Tales of the Unexpected.

Strange goings on in seventies suburbia introduced by a nubile swaying silhouette....The series ran for several seasons and thrilled old and young alike with it's mysterious tales with strange twists.
I remember one particular episode involving a gardener who invented a sound machine so he could listen to the voices of flowers. However instead of the gentle lullabies and floral whispers of softly wafting rhododendrons, the botanist was treated to the unexpected hideous screams of the dying flowers as they were mown down by secateurs.

All very complex and scary for a little person, but not altogether unexpected.

This week however I unexpectedly found myself  at the new North Shore Dialysis Centre...

Dialysis? Not again?

No not for me. I was there to visit a close friend who had unexpectedly collapsed at the end of a gruelling endurance "fun run" in the South Island. She is in the peak of health, regularly runs and exercises every day, enjoys a very healthy diet and is as virtuous as Mother Theresa compared to my Bertie Bassett. Unexpected indeed.
It turns out that her kidneys had temporarily shut down after suffering the combined effects of severe dehydration mixed with a few Voltaren tablets to ease the pain associated with long runs, as per her coach's instruction.

Now Voltaren (Diclofenac sodium) it seems, when combined with dehydration, can lead to renal toxicity and in extreme cases renal papillary necrosis (not good!)
She was rushed to the local hospital for a week of fluid hydration, but had to be moved to Auckland for the nephrology.
And so my friend's kidneys have been feeling very stressed and grumpy, so much so that she has been having daily dialysis to allow the kidneys time to heal and recover from this toxic episode.

A neck catheter has been inserted and for three hours each day the poor thing is taken to the brand new dialysis unit to be hooked up and "filtered for wellness."

Things have certainly moved on since I used to make the thrice weekly trip to dialysis and the contrasts between the 2 facilities were clearly evident, smart slate entrance, new beds, comfortable dialysis chairs and each patient has their own individual widescreen TV!

I wish my friend a speedy recovery from this temporary setback, and am reassured that she is in the best of hands, and in one of the country's newest medical establishments.