Dialysis-Dependency: The Reformulated or Remnant Person
Kristine Martin-McDonald
Department of Nursing, University of Southern Queensland, QLD
PP: 151
Abstract
Being dependent on dialysis is a potentially overwhelming experience where life as previously known is permanently altered. A dialysis-dependent individual may reformulate their identify or perceive that they are a remnant of their former self.
This paper will explore and expand Morse and Penrod's (1999) model as a useful way to understand how a person might reconstruct their identify. Grounded in a narrative methodology, interviews of those on haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis were thematically analysed. It was found that dialysis dependency brings an acknowledgment of a lost past, an inescapable present and an unknowable future, filtered through hope and despair.
Nurses need to understand the suffering, wrought by such a struggle, to facilitate the positive re-envisioning of those who are dialysis dependent.
Keywords
dialysis, suffering, hope, chronic disease
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