A book which I can identify myself with, that puts into words what I go through. Dancing in the Sand is a Dutch book: “Dansen in het Zand” by André Bek. In the book the author tells about how his life is affected by kidney disease and how he went through four kidney transplant over 20 years. His family all offered to help him by giving him a kidney each time he went into renal failure.
The author bares it all in this book, I don’t think I’d be able to if it was me. But I could fully relate with how he experienced being sick. Everything changes when you are sick, people act different around you. You learn who you can really count on, who your true friends are. Last year when I was in the hospital after the brain hemorrhage, I received cards from lots of people I didn’t even knew cared that much. And from others that I saw regularly I heard nothing. It was a real life lesson, it’s in hard times you learn about yourself and others.
When you are sick you need family and friends support, just to know that they care. But even so in the end you are alone, it’s you and the disease. Just like the author I’m not one that broadcast around that I’m sick. I don’t look sick at all. But that doesn’t take away that I wake up tired everyday, I take 6 pills a day which is good, it used to be more. I depend on dialyses everyday, 9 hours at night. But even so I’m still thankful, I have free during the day of anything related to dialyses. I can still sport, I do everything myself. My diet isn’t impossible, I just have to be careful not to drink too much and take it easy with salt. But I tackle everything by myself, my hospital appointments, etc.
