Dialysis patients seem to genuinely care about one another. When we greet each other by asking, How are you, we actually want to know the answer. Replies vary from, Doing well, thanks, and you? to My graft needs to be replaced, how are you? There’s a camaraderie in the dialysis clinic similar to that of folks at sea in a lifeboat and there’s no shortage of humor. Recently someone was a bit disrespectful to an elderly patient who corrected the slight by saying, “A little respect, please – I have underwear older than you!” Joking about our aches and ills and concerns mitigates a lot of the anxiety attached to the uncertainty of end stage progression.
The caring and the humor make it a good day to live.