Resources for Dialysis Patients who Need Financial Assistance
If you are a dialysis patients who is struggling with financial obligations complicated by the pandemic, there are resources that might be available to you. To learn more click the link below.
Resources for Healthy Self Care
Visit the following links for downloadable tools to help improve your self-care, which will help you better balance life with dialysis
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes for Lowering Cholesterol
How to Engage in Emotional Self-Care
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Connect with others who are passionate about the same issues. Whether it’s your self-care buddies, community of care, or a local organization or campaign you are volunteering for, surround yourself with people who can understand how you feel. Venting alone doesn’t help. But combine complaining with action? There is a winning recipe!
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Put good deeds back into the universe—directly. Focus on creating that human connection, on giving back, and on showing others that there is still kindness in the world.
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Curate your methods of staying informed. Truly evaluate how much news you are absorbing and be mindful of how the news affects you—physically, mentally and emotionally.
Things you can do Right Now
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Allow yourself to (finally) unplug from the news and social media for a few days. Turn off your alerts and push notifications, turn off the TV, and don’t access social media. If you must access it for work or otherwise, limit your time and do not engage or comment on posts. It’s not forever—it’s a few days of peace and being off the grid.
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Recognize when you are in need of self-care and then respond to that need. Sometimes taking time for self-care may impact the lives of those around you (for example, you need to take the day off from work or ask for someone to watch the kids). Inform those around you that you are responding to a personal need but do not feel the need to ask for permission.
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Have a self-care checklist ready that has dozens of options tailored just for you. These self-care options can range from scheduling a mid-day call with a friend to drawing a bubble bath. Having this list ready is important because when you are on the verge of burnout, you may not have the capacity to come up with the options at that moment.
Visit Mindful for more tips and a free downloadable checklist.
Preparing for a Disaster
As a person on dialysis, there are a number of concerns you could have in the event of a disaster. The disaster could be a winter storm, power outage, disease outbreak, sickness or accident that prevents you from getting your treatment. Whatever your situation may be there are a number of online resources that could be of value to you. I have also included some downloadable files as well.
If you need immediate assistance, call the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) help line at 1.855.NKF.CARES (1.855.653.2273) or the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) hotline at 1.866.901.3773.
Here are some links for you to visit.
Emergency Meal Planning - National Kidney Foundation
What to Do in an Emergency if You Need Dialysis - Centers for Disease Control
Getting Care and Medications in an Emergency - Medicare
Dialysis Care After a Disaster - Centers for Disease Control
Year-End ESRD Patient News
The year-end edition of the ESRD Patient News newsletter is available for viewing and download. Click the button above or click here to access the newsletter.
Benefits of Physical Activity for Adults
Click the link below to view a downloadable and sharable document that shows the benefits of physical activity for adults. No matter your current physical ability or the health challenges, you can incorporate physical activity into your life and experience the benefits.
Remember, you are not competing with anyone so there is no end goal or race to the finish. It's just making small everyday changes to your life that will improve your quality of living.
Downloadable File of Benefits to Incorporating Physical Movement