A Different Way of Seeing. Helping You Make Sense of the Overwhelm
Last time I brought you up to date on how things are going with my dialysis. As I mentioned at the end of that article, I have simultaneously been actively working towards a possible kidney transplant. And that’s what today’s blog is about. I think when I last wrote about this side of my journey, …
In my last two articles I’ve stepped away from sharing different aspects of my journey with chronic kidney disease and dialysis. I felt we all needed a break from the topic for a while *smile* That’s not to say that nothing has been happening on that front. On the contrary, I have so much to …
On Friday this week my guide dog Normandy will turn three years old. I can hardly believe we have now been working together for more than a year, and this feels like a great opportunity for me to reflect on how our working relationship has changed in that time. I’ll admit I wasn’t at my …
Across the globe, people love sport. Every country has several sports that their population particularly supports. In South Africa, the favourites are cricket, football/soccer, and rugby, though these are by no means the only sports that are both played and supported passionately here. As with so many other aspects of life, somehow people seem to …
I have always been a reader. As a child, I was the one who would be curled up in a quiet corner with a book, rather than out there playing in the sunshine. Reading is, and has always been, a fundamental part of my life and a pastime that I’ve turned to when I’ve felt …
Not only has music become a regular self-care practice for me when undergoing dialysis. There are two other pastimes that I have managed to assimilate into my regular activities when at my treatment, those of reading and listening to podcasts. When I began my treatments, I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to do. …
If you read my blogpost last week, you’ll already be aware of the playlist I’ve created for my dialysis sessions. Considering how much heavy rock and metal I listen to, and consequently how much of those genres there is on the playlist, it may be surprising that I only included one song from this group …
Since I was a teenager I’ve loved music. It’s mostly due to my older brother Ian who spent many years as a club DJ and who introduced me to much of the music I listened to when I was younger. Over the years, the role that music played in my life began to evolve, from …
It feels strange to think that I began dialysis only six months ago yesterday. Life before dialysis seems much like a dream now, a vague and distant memory that is barely real. Dialysis is so much part of my weekly routine that I can hardly recall what it was like not receiving treatment. Which brings …
One of my first questions when learning that I’d be starting dialysis was whether Guide Dog Normandy would be able to accompany me to the treatment centre. There were a number of reasons why this was important to me. First, because we were still a relatively new team and it was important for us to …