It is hard to believe that it is the middle of July. Where have the days gone?  We had a wonderful time at the lake from June 27th to July 1st.  I spent a lot of time on the beach were I spent the afternoons reading the beach umbrellas. Papa and grandson played golf, went fishing, and had a great time on the seadoo. Grandson spent as much time as he possibly could at the skateboard park. The weather was perfect with temperatures plus 30 C each day. It certainly would not take much effort on my part to spend the whole summer out there. If only life where that simple.

The weather these last two weeks has been very conducive to spending time in the pool. I have been swimming for at least three hours every day hoping that the exercise will help my leg muscles. So far the exercise has not helped; I am still hobbling around like an old woman. Makes me wonder how much exercise I will have to do before I notice an improvement.

My grandson has been spending most days with me since school let out for the summer. His mom has been working at the office so this works out well for all of us. Grandson has been spending a lot of time at the new skate board park in town. He phones Papa at the office at 6:30 AM. Papa picks him up and brings him to the skateboard park which is near the office. Grandson skateboards till noon at which time I pick him up and take him home with me so he can spend the afternoon swimming. Quite often he will invite a friend over to swim with him.

Seems like my house has been grand central station since the school holidays started. Most afternoons I have a swimming pool full of kids. The activity keeps life from becoming a bore.

This morning I went to have my aldosterone and renin tests done. I got to the clinic at 11:00 AM and presented my self to the lab. The two lab techs spent half an hour trying to find a vein in my hands and arms. My hands were too swollen because of the water retention. One of the technicians tried to find a vein in my arm using a butterfly. No amount of digging found them a vein. It seems that lab technicians have a problem believing you when you tell them that you have problems with your veins. After the debacle with my arm, I suggested they use a vein in my foot but they declined. Finally they gave up and told me to come back at noon and No Name would have to take blood from an arterial vein.

When I returned to the clinic at noon, No Name told me that he first wanted to try the veins in my feet. I was in total agreement. Using a butterfly he got a good vein on the first try. Because he used a butterfly there was no pain. Hopefully these two lab techs will finally realize that no amount of digging will find a vein in my arm.

Before I had the blood work drawn at noon, I asked one of the lab technicians how exactly they planned on doing the test for aldosterone and renin. The lab technician told me that she had called the main lab and had been told it was just a simple blood draw. I asked her if the test required me to be standing or lying down. She checked her lab book and then told me no, it was just a regular blood draw. I hope to goodness she is right and I am wrong.

While he was doing the blood draw, No Name told me that he had looked over my records and felt that I had hyperaldosteronism. He said hopefully the tests I had done today would prove that. I was glad in a way that the lab techs failed in their attempts to find a vein. This way No Name got involved and saw exactly how bloated I get when I have been off my diuretic for 8 days.

Now the wait begins for lab results.