When I got to the dialysis clinic this morning, my pod or section was pretty empty. I think there were only three out of eight chairs occupied. Across from me was an older white lady with her son, and an Asian girl. I’ve seen both of them before with wheelchairs and scooters so I was surprised not seeing anything parked around their chairs. Dialysis really sucks already; not being mobile sucks even more. I was in a wheelchair for about two weeks after heart bypass surgery and didn’t enjoy being wheeled around.
Anyway, I was happy for a brief moment because I stupidly thought that maybe their condition has improved so they could walk in/out on their own. Nope. When the older lady was done, her son pulled a wheelchair from somewhere for her to sit in. A bit later, an older man (father?) and another girl (sister?) came in with an electric scooter to pick up the Asian girl. Bummer.
I mentioned before that there are lots of patients at the center using canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and scooters. I guess dialysis is usually not the only medical condition for kidney failure patients. Out of the five patients I can see in my pod now, one has a scooter, two are in wheelchairs, and the other two need a cane to get around.
The statistics on dialysis are grim. I post some numbers before but basically >50% of patients die by five years, and only a small percentage is eligible for a transplant. Why? If God is loving and we are His spiritual children, why is there so much suffering? This is only one disease. What about cancer patients? Mental illness? Life is so depressing.
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There is one dialysis patient, let’s call him H. He was in my pod the previous time I was on dialysis and now he’s in my pod again. H has one leg amputated below the knee so he is in a mobility scooter. He also requires medical transport, usually a minivan, to pick up and drop off at the dialysis clinic. I think H has a lot of other health issues. I used to sit right next to him and he is on the phone all the time with doctors, much like I am now post-heart surgery. I also heard a lot of complaints about H from the dialysis nurses. Evidently he’s been to almost every dialysis center nearby, and is a difficult patient. I know he complains about the needles in his fistula often, and would request a specific technician, even though that technician is working in another pod.
Anyway, it feels like H has been on dialysis for a long time. I took a closer look at him on the way out yesterday and he looked terrible, like his health had deteriorated a lot over the past few months. There was another patient at the clinic, let’s call him K, that has been on dialysis for over 25 years. I don’t know how H and K are handling dialysis. The only thing keeping me sane during dialysis sessions is the hope of a kidney transplant. I haven’t really thought about life on permanent dialysis. However, this is the norm for most dialysis patients; they are not qualified for a kidney transplant due to health, age, or other reasons.
Life with chronic diseases 