Feel like I'm intruding...

[JerseyKate]

  Hey guys;
            My name is Kate and I am currently in school to become a dialysis technician. I will graduate in May and I'm looking forward to starting my first career. I stumbled upon your site during  one of my random Google searches. (I type in anything with the word dialysis n see what pops up. I'm a very bored nerd.) So, the other day, i typed in " i hate dialysis" and BAM! there y'all were. As I read thru I liked that you included people who work in the field in your welcome list. I am becoming more and more passionate everyday about dialysis and everything related to it. however, you, the patients, are what I am most interested in. I want to know how you guys really feel, what you go thru everyday, the toll it takes on your families, your relationships, your jobs. I will be a very big part of peoples lives and i want to understand them. I want to be there for them and let them know that I care. I don't just wanna smile and nod my head pretending that I'm paying attention. I am doing this job for the patients. I know this treatment is lifesaving, but it has GOT to be life-altering. I just want to do everything I can for my patients.
              I am a single mother of 3 amazing little boys. Justin, my genius, is 8. Andrew, my rock star, is 5. And Micah, my sweet little demon, will be 3 in June. They are my best friends. They are the my whole world. I love them more than the breath of life itself. My son, Micah, was born with one kidney (congenital). He is perfectly healthy, we just have to take extra special care of his kidney because he doesn't have another one should something happen to this one. However, I know that being born with one kidney is one of the conditions that way eventually lead to CKD/ ESRD. Also, my father in-law (the coolest man alive) has type II diabetes. He says he knows he'll be fine, because he'll have me to care for him.
             Basically, I just want to know absolutely everything I can before I begin my new life as a dialysis tech. I was hoping this community would help me on my journey. I want to be the best that I can be for my patients. Thanks for reading my rambling. (you'll notice I do that often. I have opinions and I babble. It happens) LOL.    Peace, Love & Fast F'n Cars ~ Kate

[monrein]

  to IHD and you're definitely NOT intruding.  Keep on reading the posts here and you'll absolutely get a very clear idea of how we think and feel and also of how variable we are.

[carol1987]

welcome!!! and thank you for wanting to listen to/learn from dialysis patients.... that alone  is a wonderful start to your career...

[peleroja]

Welcome to the group, Kate.  I'm glad you want to know what we as patients go through.  As for me, I pretty much lose three days a week.  I have dialysis 4 hours and then pretty much crash for the rest of the day.  Glad you found us!

[WishIKnew]

 

Your boys sound wonderful!  What a full life you have. 

My biggest struggle with the whole dialysis thing (I've done PD for three and a half years) is to NOT let dialysis/esrd become my life.  I don't want it to define me.  Any nurse or technician who can see me as Diane, a real person with a life outside of dialysis, would be a blessing!

Glad you're here!!!!

[boswife]

Pretty neat place here huh    You will surly find what your looking for and theres plenty of reading to do to keep  ya busy      And great people to learn from.  It's so nice to have you abord....  AND...... beautiful family you have.. Your all blessed 

[MooseMom]

JerseyKate,  I am going to be honest with you.

We welcome anyone who has an interest in dialysis, CKD and treatments for those conditions.  We have patients, techs, nephs, company insiders, spouses, caregivers and assorted friends who join.

Sadly, the techs and the nephs rarely stick around.

The first flush of enthusiasm quickly fades once the dreariness of dialysis sets in.

While I admire your enthusiasm and am glad that you are interested in your new career, the test will be seeing if you are still posting here same time next year.

I recognize, though, that you may be different in that your life, and your son's life, has been touched by renal issues.  You may become a great advocate for renal patients!  I hope that is the case, and I hope to see you here next year.  If there is any way in which we can support you and your renally challenged kiddo, just let us know.

Thanks so much for joining!

[cariad]

Hi Kate! 

I have an 8-year-old genius, too! I also seem to have got a combination of your two younger children in my younger boy. I see my little boy as marching to his own drummer all his life, possibly becoming some quirky artist. He loves his music most of all, but art and languages are strong interests as well. He also has a strong mischievious streak, but that is thankfully less and less of a problem as the years go on.

My older son has a kidney anamoly as well. It was only discovered because we had both of the boys tested for renal troubles before my husband donated to me. The odds are with him that it will not present a problem, but it is never fun news to hear.

Hope you find this site useful and that you apply what you learn here to your career. I think we could help you become a most popular tech.

[galvo]

G'day, Kate, and  .

[JerseyKate]

  Wow. You guys are incredibly nice. thank you so much! i can't wait to get to know all of you and I'm on my way now to start "intruding" on your threads!! lol. Hopefully, I'll be talking to you soon ~Katie

[Des]

 

You will see that people here are from all over the world. So.... You will get an international perspective on dialysis. 

[RichardMEL]

Welcome Kate!!!!!

You're DEFINITELY not intruding!! You are most certainly welcome here - not just because you're going to be a tech and help out our fellow patients, but with your own very personal interest with your son's single kidney(and of course there's no reason to think that will ever be a problem, but you're right to be cautious/proactive about it and learning what you can). You WANT to know more and want to help - and that's a very special thing in my view.

Damn wish I could hve had a tech that looked like you. I'd have enjoyed dialysis that much more!! Though my BP may have been constantly high!  

 

RichardMEL, Moderator

[looneytunes]

Hello Katie and I also welcome you to IHD!     It would be great if more of the  professionals had that level of care that you are wanting to put into your career.  Thanks for wanting to make a difference.

[willowtreewren]

Welcome, Kate!

You will get to know many different perspectives here! And what a help that will be as you launch your career in renal care! 

Aleta

[Rerun]

Hi Kate and welcome!

Rerun, Moderator                

[AnnaLee]

Hi, Kate!  Speaking from my own experience, I feel the nurses and techs play a big part in helping a new dialysis patient adjust to this new thing.  When I first started a few months ago, I had terrible anxiety attacks during my treatments...I would cry and itch and feel pain everywhere.  This reaction was a real shock to me as I have always been calm and levelheaded.  It would have meant a lot to me to have a nurse or tech that understood and was interested in finding out how to help me tolerate the treatment.  Instead, they were just interested in getting the job done with the least amount of fuss from me.  Eventally, I found my own tricks to make it better.

[MooseMom]

Eventally, I found my own tricks to make it better.

Oh please, do share those "tricks"!

You are right about how a good tech/dialysis nurse can make such a difference to new patients.  The way you were treated, AnnaLee, sounds abysmal.  I'm really sorry that happened to you.

[AnnaLee]

My tricks might not suit everyone, but works for me most of the time....I don't sleep the night before dialysis days and have my treatments scheduled at 5:00am.  So by the time I get hooked up, I am pretty sleepy and can snooze through the whole thing.  I am also a long time meditator and have used that as a way of zoning out the itching and restlessness.  Some days I resort to pain medication.  It doesn't seem to dialyize out right away and I can fall asleep.  Whatever works on whatever day...that's what I do.

[edersham]

Thanks for being here to hear what it's like in the chair.I was blessed to only have to have dialysis for 3 months but I think the most important thing for newbies is frequent contact with the tech to know that someone is actually keeping track of how your doing. Also, the cramps when you approach your dry weight aren't like normal leg cramps, they are ubelievable and need attention now. Maybe they underestimated my dry weight or something but I had them near the end of all 50 of my treatments.
Ed

[Ken Shelmerdine]

 
Intrude as much as you want. We welcome all who are interested in our medical condition including dialysis techs such  as yourself. As Moosemum says most of them don't hang around very long but I welcome your interest and hope that you will stay with us.

[AguynamedKim]

  Kate!  Thank you for taking interest - I hope you stick around.  I think it's great that you're seeing what it's like for the dialysis patient - it shows great caring from you.

[HouseOfDialysis]

Howdy, Kate!

I will echo the sentiment of being treated as a person first, dialysis patient, second. My clinic nurses are awesome, in fact one of them has PKD. They know I'll come in with some band shirt, usually clad in skulls, demon horns, and almost always, black t-shirts. They even ask about what new bands I'm listening to. Some of the names they can't quite get passed, but they are genuinely curious about my life, not just dialysis.

[paris]

Welcome Kate!  I loved reading your introduction.  The founder of this site would have loved it too. He loved  detailed intros, so we really could get to know each other.  And you have a very busy life. Thanks for taking some of your time to be with us.  Post often.  Share stories about your boys!  Kids can make us all laugh and we all need to laugh.    You will find many good friends here who are quick to give support, not just for kidney failure, but life's problems.   Wishing you much luck in your career.  Welcome to IHD. 


paris, Moderator