Well, basically the thing is, this you know kidney failure is also something that I got from diabetes. So when your sugar is raised, it starts having an effect on your kidneys, the sugar. So, my, from 2000 onwards I started to get a swelling in my legs, swelling inside my legs and all my blood started to become dilute, so…The doctor admitted me [to hospital], thinking that perhaps it could be a problem with my kidneys. So then we had all the tests, and then found out that my kidneys, you know, were only working 10 per cent. So then they put me on dialysis.
So, on dialysis, the main thing is that they have to take out all the fluid from your body. And, it is god's grace that, it's been six, no seven years now being on dialysis. In the beginning sometimes I used to get low blood pressure, sometimes it would be high, sometimes I would get cramps inside my feet. But now, you know, there's all these new technologies, for instance for cramps you can get these tablets, new tablets [XXX] they are called, so that you don't get cramps in your feet anymore. And, so thank God I don't get low blood pressure anymore. So quite comfortably we got, I get dialysis for three or three and a half hours and then come back. That's it.
So when you have dialysis, is it uncomfortable or…?
Yes, in the beginning, I used to feel, what is this, nobody in my family ever had to go on dialysis. So in the beginning when I used to go, then I used to cry a lot, in that 'what is this that has happened to me, here?'. So you know, my husband used to take me there, and he'd go to pick me up.
So you get needles inserted here [points to arm], you get needles inserted here. There is a fistula made here. And they put two needles into it. So with that they clean your blood. So, they clean your blood properly, all the water comes out. Three litres sometimes, sometimes two and a half litres, sometimes two litres… As much as you drink, the same comes out. Because your urine, only a very little comes out, you only have a small amount of urine. You pass only a very small amount of urine, and so via the blood they take it all out, the fluid. So, dialysis patients also need to be very careful, that you don't drink much. So I normally just use ice, I don't use water. No juice, no juicy fruits. And no drinks, just a bit of tea, about a quarter of a cup I drink in the morning, and another quarter cup of tea in the evening. Because for each patient, in the whole day, they are only permitted 500mL… So basically, that's the thing, here I am, alive before you. I go for dialysis, three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. |
