A Healthy Person on Dialysis

A healthy person on dialysis should be able to do many or the things

they planned to do before becoming sick. Being an astronaut may not be

in the cards, however. With age and other limiting conditions, more

vigorous activities will have to be curtailed. There is no question that

one's stamina and strength are lessened with renal failure and dialysis

so that a degree of acceptance of these limitations helps. But

conditioning can help and exercise is encouraged. Laying around, feeling

sorry, maybe necessary for a time, but only makes the problem worse if

not overcome. I finished college at Stanford University in California

and went to medical school as a dialysis patient, dialyzing 14 hours

overnight, three times per week. When an intern and resident I worked in

a city hospital in Brooklyn, NY, and for several nights, dialyzed every

other night when I wasn't oncall for 36 hrs. I write this reluctantly,

not to brag or seem heroic. it was just what I needed to do to reach my

goal of becoming a doctor. We are not heroes, we are survivors and just

need others to help or get out of the way so we can make it.

 

The dialysis world is full of achievers who encourage me by their

successes. Perhaps some of them can tell us what they have done despite

dialysis.

 

 

Peter Lundin, MD

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