Dialysis is Just Another Beginning

Abstract

At 74, I am a happy woman. I live with my daughter and her family in a wonderful home that she built in a small town on the southern tip of Texas. Life is good here; we have summer all year long and the living is easy. But my life has not always been so peaceful, and I have had many obstacles to overcome over the years. With only a high school education, I was okay until my husband died and left me with two babies to raise. I worked hard to take care of my family and remarried and had another child. Then my second husband died 16 years later. I was 40 years old and responsible for three teenagers! I had many different jobs before I became a property manager for large apartment communities and condominiums, so when the kids came home from school, I was there for them. It was during this stage of my life that I was diagnosed with diabetes. I lived with the disease for about 20 years when, at age 60, I had a heart attack. I prided myself on keeping my disease under control, but it took its toll on my body. At the time, I was told that I had some kidney failure and was referred to a nephrologist. He was optimistic about my condition and told me to keep my glucose levels and blood pressure under control. I followed his directions and for the next nine years was able to work every day and felt good. At 69, I was ready to retire and moved to Texas to be near my daughter, who was single and ready to build a house. Right after we moved in, my health problems began. For the next three years, I was very sick and eventually discovered that I had anemia and my kidneys were losing function. When the discussion of dialysis came up, I was shocked! I guess I have always been a person who never worries about things until they are a reality. I was totally uninformed about dialysis, but here I was about to undertake a new way of life and it was frightening. I was feeling sorry for myself, but I remembered something that my friend Sally told me shortly before she died: Give yourself five minutes a day to think about your condition, and when the time is up, get on with your life. It worked for me. This five minutes followed by prayer and thanks gave me a whole new outlook. Give yourself five minutes a day to think about your condition, and when the time is up, get on with your life. We got on a computer and read everything we could about dialysis. I visited a dialysis facility and looked at the machines and talked to the helpful staff. It didn't sound scary at all. It took some getting used to, but I have been on dialysis with Fresenius Medical Care for a year now. I was pleased to find out that it does not hurt, and the hardest thing about dialysis is sitting in the chair for your allotted time. Most people sleep through it, but I can't, so I take my MP3 player and listen to beautiful music for my three hours. It is very soothing and I find myself meditating and thanking God for the amazing machine that is keeping me alive. At my clinic, the people who take care of me are wonderful; they are like an extended family. I don't see dialysis as a burden, I see it as a privilege. Without this machine I would not be here to enjoy my happy life. I have decided not to put my name on the list for a transplant, and for the years I have left, dialysis and the staff at my clinic will serve me well. Traveling is my great love and it is wonderful to know that I can also have my dialysis in other cities by using the Fresenius Medical Care Travel Service. I recently went to Memphis to a family reunion and to Florida for a few days, and my experiences with the other facilities were very positive. Life does not end with dialysis. It is just another beginning. I am enthusiastic about the years ahead and am writing a book about my life for my grandchildren. I have also been named a Fresenius Medical Care Patient Advocate at my clinic and I hope to make a difference in the lives of other dialysis patients.