HD （Part -1）

 Hemodialysis (HD) in Singapore ~ Part (1)

Hemodialysis (HD) in Singapore ~ Part (1)

NKF - JO & GERRY ESSERY MARSILING DC·SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2018

I had been engaging with hemodialysis (HD) treatment or therapy since 22nd October 2014 due to my both kidney failure (End Stage Kidney Disease ~ ESKD). I had been having Chronic Kidney Disease for over more than 10 years due to high blood pressure & high uric acid (high level of creatinine) when I was under the medical care of Singapore General Hospital (SGH). It is indeed a long story to recall & talk about my pre-dialysis journey. However, I like to leave it aside simply due to ignorance ( lack of knowledge or awareness on medical healthcare industry or business).

My whole story here will likely confine to the bits & pieces stuffs of my very shallow personal genuine experiential experiment & experience or exposure on hemodialysis (HD) treatment or therapy since 2014 October in Singapore.

Since May 16th 2018 I was kindly being transferred from NKF Yishun DC1 to present Jo & Gerry Essery - NKF Marsiling DC as I am living around Marsiling area of residential HDB housing estate. I was with Yishun DC1 as from March 20th 2015. I had been quite satisfied & happy enough with both dialysis centre as my 2nd home in Singapore.

During my 4 years+ of HD I had been travelling to my birth place Sabah of East Malaysia about 3 to 4 times staying 3 days 3 nights then each time I was rushing back to Singapore for my HD session. I can’t remember if I ever miss one at all. I also had traveled to Malacca a few times as well as cruising to Penang for 3 days & 3 nights. The last trip was to Indonesia Batam Island for 3 days & 3 nights. Within my 4 years+ I enjoy living with my family as well as my relatives & close friends too! At 72 today I am still full of energy with active program tough sometime I feel tire as ageing catching up. I am almost a deaf kidney failure patient today even with powerful hearing aids on I can merely hear certain sound but simply cannot pick up the people’s conversation of wordings anymore. Same experience with my own extended families during normal daily communication & interaction. So I am learning & picking up lip-services at the moment. I realize it needs a great effort to concentrate & or roughly guessing too what people are talking about or meaning too sometime with body gestures. Usually I am more comfortable to communicate with people with on-hand’s writing & I can response or speak freely & comfortably. It is clearer & sharper too. I gradually lose my hearing sense due to a car accident & other conditional factors when I was adult while working in a heavy equipment company.

So I had been jobless for more than over 20 years as no one likes or wants to hire or employ me with hearing handicap in today sophisticated busy worldly affairs. This is another a long & struggling story again within my own family that I like to leave it alone & keep moving on since my whole family migrated from my birth place Sabah to Singapore more than 20 years ago. I have 3 children & they all married. My wife is a Singaporean by birth & we have 3 grandchildren nowadays.

I use to get involved with volunteer works such as with Singapore CDC~ also dealing with Renci mobile nursing home services as well as Metta home services when I landed Singapore once upon a time. Now I only off & on help to monitor our Share-On Welfare Organization for distribution food stuffs to those needy loving ones around Woodlands area up North of Singapore.

Since I got this ESKD with restricted time/space I had been slowing down to be self-independent in order not to worry & burden my family. Therefore I try to learn & pick up more about hemodialysis treatment & therapy nowadays.

Apart from Kidney Failure I also have other illness such as heart angioplasty balloon on blood vessel in 2009, prostate problem for years, gall bladder removal 2 to 3 years ago, gout flare & attack since adult, weak legs joints with problem since adult, poor & weak immune system due to ageing (afraid of cold air) & need monitoring on my pancreas system. I visit SGH on normal yearly basis & from time to time or case to case basis.

The next following parts of this written article there onward I like to move on in order to touch to talk & share a little bit of my shallow stories about my personal & genuine hemodialysis (HD) experience & exposure.

I am with AV Graft surgery done in July 2014 by SGH vascular surgeon on my left side upper arm due to my small blood arteries & veins. So far so good except I had been carried out twice (2) angioplasty balloon as maintenance since 2014 October. I had been quite satisfying to be self-independent since I engaged with hemodialysis except the first few months struggling journey as I was really lack medical knowledge or familiarization or briefing till I got my bi-monthly blood labs test results/reports as a meaningful & valuable guideline or road map. From there onward HD is a history to me except the technical aspect of part of details & stories in each session of HemoDialysis treatment or therapy due to individual variable conditional factors of body-mind-game/system. Things such as balance or moderation of daily diet, regular exercise, rest & sleep, medication, lifestyle & instantaneously or spontaneously changing blood pressure etc & of course most of all the positive approach & attitude toward individual life-journey.

Thank you!

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