Of Aunts and Dialysis

Dialysis is one of those things that all of us hope we never have to endure. Recently, a friend told me that she almost had to go on dialysis due to kidney failure after a rough bout with COVID.

Kidney failure can happen for any number of reasons, but almost always because the body needs to reserve its energy to heal other parts of the body; the heart, the lungs, the nervous system.

I wrote the attached article years ago after helping my aunt through dialysis (mostly by giving her rides & emotional support). I did this for almost ten years until she passed away.

During that time, I learned a lot about the hows and whys of dialysis. I learned about the people (they’re just like me and you), and about how dialysis is “big business.” I won’t touch on the “big business” issue–well maybe just a little: some people are forced onto dialysis when they are only in border-line kidney failure. This is more likely to happen if they have good insurance (if you know what I mean). Once they’re on though, they most likely won’t come off.

Here’s my tribute to my aunts.