I completed dialysis training and treated myself at home

Dear Delyara, Kidney failure turned my week into hospital appointments and waiting rooms. Travelling to dialysis three times a week left me exhausted and dependent on other people’s schedules. A nurse suggested home dialysis. I was terrified of the machine, the needles, and the responsibility. Training took eight weeks. I learned infection control, alarms, fluid balance, and what to do if something went wrong. My daughter practised beside me, though I insisted on learning every step myself. Tonight, I completed my first full treatment at home. I sat in my own chair wearing pyjamas, watching a comedy instead of hospital television. The machine alarmed once, and I corrected the line exactly as I had been taught. Afterward, I made tea in my own kitchen. My kidneys have not recovered. I still need treatment to stay alive. The victory is that illness no longer takes me away from home for every hour it demands. Tonight, medicine came into my life without removing me from it.