Ups and downs
As explained earlier, the dialysis days are not great days for Liam.  Is she in pain?  Nauseous?  Something else?  As usual with Liam, it's hard to point a finger at it.  She whines "Wendy's, Chick-fil-a, tuna, I'm cold, OWWWW" really no-stop. And no, she's not really hungry every time she mention those.  Finally, late into the night and after many calming medications, she falls asleep.  But often not for too long.  We (as in mostly Rachel) have to get up several times during the night and help her calm down and fall asleep again.  Then she sleeps deep into the day.
The days following dialysis are usually better - but not necessarily so.  Even when Liam feels well she's still bugging us about food.  She's not allowed or supposed to eat much as her digestion system is out of whack. 

But (Saturday) now she really *IS* hungry.  We decided to stop feeding her - as cruel as it sound - because food may causing her more discomfort than good.  So she's yelling I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry.  What do you do?  Damned if you do, damned if you don't.  Regardless, it's just difficult to starve your own child - even more so when we eat as usual.

This is not the first time Liam is "constipated" (the double quotes since we really don't know that she's constipated.  I mean, she's not "going", but maybe it's something in the brain that limits her - not the digestive system).  The difference is that  previous constipation occurred during the eating cycle, whereas now she hasn't eaten solid food for several months.  So we're much more cautious.

Medication
Liam gets 5-6 medication 2-3 times a day (well, I should know the exact number, but I don't feel like getting up and looking).  On the weekends and evenings I have the honor and privilege to prepare and give those (it's beyond me how Rachel started trusting me).  We need...
7 ML from med A
1.5 ML of med B
3.5 pills crushed, dissolved in water
0.6 ML from this very well known med
and so on and so forth.  5-6 syringes in all.
Going to Liam.  Removing her blankets.  Finding the J-tube under her clothing.
Attach syringe A; open the prevent-back-flow shut valve; inject the medication; close the valve; attach syringe B...and so on and so forth until you're done.  At the end, push the last medication with plain water.
Don't forget to shut the valve when all said and done.

At the dialysis
On the dialysis floor you see regular kids.  When you see them elsewhere, you don't know that they need dialysis 3 times a week.  You don't know that they're very sick.  They look completely normal.  They arrive, change into a hospital gown, get hooked up to the machine, and doing their homework on their laptops.

As Liam arrives they take her vital signs and weight and maybe a few other things.  Then they put her on the recliner and hook her up to the machine for 3 hours of suffering - per Liam.  (Other kids don't seem to suffer, but she does.  Still, it's better for her to go through that "hell" several times a week with the larger goal of improving her quality of life.  And maybe things will improve, who knows?

The Laundry Basket Guide for Laundry Basket Guides
Too much laundry to fold.  Who has time for these stupid guides?