One in a Million, or Close Enough

In 2010, an estimated 129,000 Americans will be in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), receiving or in need of dialysis. Of those, less than half will be undertaking peritoneal dialysis, opting instead for the more commonly known hemodialysis.

At the Kaiser Permanente facility at which I receive care, only about 130 patients are on PD. The nurse told me that in Southern California, there are no doubt thousands of PD patients.

Thousands may sound like a lot, but not in such a populous area.

Taking the 129,000 figure above, ESKD patients make up only .04 percent of the population, figuring a total U.S. population of 304 million. PD patients probably account for no more than .01 percent of the U.S. population, so I am one in 10,000.

If you also factor in coronary heart disease, at least two heart attacks, and juvenile-onset diabetes of 37 years, we're probably getting close to one in a million.

I always wanted to be one in a million, but I sure wish it was for something other than this.

There Goes my Carbon Footprint!

For as long as I can remember, I have bought most everything I own from thrift stores and yard sales, reused instead of bought new, and recycled as if my life depended on it. What's more, I have lived in the same town in which I work, thereby saving lots of gas. In short, I have had a very small carbon footprint.

Until now.

Last night I hooked myself up for dialysis for the very first time. I received emergency dialysis in the hospital this week and in the dialysis training center, but this was the first time I did all the set-up and hook-up by myself without the supervision of a medical worker.

What a sack of garbage I now will generate every day! The plastic covering on two or three dialysate bags, the bags themselves, the six lines of tubing, the infusion set, the numerous paper towels and towelettes used to clean my hands, the surgical mask, tape, and the packaging for the anti-bacterial caps that cover the head of the end of the line from my body to where it connects to the tubing. All told, a trash bag full of non-reusable medical waste. Add to that the cardboard boxes--each one holding two dialysate bags. At least these can be recycled.