Like a layman I too was not aware of what dialysis meant and how it used to work.
Luckily or unluckily when a few family friends and relatives got into the routine of dialysis, I got to see firsthand how the procedure worked and why is it so important.
As per Google info, Dialysis is a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly. It often involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned.
Life expectancy on dialysis varies depending on your other medical conditions, how well you follow your treatment plan, and various other factors. The average life expectancy on dialysis is 5-10 years. However, many patients have lived well on dialysis for 20 or even 30 years.
A typical dialysis session lasts for 3-4 hours and is generally done 3 times a week.
The larger point of debate is not about the medical dissection of kidney related problems, the question is, is dialysis becoming a new lifestyle normal?
I know of family friends who have accepted the dialysis routine as part of their life and are continuing to play golf and living a positive life, on the other hand there are people who get into depression and see dialysis as the dooms day.
In my limited understanding, dialysis treatment is permanent and one cannot say, oh i forgot to take my dialysis sessions for a few days, it’s not a medicine which one can forget.
With the new lifestyle diseases one has to get accustomed to becoming dependent upon Medication, Assistive Technology, Assisted Devices and other support functions.
I guess this is where the importance of Assisted Living comes into picture. For people in the Independent Living mode, they do not require special support except for social care, food and dinning services etc, whereas Assisted Living offers support which are typically non-medical but are critical to keep an individual independent to the best of their capabilities.
Having said that, in my experience, anyone who is looking for retirement homes should look for Independent Living, Assisted Living and basic Nursing Care within the same retirement housing project.
I guess that’s why the concept of Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) came into existence. CCRC is also known as Life Care Community, Age-restricted Communities, Active Adult Communities, 55+ Communities, Retirement Villages etc.
Coming back to the regular sessions for dialysis, it is important to stay in a Retirement Community which offers support to take you to the doctor, dialysis centre, visit family and friends and manage errands.
In the future, even the family members will not have time to do baby sitting for their parents, hence paid support which is qualified, trained and most importantly experienced will become the support systems.
Pankaj Mehrotra