Just because dialysis centers are found in nearly every strip mall now does not mean that it is a simple, or pleasurable experience. The appearance of dialysis facilities on every corner should be more alarming than it is but when they are hidden among clothing stores and chain restaurants who would really think there are complicated and life-altering procedures taking place within those walls.
Right next to where you are shopping or enjoying your meal there are people fighting tooth and nail for their lives. There are loved ones who are dropped off and left for hours to sit alone hooked to a machine while their blood is removed, ran through a filter, and "cleaned" of both the good and the bad things that accumulate in our bodies when ones kidneys can no longer function properly.
There is pain associated with treatment, lots of it and the last place you would want to be experiencing this is in a shopping plaza. There is exhaustion, dizziness, heart palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, cramping, vomiting, and much more. All things that you would are totally unaware of are happening all within the confines of what used to be a hair salon or a retail store; procedures you would expect to be taking place in a hospital setting, not a shopping center. Sure, as patients we grin ad bear it because after all, it is a means to keep us alive until we can hopefully get a transplant. Meanwhile, the growth of the dialysis "business" goes unnoticed. Why should attention be paid to these facilities erupting? Well, let me explain.
The growth in dialysis clinics should be alarming considering that according to the National Kidney Foundation 1 in 3 American adults are at risk for kidney disease and 26 million already have it and do not even know it! Kidney disease is the ultimate silent killer. Many people do not realize that they have kidney disease until they are already in stage 4 or 5 and are becoming symptomatic so they finally seek medical attention. Often times it is too late at this point and the damage to the kidneys is irreparable requiring the person to begin treatment. There are many causes of acute and chronic kidney disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, drug abuse, strep and recurrent urinary tract infections, Lupus, Good Pastures Syndrome, blood clotting disorders, and various other medical conditions which can lead to kidney failure but what about the lesser known causes like the dyes used in imaging studies, and extensive ibuprofen or proton pump inhibitor use? How many people knew that prolonged use of over the counter medications like Advil and Motrin or Prilosec and Prevacid can cause kidney failure? Based on the amount of patients on dialysis now because of OTC medications, obviously not many are being educated on the risks of their use.
And then unless you are one of the few who has family and friends lining up to be tested to donate a kidney to you, this is what you have to do in the meantime. If you chooses to do hemodialysis you will most likely visit one of the strip mall centers I have been referring to where you will be greeted by this, a long stretch of cold chairs and obnoxiously beeping machines. No privacy, no sense of comfort, but if you're lucky you might just get your own t.v. and some ice chips to kill the 3-4 hours you'll spend doing what your kidneys naturally do every 30 minutes.
You get hooked up right next to another person via the two large needles, or a chest catheter which goes directly into your heart and watch as your blood circles through the tubes into the filter and back into your body. Now, imagine a machine trying to clean out 2-3 days worth of toxins and fluid build-up in 3-4 hours when your kidneys would have naturally filtered your entire blood supply 6-8 times in that same time frame if they were working properly. Obviously the machine is pulling those substances out of your blood at a much higher rate than your body would which is why there are so many side effects and complications associated with the treatment.
This is why those of us who've experienced it fight so hard to delay beginning treatment again if it becomes necessary. After being given a taste of the freedom associated with having a functioning kidney, who would want to return to that? It's like asking a person to give up their place in heaven to take a seat in hell. For us, although we are grateful for the treatment which extends our lives, dialysis is hell. It is the hell that we must return to three days a week unless we want to slowly drown in our own body fluids and let our body painfully shut down organ by organ from toxin build up. Sorry for the graphic details but that is exactly what will happen if we choose to miss dialysis or stop treatment altogether. And then of course there is this...
As you can see, the number of patients on dialysis who die each year since the 1980's has not changed significantly. When compared to other chronic illnesses and conditions it is likely that you will find that kidney disease is among the few that the death statistics have not improved significantly despite the supposed advancements in treatment.
Why is this you may ask? Because dialysis is a TREATMENT not a CURE. Not to mention dialysis is big business! Why just look at the costs of a dialysis patient versus a transplant patient and you will see that it is much more expensive for a patient to be treated with dialysis as opposed to receiving a transplant. On average, a hemodialysis patient incurs nearly $90,000 annually in treatment costs versus just under $30,000 to maintain a functioning kidney transplant. So why aren't more people getting transplanted? No worries, I have your answer...
That would be because of the shortage of organ donors silly! Why else?! As of 11:02 a.m. today there are 120,616 people waiting on the national waitlist for organs and 83% of them are waiting on kidneys. Kidneys are one of the few organs that can be donated while living and the donor will never even notice the difference! Why do you think we were given two? The other is a back up of course! This can be proven in patients like those who have had cancer or an injury resulting in a loss of function. The other kidney simply picks up the work of the missing or damaged one! Amazing isn't it?
This is why organ donation is so important! Doesn't everyone hope to leave a legacy in their passing? What greater blessing could you bestow upon the earth than to allow others to benefit from the gift of life when your time here is through? My donor chose to leave his gift which has given me nearly 11 wonderful years full of laughter, love, and even tears but I am incredibly grateful to have been able to experience every moment of pleasure and pain without depending on a machine and a super restrictive diet to survive. My donor has not only given me the gift of life, but he also helped to shape me into the person that I am today. Without him I would not have seen such beautiful sites, met such wonderful people, or experienced life as it was meant to be lived...not attached to a machine, and not curled up in an exhausted ball of emptiness after dialysis sucks what little life you had left in you out. I was on dialysis for 9 years but even if you ask someone who has been on it for 9 months, I'm sure they will agree with my statement. Register to be a hero, tell your family about your wishes, and encourage others to do the same. Your final gift to the world can be to selflessly give life and what better example could you possibly set for generations to come? Give love, give life, click here to register to be an organ donor today!
