Today, I met with an elderly resident who has recently initiated hemodialysis treatment. He comments on how lengthy his dialysis sessions were, three hours in length.
Although I haven’t disclosed any of my personal health history to this resident, I couldn’t help but think that I know more about lengthy medical procedures than he might realize.
A few years ago, I received multiple Rituxan infusions. Some of them took a full eight hours, each week. I was totally wiped out after these infusions.
Not infrequently, meeting with residents triggers flashbacks of my own extensive experience of having been a patient.
Continuing to take chemotherapy each day reminds me that I am still a patient.
