Dear Editor:
If something goes wrong with our vision we get glasses; our hearing — hearing aids; our heart — a pacemaker. Once or twice a year we go for a checkup.
When your kidneys “fail’ it’s a whole different story. It requires a life change. Diabetes is a contributor to kidney failure but it is not the only one. Fortunately, technology, in the form of renal dialysis, has made it possible for folks with kidney failure to live with the condition. But there are sacrifices to be made. Probably the biggest is making the decision to leave a community of long-time friends, social contacts and family to locate near to a renal dialysis clinic. This decision is usually made after years of facing the travel that is part of the process.
In the Rimbey area, when someone is diagnosed with kidney failure, the first thing they need is a reliable vehicle (a driver’s license also helps) and second is nerves of steel to face the required three trips a week to the renal dialysis clinic in the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. After competing with traffic and possibly rain, sleet or snow one must then find a parking spot that must be paid for.
Following a three- to four-hour process you then take the trip home —a big difference from taking medication at home.
We know of one return trip accident that resulted in a broken hip and another cancelled appointment due to the road conditions.
For these reasons, the Renal Dialysis Support Group continues to lobby for dialysis treatment to be made available at the Rimbey Hospital and Care Centre. To this end, a committee from our group met with members of the Rimbey town council. Mayor Sheldon Ibbotson then accepted our invitation to attend our meeting on Jan. 16.
The Renal Dialysis Support Group is planning to contact local facilitators and other government bodies for support in enabling our efforts to have a renal dialysis satellite unit located in Rimbey.
We are always interested in hearing from those affected by the need for dialysis and make welcome those who care to work with us. Contact June at 403-7480-2154, Lorna at 403-843-239 or Irene at 403-843-6805.
Irene Kurta–Lovell,
for the Renal Dialysis Support Group