Like Jesus to a Child....

A suitably melancholic rendition by George Michael  from  1996 as he climbed back atop the UK chart once more. The proceeds of this record sale (when we used to have records) went to charity, and the song was dedicated to the memory of George’s erstwhile lover who passed away quietly.

Which sets the tone this week...

My  outlook is generally upbeat  in nature but this week I am left felling a bit sad.

One of the blogs I regularly follow and which gave me  the creative muse for starting my own self penned weblog  is called Amaorican….

It details the experiences of a girl in New Zealand, married to an American, Larry.. He is on haemo-dialysis, having problems with immigration, adjusting to life in a new country, getting to experience new foods, new healthcare, new family… a very similar story to my life down under.

Except that 7 days ago he died.

 From a dialysis related problem:

 Unfortunately Larry became heavily overloaded with fluid and his organs were struggling to cope. 15 hours of dialysis was urgently prescribed to alleviate the pressure on his heart, but he passed away during the marathon session..

Rather bravely his partner, Camilla continues with her blog which is at times uncomfortable to read, but is a real tribute to her love and respect for her partner.

Amaorican.....

I cast my mind back to the many occasions during my two years on dialysis, remembering those times I was overloaded with fluid and considerably above my target weight.  This can be caused be drinking too much fluid, forgetting to take certain types of medicine, or it can be a sign of  something more serious.

Thankfully the 4 hour sessions of dialysis brought it down again, and this became routine.

So often we just laugh off the precautionary tales from the doctors as mere anecdotes, or indulge  in “that won’t happen to me” syndrome.  Alas this approach does not always play out well, and I am mindful of the sacrifices that have been made by so many people to help end my dependence on the dialysis regime, which although crucial in keeping some renal patients alive can be as damaging to long term prospects.

So Camilla ,I will miss your witty updates about Larry and your on-going sagas of life on dialysis in a far flung land, and dealing with the unknown, but hopefully you will continue to write and allow other people to see what some people have to endure without a word of complaint.