Remembering and honouring members of the dialysis family

Remembering and honouring members of the dialysis family

Date: 2008-03-26
By Lindsey Cole

Blue, red, purple.
Different coloured rays of light shine in through the stained glass window at St. Luke's Anglican Church as more than 100 people gather inside to remember.
The melancholy sound from the piano bounces off the church's high-arched walls as Dr. Eloit Beaubien's hands gently glide along the keys.
But through the sadness there is hope, strength and memories.
Each of those who gathered Wednesday were there to remember being a part of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre's dialysis family.
Whether they are family, friends, staff or someone currently receiving dialysis they have all come to celebrate and acknowledge their close bond.
Nicole Richardson, the charge nurse for the PRHC dialysis unit, spoke about her experiences in the unit and how each and every patient is much more than just a chart number.
“The dialysis unit is much more than a treatment clinic,” she says.
“I have the pleasure of being charge nurse, being able to interact 100 per cent with the families. I'm involved in their lives.
“It's my niche. I have fun with it. It can be difficult but it is one of the most rewarding units. They are people not just patients.”
She remembers things about each and every patient. One man wasn't supposed to drink diet coke, but always seemed to have a can. Another boy touched her heart, so she would bring him a lollipop everyday.
And then there was Wayne Lynch. His T-shirt would say something funny each time he would saunter into the dialysis unit.
He would also draw caricatures of nurses and doctors for all to see. He made them laugh.
Wayne was born with small kidneys, but it was until he was 14 years old that his health started to go downhill after his broke his leg in a hockey game, his mother Susan Lynch told This Week.
When Wayne was 17, Ms Lynch donated her kidney to her son, but the transplant didn't take and it failed.
Then at 19, he was again given a kidney from his aunt, but his body also rejected it.
The only solution was dialysis.
“He heard this terrible word – dialysis. It's fear of the unknown.”
But true to his character, Wayne went through it. He endured dialysis for two years. Then one day in May, in his Peterborough home, Wayne didn't wake up.
He was 26.
“There was no pain. He died happy and that's what we have to remember. Wayne is just one of the many and it affects a lot of people.”
While it has been two years since his death, Ms Lynch remembers how wonderful staff in the dialysis unit were through it all.
“They are a close knit family,” she says.
“They all pull together and help the person on dialysis. They also help the family.”
Not only that, but everyone gets to know one another.
While losing her son was extremely painful, Ms Lynch says her son lived a happy life even in the end.
“We never treated him any different. He wanted to be normal. We never held him back. Wayne wasn't a professional patient. He didn't use that as an excuse. He always did his best.”

http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/27839