Finding Strength in Community~
Living a Full Life on Dialysis
(A Resource of the Gila River and Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Communities)
“Even though I’m on dialysis
and my activities are limited,
I still have the future to look
forward to because the dialysis
is helping me to have a future.”
—Delores Taylor
We who have experienced dialysis want to encourage you and your family.
When we first found out our kidneys failed, we were filled with a lot of different emotions, including shock, denial, anger and finally acceptance. We found a way to live with kidney failure and we learned that we can still live a full life on dialysis.
Our families also have to deal with their own shock and fear. Many times no one else in the family has ever had kidney disease and our relatives don’t know how to respond. But after they learned how to support us, our families adjusted and realized that life goes on.
Our families give us strength
“My sister usually calls me and asks me how I’m feeling and if I’m all right. I have my grandson and my granddaughter with me who are both 14. They help me a lot.”—Madeline Williams, Gila River
“My son, my daughter—they’re a great help to me. When I don’t feel good, my daughter drives me anywhere I want to go. Sometimes my son will ask ‘Mom, did you eat anything yet?’ They help me with my grocery shopping. There are certain things I couldn’t lift up, so they’re there to support me in that way too.” —Sybil Alvarado, Salt River
“My husband—he’s been there when I had to go in for the surgery to have the graft put in. He was there for me to drive me places when I was too weak or too tired to do anything. He’s there to go shopping for me. He’s the main guy there that is taking care of everything. He takes care of the house. He was washing the dishes, plus going to work on a regular basis. Eight hour days. He still does the cooking and paying the bills, all the things that I was doing before he took over.”—Delores Taylor, Salt River
Our tribes give us strength
“We’re here at the new dialysis unit in Gila River community…this unit does belong to the Gila River Indian Community. It took some time to build. I do like that because it will be run by the tribe. That does give the tribe a sense of pride.”—Gary Lewis, Gila River
“This dialysis unit is our place. We get to run it the way we want to. It’s something that we’ve wanted for the longest time and I’m glad that our tribe has recognized that. The patients are really going to love it here.”—Richard Sunn, Gila River
“My life is full now and I’m very
happy with the support of my
family… my husband, my kids.
My life is full even though I’m on
dialysis.” —Sybil Alvarado
Our church communities give us strength
“The church has helped me a lot with their support and their love for me. I can remember after returning home from the hospital after having the graft in, how they were constantly on the phone talking to my husband and saying, ‘How is she? We prayed for her.’ ” —Delores Taylor, Salt River
“One of my cousins at church, she didn’t know that I was on dialysis. She said you don’t look like you’re on dialysis. I said yes, I’m on dialysis, been on for two years, I said. I said well, you know the Lord helps us, I told her.”—Kathleen Jackson, Salt River
Our dialysis staff gives us strength
“I remember asking the technician, ‘Is this going to hurt?…What am I going to feel?’ And she said, ‘Well hopefully, you’re not going to feel anything.’ I laid there and went through the dialysis—3 hours of it—and it was nothing. It was just like laying in bed really. The dialysis made me feel better. ”—Delores Taylor, Salt River
“There was a tech there that was very good. He took his time with me and put the needles in there and it started getting better after that.”—Richard Sunn, Gila River
Being a source of strength
I support my wife by:- Taking her to appointments
- Helping her watch her diet
- Making sure she takes her medicines
- Running errands
- Helping with the housework
- Our families
- Our friends
- Our neighbors
- Our tribe
- Our doctors, nurses, dietitian and technicians
- Our churches
- Our dialysis support groups
- National associations
Contact these organizations for more information about life on dialysis:
American Association of Kidney Patients
Phone: 1–800–749–2257
Internet:
www.aakp.org
Email: www.aakp.org
National Kidney Foundation
Phone: 1–800–622–9010
Internet: www.kidney.org
Email: info@kidney.org
Learn More About Kidney Disease:
National Kidney and Urologic Diseases
Information Clearinghouse
Bethesda, MD
1–800–891–5390
www.kidney.niddk.nih.gov
Page last updated: November 14, 2011
