Darby in 1993. (As a redhead which lasted for about a week). Station number 9, one of the sixteen chairs in the unit. There are now TV's at each station thanks to the generosity of the family of one of our transplant patients.
Gladys, known as Glady, one of the first people I met in 1992 when I came to Highland Self Care. She's no longer with us.
Gerry, our quiet lady-like participant who eventually transferred to a full care unit and then went to a nursing home. Such a nice lady.
Sherry. One of our great nurses who left to have a family. We sure miss her.
Walter, another patient who is no longer with us. When you'd ask him how he was he'd say "Well, I have kidney failure, how do you think I am?" Then he would smile.
Nurse Nancy, to the right and below, who retired and moved to Florida with her husband. Her laughter could be heard all through the unit.
Even though dialysis is a pain in the neck, it does keep you alive. If planned and executed correctly, you can travel. This picture is of me (Darby) taken in New Orleans in March of 1993. I spent a month in Baton Rouge visiting an old Marine Corps friend and her sister. I have traveled to Florida several times and to Ohio once. There are places where it is almost impossible to find a unit that has an opening for a visitor. If that's the case then you stay home and don't go. It isn't easy, but it isn't impossible either. Dialysis is better than the alternative. At least I think so.
Page 10
April 2006 --- Surveying alternative to the bloodletting.
I told Marlise that I had no artistic talent whatsoever but I worked on a few tiles nevertheless. As you can see, I was not being modest.
The tiles were hung all around the unit. These are in the waiting room hung next to the flowers from the family of one of our deceased patients.
Jackie in waiting room sitting below special tiles.
Our volunteer, Marlise, orig. from Switzerland, got us involved in various art projects. One project was painting tiles which would be displayed in the front entrance of Highland Hospital as well as in our unit. She also worked with Oncology patients on the first floor. These are some examples of the work done by our participants.
Dean sitting next to Jeni at her wedding shower at the Spring House.
Jeni and Greg at their wedding.
Rick loved his dog and put his picture on his shirt. I forget the dog's name.
{Jenny is one of the success stories from Highland Self Care Dialysis. She went from being almost a goner to getting a transplant, marrying and having a family.}
Kristin and Bob. Bob did get a transplant but something else got him.
Left: Usually cheerful Kathy caught off guard. Above: Sue putting a patient on the machine. Below: Linda K contemplating something.
Marie, the nurse/manager of our unit at the time, with Darby.
What can I say about Dean James? He lasted longer than anyone else I knew who was on dialysis. He went through a lot before he gave up the ghost. A friend to all and always had a good word to say. I miss you, buddy.
Good old Charlie. A good hearted man who went too soon before his time.
The two Ann's. To the left: Ann P. our social worker at Highland dialysis at the time and Anne J., on the right, the nutrionist/dietician (a thankless job, no doubt).
Nurse Pam K. on the left, who left Highland and moved to Delaware. Below is PCT (patient care tech) April, who left Highland as well. Both are fetching coffee for one of their patients. It may be the same patient as it looks like the same cup. What's the story on that? One story is that coffee was done away with after Highland became a for-profit unit. No coffee, no sheets, no blankets. Bring your own stuff. (BYOS) if you want any creature comforts.
These two pages reflect only a tiny bit about the people who endure and the people who help them. The nurses, the doctors, the patient care technicians are all closely intertwined with the patients. Most of the patients don't socialize outside of dialysis but there are a few exceptions. When people get a transplant we often lose touch with them. Also, missing on these two pages are many names and pictures of people who have come and gone; some onto the happy hunting grounds but many onto great lives beyond the unit. I speak of both staff and participants.
Let's talk about Bonnie, a success story in her own right. She won't mind. I met Bonnie in 1993 or 1994. I heard her lilting voice and laughter coming from somewhere on the other side of the dialysis unit. One night, while leaving after my treatment, I stopped by her chair to meet this voice. I finagled a seat change so we could sit near each other and hence began our friendship. In May of 1995 Bonnie received a transplant. Who from? The "transplantees" aren't privy to that info but the donor's family wrote a letter to be forwarded to Bonnie after certain sections were blacked out that might give away the name of the donor. She called me up to read the letter to me because, as it turned out, the donor was from my hometown. Within minutes I knew who the donor was. The description of his life and knowing he had passed a way in a household accident a while back, made it clear. He had been a physical education teacher at our school. He was the gym teacher for boys when I was in school in Mt. Morris, NY and still a coach there when my children attended the same school. I knew his wife and his mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law. His son was in the same class as my cousin. But I digress. 1995 wasn't the best year for any of us. My best friend passed away; Bonnie did get her transplant but it gave her agita in many ways and at the end of the year, very heart-wrenchingly, her husband, Dick, passed away. In July of that year, I underwent a quintuple by-pass and in a round about way ended up with complications that almost did me in. Bonnie visited me and gave me moral support throughout my three month ordeal. All in all 1995 had a black cloud over it. In 1996 dialysis transplantees and donors were invited to a dinner put on by the National Kidney Foundation. Bonnie had already corresponded with her donor's family through the transplant office and ascertained that she and they would be up for meeting some time. As it turned out that time would be at the dinner (which I attended with Bon) where I spotted Coach's family at a table and approached the son in the hallway to ask if this would be a good time for them to meet this woman who received his father's kidney. Needless to say there were a lot of tears of appreciation and wonder at what a small world it truly is, due to the Mt. Morris connection and so forth. Bonnie had that kidney for five years before it gave out. She now has one that a distant friend gladly donated to her and it is working as I type this.
Bonnie is the most giving, caring, witty, woman anyone could ever want to know. To call her a friend is a privilege and honor. If you were at the airport in a blizzard and needed a ride home, she'd be there for you, no matter how inconvenient it might be. If you were awakened in the middle of the night by a bad, bad dream, you could call Bonnie and she'd talk to you. If you fell down and had broken several parts of your body, she'd come to the hospital and bring a cheeseburger from Bill Gray's, if that's what you needed. In addition, if for some reason she couldn't come to your rescue, she'd send her daughter, son or one of her friends, if need be. She has a lot of friends by the way and through some strange event in the universe knows almost everyone in Rochester and the surrounding area either personally or through people she knows. It baffles me to this day.
Bonnie with grandsons Kyle and Adam
This was our first effort at a "newsletter".One of the contributors, Linda Ewing, has since then had a very successful transplant. She worked while she was on dialysis and would come "running" in, hardly having time to catch her breath. She is a friend who, unlike me, did and still does everything by the book. That is one reason her transplant is thriving. Despite hardships in her life she has improvised, adapted and overcome. She would have made a good Marine.
Janet was a young woman who lived in the same building as I did for many years. I did not know her very well, even though she was on peritoneal dialysis and we had the commonality of both having kidney failure. I'm not a very social person, so I didn't make much of an effort to become close to her. When we did run into each other, we always found things to talk about and I appreciated her humor and forthrightness.
Before she passed away, Janet came to our unit in Victor to do hemo-dialysis. I think we talked more often there than when we lived a few floors away from each other. She often spoke of her boyfriend but never mentioned his name. I did not know who he was until reading her obituary in the paper. I was surprised to find it was a friend of mine, and after giving it some thought, knew that they had enhanced each others lives in countless ways. It's gratifying to know that the best part of her life was lived within the final chapters of her life.
When one reaches the end of the journey and the ebb tide is approaching, it must be very comforting to have the love of your life by your side.
The Kidney Walk -------- September 29, 2007 ----- Many walking in honor of Janet.
