The Hinge Experiment Meets Cruise Mode: Dialysis, Detours, and a Last-Minute Road Trip! 🚗🚢

It's Wednesday afternoon. Normally, after dialysis, I'd catch up on sleep, recover from treatment, and prepare for the rest of the week.

But apparently, I decided that a quiet Wednesday wasn't exciting enough.

Instead, I made some last-minute changes to my travel plans, and now I'm adding another road trip to The Hinge Experiment.

Why make life simple when you can add a few extra miles, a hotel reservation, and some logistical gymnastics?

The Cruise Is Calling!

Tomorrow, I'm embarking on a cruise out of Tampa, Florida!

Originally, my travel plans were pretty straightforward. I'd fly from Charleston (CHS) to Charlotte (CLT), then connect from Charlotte to Tampa (TPA).

Simple, right?

Well, I started looking at the numbers.

What would it cost to change my flight? What about a hotel? Could I use some points to make the arrangements work? Was there a better way to get where I needed to be?

After reviewing the options, I came up with a different plan.

I'm removing the middleman.

Instead of flying from Charleston to Charlotte and then connecting to Tampa, I'm driving toward Charlotte, staying at a hotel near the airport, and flying directly to Tampa tomorrow.

A little driving, a hotel stay, and one less flight segment.

And the best part? I actually enjoy driving!

Of course, that means I have to get organized, pack everything, drive, check into the hotel, and get ready for an early airport departure.

All while coming off dialysis.

What could go wrong? 😂

But Wait... There's a Columbia Detour!

This is where The Hinge Experiment comes in.

The following weekend, Airica is heading to Las Vegas. With both of us on busy schedules and separate travel plans, I made time for another visit.

So, before heading to my hotel near Charlotte, I'm driving to Columbia, South Carolina, to spend some time with Airica.

Yes, you read that correctly.

I'm going to drive to Columbia, spend some time with her, and then head toward Charlotte to prepare for tomorrow's flight to Tampa.

Somewhere along the way, I should probably eat something, too.

I'm beginning to think that my car deserves its own frequent-flyer program. It may not fly, but it certainly accumulates the miles!

What's on the Agenda Tonight?

I'm not going to overcomplicate the plans.

I'm looking forward to laughing, enjoying some food, spending time with Airica, and doing a whole lot of driving.

That's a pretty good Wednesday evening if you ask me.

It's been fun getting to know Airica, sharing experiences, and finding opportunities to spend time together despite our schedules. I don't know what the next step will look like, and I'm not going to pretend I have it all figured out.

For now, I'm enjoying the journey.

And apparently, the journey involves a lot of interstate highways.

I'll be trading the Columbia roads for a Charlotte hotel, then an airport, then Tampa, and finally a cruise ship.

Not exactly a restful week, but it should give me a few stories to tell.

And you know me. If something funny happens, it’ll probably end up here on the blog.

A Quick Message to Any Would-Be Burglars

Before I go, a little public service announcement.

If you're thinking about robbing the house while I'm away, don't.

My father is still in the house.

And there's also a giant leopard.

No, I won’t explain that any further. You'll have to use your imagination. 😂

Let's say the house is occupied, and this is a very poor time to test your luck.

Consider this your friendly neighborhood travel advisory.

Stay Tuned!

For now, I've got a road trip to Columbia, some quality time to enjoy, a hotel near CLT to get to, and a flight to Tampa to catch tomorrow.

Then it's cruise time!

I'll share more as it unfolds, including the cruise, the travel logistics, and whatever other surprises life throws my way.

The Hinge Experiment meets cruise mode. 🚗❤️🚢

Stay tuned. There's more to come!

Good Times at the Dialysis Clinic

Today started like a typical Monday: up at 4:15 a.m., showered, and headed out for dialysis, which starts at 5:45.

I got hooked up to the machine, took a nap, woke up when the physician assistant came by to discuss medication, and then went back to napping. A pretty ordinary morning—until it was time to remove the needles and put on the bandages.

That’s when the clinic got lively.

First, one patient started yelling and cursing at a dialysis tech, then a nurse, and finally the clinic manager. The exchange got heated, including a few F-bombs. I don’t know what started it, but it went on for a while.

Then, about 15 minutes later, a male patient from the second shift started swearing on the phone. He isn’t usually the kindest caller. I understand he’s been bedbound for as long as I’ve been at the clinic, and I imagine that’s incredibly frustrating. Still, he has a habit of taking that frustration out on callers whose numbers he doesn’t recognize. He always answers—and this time, he definitely threw a few F-bombs.

The clinic staff looked at each other, wondering what was going on. I looked at the technician taking care of me and asked, “Is there something in the water? I can confirm it was a full moon.”

She replied, “Correct!”

Good times at the dialysis clinic.

The Pharmacy Run: Adding Five More Players to My Medication Team

Today, I picked up my medications, and let me tell you, my pharmacy list is starting to look like a baseball roster.

I've got Flonase, a higher dose of amlodipine, doxycycline, benzonatate, and generic Allegra.

And that's on top of everything I was already taking!

Between diabetes, dialysis, and the usual collection of medical adventures, keeping track of my medications is becoming a part-time job. At this rate, I may need a spreadsheet, a project manager, and a weekly status meeting just to keep everything straight. 😂

The goal is simple: get rid of this stubborn cough, get the allergies under control, and hopefully get back to feeling like myself.

After dealing with this dry cough for nearly two months, I'm ready for it to pack its bags and move out. No forwarding address necessary!

I'm hoping the new medications do the trick. Of course, with kidney failure and dialysis in the picture, I also need to make sure my medication regimen is appropriate for my condition and that my doctors and pharmacist know everything I'm taking.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with my medication organizer.

Here's hoping the next update is about feeling better instead of adding another prescription to the collection!

The Cough That Wouldn't Quit: Time to See the Doctor

For the last couple of months, an annoying little visitor has refused to leave.

No, it's not another Nextdoor controversy. It's a cough.

A dry cough.

The kind that shows up uninvited, hangs around for a while, disappears just long enough to make you think everything is fine, and then comes back as if it forgot something.

This has been going on for about two months, on and off. I actually had a doctor's appointment scheduled earlier, but I started feeling better, so I canceled it.

Because, naturally, when you start feeling better, you assume the problem has decided to move out.

Apparently, my cough didn't get the memo.

Enough Is Enough

Yesterday, I'd finally had enough. It was time to stop playing the waiting game and get this thing checked out.

Today, I went to my primary care doctor.

First up was the temperature check. My temperature was 99.7°F. That's not a particularly high fever, but it was enough to get my attention, especially considering everything else going on.

The doctor listened to my lungs, and I mentioned that my chest felt tight.

After the examination, I walked away with a prescription for antibiotics, a prescription for Flonase, and instructions to pick up Claritin.

Apparently, my nose and respiratory system have formed a committee, and now we're treating multiple potential troublemakers.

Claritin, but Not the D!

There's one important detail about the medication instructions.

I was told to get regular Claritin, not Claritin-D, and to avoid products containing pseudoephedrine because they can raise blood pressure.

With diabetes and kidney failure requiring dialysis already on my medical résumé, the last thing I need is to add an unnecessary blood pressure problem to the list.

My medication cabinet is complicated enough without introducing new characters.

I'll pick everything up tomorrow and follow the doctor's instructions.

But Wait, What About COVID and the Flu?

Here's the question that's been on my mind since the appointment.

Why wasn't I tested for COVID or the flu?

We've all heard about COVID continuing to circulate, and flu season is another consideration. With this cough hanging around for weeks, a temperature of 99.7°F, and chest tightness, I started wondering whether you considered either infection.

I realize a doctor can't test for every possible illness during every appointment. There may be reasons for the treatment plan, and I don't know what factors went into the decision.

Still, I would have liked to understand whether testing made sense.

Was the examination enough to suggest another cause? Were my symptoms inconsistent with flu or COVID? Would a test have changed the treatment plan?

Those are reasonable questions, and I intend to ask them.

After all, antibiotics treat certain bacterial infections, not viruses such as influenza or COVID-19. And while I'm hoping the prescribed treatment gets me feeling better, I'd rather understand what we're treating than simply wait and see.

Living With a Complicated Medical Résumé

When you're dealing with multiple health issues, you learn that symptoms you might once have brushed off deserve a little more attention.

Between diabetes, dialysis, and the other medical adventures I've experienced, I can't always assume that something will resolve itself just because it did last time.

I'm not trying to diagnose myself online, and I'm certainly not suggesting my doctor did anything wrong. I went to the appointment because I needed medical advice, and that's exactly where I should be.

But I also believe it's reasonable to ask questions and understand the plan.

Two months is a long time to have a cough that keeps coming back. I'm ready for this one to pack its bags and leave.

Preferably without leaving a forwarding address.

For now, I'll pick up my medications tomorrow, follow the treatment plan, and contact my doctor's office to ask whether COVID or flu testing—or any further evaluation—is appropriate.

Have you ever had a cough that lingered for weeks? Did you eventually find out what was causing it?

I'd love to hear about your experience.

If you're dealing with a persistent cough yourself, especially with fever, chest tightness, or underlying health conditions, don't assume it'll disappear. Get medical advice.

Because sometimes the best health decision isn't another internet search. It's making the appointment you canceled the first time.

Trust me. I learned that one the hard way.

The Hinge Experiment: Please Do Not Touch Those Eyebrows

Today was one of those days when I feel like I need a vacation from my day.

It started with an eye appointment.

The good news: the retina is still attached.

That seems like a pretty good way to start a Tuesday.

I go back in a month for another check. The purpose of that visit is to make sure I haven't developed macular edema, specifically DME. If everything still looks good, I'll move to appointments every three months to make sure I don't eventually need one of those delightful shots directly into my eyeball.

Because apparently normal people get eye exams.

I get eye exams where the doctor is checking whether my retina is still where it belongs and whether we're going to have to inject something into my eye.

Dating after 50 is exciting.

Then Recovery

After the eye appointment, I went to a recovery meeting for an hour.

Airica knows I'm in recovery.

There's no reason to hide it, and frankly, I'm not interested in hiding it.

It's part of my life.

Just like dialysis.

Just like the prosthetic.

Just like the eyes.

Just like the eyebrows.

Apparently, the eyebrows may actually be the most important part of this story.

We'll get to that.

Then Off to the Vascular Surgeon

After the meeting, I headed over to Novant to have my fistula graft checked.

The good news continued.

Everything looks good.

I don't have to go back for four months.

I'll take that.

So far today:

Retina attached.

Fistula graft good.

Recovery meeting completed.

Eyebrows apparently still under consideration.

Then It Was Time for Mom

I stopped at Come Back Shack and picked up lunch.

For me:

Fried chicken salad with ranch.

For Mom:

Hawaiian chicken salad with fries.

I got to the skilled nursing facility and found Mom asleep.

Instead of waking her up, I left her food on the rolling tray next to her bed.

By then, lunch had apparently become dinner.

I sat in the lobby, ate my salad, and checked movie times.

Why?

Because apparently there is a new Tom Cruise movie called Digger.

Review coming.

Yes, I am aware that my life has somehow become a combination of dialysis, medical appointments, recovery, assisted living research, dating, and Tom Cruise movie reviews.

I'm leaning into it.

And Then My Phone Buzzed

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I heard from Airica.

And one of her first messages was:

"Please do not touch those eyebrows."

Ladies and gentlemen...

We have confirmation.

For those of you wondering whether Airica actually likes the Ming the Merciless look...

She does.

I have proof.

Apparently, these eyebrows aren't a problem.

They're a feature.

The threading appointment is canceled.

My eyebrows live to fight another day.

The Conversation Continues

Airica and I had another awesome conversation.

We talked about having a wish.

Then somehow that conversation turned into Amazon Prime Day.

Then Christmas lists.

Then Sono Bello.

Apparently, I need to lose about 20 pounds.

This is becoming an aggressive dating strategy.

First:

"Don't touch your eyebrows."

At least she's keeping me on my toes.

Then We Went Everywhere

We talked about the songs I listened to while driving around Mount Pleasant.

We talked about me going to a recovery meeting.

She knows I'm in recovery, so there isn't any reason for me to pretend otherwise.

We talked about my salad.

I even sent her a completely respectable picture of it.

Not a nasty selfie.

A salad selfie.

Apparently, there are levels to dating after 50.

I'm choosing to believe this is one of them.

Then somehow the conversation moved to pizza.

And tiramisu.

Apparently there's some saying involving "Not the tiramisu?"

My 54-year-old brain did not comprehend the reference.

It went straight over my head.

Apparently there are cultural references I missed while I was busy doing whatever the hell I was doing for the last 30 years.

I'll have to investigate.

The Important Part

For those keeping score at home:

The conversation is still awesome.

And we're making plans to hang out this weekend.

Together.

Not hanging out with each other, which would be a fairly ridiculous definition of a date.

That's another thing I like about this.

We're not spending all day trying to figure out whether the other person is interested.

We're actually talking.

We're making plans.

We're learning things about each other.

And I'm not sitting around staring at Hinge wondering why my match disappeared into the digital abyss.

This is different.

Tuesday and Friday Have One Problem

I did let Airica know that Tuesday and Friday nights are already spoken for.

Those nights belong to my fraternity brothers and our Zoom hangout.

And without fail, I get grilled about the date.

How did it go?

What did you talk about?

Are you going to see her again?

What happened?

Basically, it's like having a Greek chorus of nosy brothers who have collectively decided that my dating life is their new favorite television show.

Now they have even more material.

Because there was a first date.

There was a mug.

There's a second-date possibility.

There are weekend plans.

And apparently, the eyebrows have received official approval.

I'm sure Tuesday's Zoom will be completely normal.

Absolutely no one will ask me about Airica.

Sure.

And I'm the guy who almost fell into a booth on his first date.

The Hinge Experiment Update

A few weeks ago, I was wondering if it was time to delete Hinge.

I had no matches.

No conversations.

No dates.

Steve the Iguana was practically packing my bags.

Now?

I've had an actual first date.

It went well.

I'm still talking to her.

We're making plans for the weekend.

She sends me good morning texts.

She likes my eyebrows.

And somehow, I'm okay with all of this.

For once, The Hinge Experiment doesn't feel like an experiment.

It feels like I'm just getting to know someone.

And that's probably the best part.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a retina to keep attached, a fistula graft to maintain, a movie to review, a mother to visit, fraternity brothers to answer to...

And 54-year-old dating decisions to make.

Oh, and apparently I'm keeping the eyebrows.

Airica has spoken.