Jeff's Journal

Dialysis Clinic Visits

I went back to visit the dialysis clinic about a month ago. Things had settled at the office and I promised my friends at the clinic I would return as soon as I could after the transplant to say hello.

Driving up and parking was not a problem. However, touching the automatic door opener and stepping into the clinic was another deal. It was the most bizarre feeling of relief that I could walk in and walk out without having to give four hours in the place and then this feeling of OH MY! I was really in this place and really this sick. (Denial runs deep in my veins.) It was overwhelming and I almost had to turn around and leave.

I pushed through the urge to turn and run and pushed the automatic lever to open the door into the clinic. Instinctively, I went to the right to weigh myself and then the charge nurse saw me.

It was a good reunion with the staff and then I spent the next three hours visiting chair to chair with my former fellow patients. It was sad that a couple of them had died as their bodies finally just gave up, but the more common experience was going chair to chair visiting, getting caught up and encouraging. One lady did not recognize me. She said I looked familiar, but she had only seen me in my sick days and was amazed I had color.

I went back again the following week. It was still a little odd, but I had a mission to accomplish. I had sixteen quilts to give to patients. UBC has a quilting ministry called “Stitches of Love” and one person in this group heard me complain about how cold the dialysis clinic was kept. They had plans to give me a quilt to take to dialysis, but it arrived the day of my transplant. (And yes, hospitals are cold, too.) Over the past several months while I was recovering, this group of ladies was glued to their sewing machines and cranking out the quilts. It was a kick to take sixteen quilts and give them out to my dialysis friends. My friends could not believe these ladies made the quilts and then wanted them to have them. Every person was appreciative and happy to have the warmth!

posted by Jeff Waldo @ 10:12 PM