Good health to everyone!
Today I would like to share some info regarding our fellow humans behavior to people that have just come or might be coming on dialysis in the future. After 20 years of dialysis it still bothers me that people stare at my fistula arm as if i'm an alien but I have learnt to live with it. In winter it's fine when you can wear long sleeves but one can't do this in summer and that 'ugly thing' which to us is our lifeline is there for all to stare at, and the longer you use it the bigger it gets. When I see people 'really' staring at it I try and explain to them what they are looking at and in most cases I actually give a short nephrology lesson which people do appreciate, but most people are too scared to touch or feel it.
Another problem with some of our fellow humans that don't know about dialysis and what we go through every other day is that they think you are a moody or unhappy person which is a lot of nonsense. After dialysis of 3-4 hours on a machine with about 300ml+ of blood running around outside your body a person is very tired even slightly disorientated and it take hours if not a full day to recover for most of us, and in my case I find that the more years you are on, the more tiring it becomes, your body takes strain!!
I can't smile and look happy after going through this ordeal every second day+ but that doesn't mean I'm not happy! I am Happy to be able to do dialysis and stay alive as tiring as it is because I get to be with my family and lead quite a normal life and at the same time hope that sooner rather than later some genius will find a better solution for us. In the meantime I am grateful that we have dialysis to keep us around to be with our loved ones and contribute wherever we can in life,
The moral of the story for all of us which we all get taught even from a young age is ''Don't judge a book by it's cover''. You never know what a person you have just met or seen in the street or shopping center is going through, whether its him/her or maybe someone very close to them, so never assume them to be moody or unhappy or rude etc. You Don't Know.
Stay well and healthy and keep on fighting! Next time I will write about doctors and related matters.
Emmanuel
Today I would like to share some info regarding our fellow humans behavior to people that have just come or might be coming on dialysis in the future. After 20 years of dialysis it still bothers me that people stare at my fistula arm as if i'm an alien but I have learnt to live with it. In winter it's fine when you can wear long sleeves but one can't do this in summer and that 'ugly thing' which to us is our lifeline is there for all to stare at, and the longer you use it the bigger it gets. When I see people 'really' staring at it I try and explain to them what they are looking at and in most cases I actually give a short nephrology lesson which people do appreciate, but most people are too scared to touch or feel it.
Another problem with some of our fellow humans that don't know about dialysis and what we go through every other day is that they think you are a moody or unhappy person which is a lot of nonsense. After dialysis of 3-4 hours on a machine with about 300ml+ of blood running around outside your body a person is very tired even slightly disorientated and it take hours if not a full day to recover for most of us, and in my case I find that the more years you are on, the more tiring it becomes, your body takes strain!!
I can't smile and look happy after going through this ordeal every second day+ but that doesn't mean I'm not happy! I am Happy to be able to do dialysis and stay alive as tiring as it is because I get to be with my family and lead quite a normal life and at the same time hope that sooner rather than later some genius will find a better solution for us. In the meantime I am grateful that we have dialysis to keep us around to be with our loved ones and contribute wherever we can in life,
The moral of the story for all of us which we all get taught even from a young age is ''Don't judge a book by it's cover''. You never know what a person you have just met or seen in the street or shopping center is going through, whether its him/her or maybe someone very close to them, so never assume them to be moody or unhappy or rude etc. You Don't Know.
Stay well and healthy and keep on fighting! Next time I will write about doctors and related matters.
Emmanuel