SMEs: Please think of one thing you have experienced in your journey with dialysis that was a changing point for you. (For example: When you first accepted the need to do dialysis; understood the significance of your diet; decided to learn to self-cannulate, etc.)
GENERAL: My life changed the day in George Washington Hospital in Fall 2009 that I decided that survival would not be enough, and that I had to live. My mental toughness more than made up for my physical condition.
SPECIFIC: In early 2011 I started exercising regularly again, and every morning I asked myself two questions: (1) do you have time to exercise, and (2) are you physically able to exercise? If the answer to both questions was “yes”, I got in a work-out, no questions asked. Since then I continue to extend my workouts and set new personal bests. On New Year’s Day 2011, I was able to complete zero push-ups. During my 3/9/13 workout, I did 247, including 76 in one set. I can do more push-ups now than I could when I was in the Army 30 years ago! I’m the first to admit, however, that that marathon probably isn’t going to happen....
I firmly believe that all of my future achievements will stem from my determination to (a) never miss or shorten a dialysis session, (b) commit to a healthy kidney-friendly diet, (c) exercise like my life depended on it, and (d) remain optimistic about my future and take steps to make that future happen.
