timely fashion, and we quickly scrambled to find a place for lunch before setting off for my first dialysis session outside the USA.    After gobbling down crepes at the “Four Frogs Cafe, we jumped on the “T” — the Sydney term for subway/commuter train combination —  and headed off to the nearby inner suburb of Linfield, where the dialysis center was located.

Having never left the Central Business District before, there was a worry about the length of time of the trip and the accuracy of the directions I’d been given.  Fortunately, the trains ran like clockwork, and the directions were spot on. We arrived on time.

At the B.Braun Dialysis Center

While not an icon in the traditional sense, the B. Braun Dialysis Center is a personal icon to me, because it’s my kidney lifeline while I’m in Sydney. The dialysis center is a 13-bed facility, and I mean beds as opposed to the recliner chairs at my home facility in New York.

The actual machines are similar with one major difference. Each patient is given a credit card type of identifier, to be inserted into the facility’s scale upon entering. It records your weight and then is inserted into your assigned dialysis machine. At the end of the session, the card is returned to you to weigh out.

The nurses are friendly and efficient, much like they they are at home. They made me comfortable and went about their business. One difference here was the serving of sandwiches, cake, and beverages while dialysis was in progress.

My wife was allowed to stay bedside while my treatment went on. I think that Gerri now has a better idea what a trip to dialysis entails.

I made friends with one of the other patients on my shift. He was very knowledgeable about the U.S., and we discussed American and Australian history, especially the role that the US played in defending Australia in WW II. 

After the session ended, Gerri and I went back to the train and traveled back to the CBD, to have dinner and then back to the hotel catching our breath after a first long day.

Tomorrow we have scheduled a walk across the Sydney Harbor Bridge, among other things.