I’ve been telling you about the beautiful crochet blankets donated for Crochet For Kidneys Part 4 since June 2015. I’ve showed you photos of all the blankets, told you who made them and where the makers are from. I’ve thanked everyone for donating their skill, yarn and time to this project.

Yet pretty crocheted blankets is not what Crochet For Kidneys is about.

Crochet For Kidneys is about doing something for the people currently going through dialysis.  John donated his kidney to a friend because we heard and saw what 3 4-hour dialysis session a week does to a person.

In writing this post I realised I had to find a first-hand account describing what it is like going through dialysis. I found a few articles and a NHS video which gave the impression that you can have a very normal, active life. This may be true for a lot of people but it wasn’t the impression I got from the man to whom John gave his kidney back in 2012. Yes, he was able to go to work and lead a relatively normal life, but he certainly did not feel like a million bucks after a dialysis session. The limitations of what he could eat and drink affected his life, the timings of the dialysis session and the after effects limited how much time he could spend with friends and family (and indeed his wife), not to mention the psychological toll.

I then came across “A Rookies’ Take On Dialysis: Ten Things I Have Learned So Far” a blog post by Tim Bergman of Ontario, Canada.

Please read his post. It’s an eye opener and gives a true sense of what it is really like being on dialysis. Tim’s account of dialysis is much closer to what the recipient of John’s kidney experienced and will give you a sense of 1) why John decided to donate his kidney and 2) why I felt I wanted to do something for dialysis patients.

Wait until you get to point no. 4 in Tim’s post  – Crochet For Kidneys will make total sense.