The Christmas season might be full of lights, music, and celebration, but for those of us on dialysis, the schedule doesn’t exactly take a holiday. Today was my first session since the 23rd, and—unsurprisingly—my body had a little surprise waiting for me.

Somehow, in just two days, I managed to come in 3,000 ml (or 3 kg) above where I left off. I’d love to blame the universe, but realistically it means I’ve either drunk more than I realised or underestimated just how much liquid hides in holiday food. Christmas dinner is sneaky like that.

The challenge, of course, is that my dialysis never behaves well when we try to pull off more than 3 litres. Honestly, even 2.5 litres can push things. But today we’re aiming for the full 3,000 ml and hoping the machine and my body decide to cooperate.

If all goes well—and if I’m “good” with fluids over the next few days—we should be able to catch up during the week. That’s the plan, anyway. Dialysis teaches you to plan, adjust, and then adjust again.

And if you’ve read the three Circuit of Care books, you’ll know that Declan and Marcus have had their own battles with fluid management too—fiction, yes, but anyone on dialysis will recognise just how real those moments feel. If you haven’t picked them up yet, they’re available directly from lulu.com.

Christmas may be festive, but kidneys don’t care about the calendar. So here I am, doing what needs to be done, one session at a time.

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About my writing

If you enjoy following my health journey, you might also like my fiction and other projects:

• The Circuit of Care – Follow Declan, Marcus, and the world of renal care through a fictional lens. Available at lulu.com.
• More of My Work – Essays, fiction, and ongoing projects can be found at neurodivine.blog as well as here.
• Support Independent Writing – Sharing posts, leaving comments, or recommending my books helps keep these stories alive.