When Melinda first started on dialysis, a lot of things changed in her life. The most upsetting to her was that she had to quit her job. Melinda loved her job, but her declining kidney function meant that in order to live, she had to stop working.

She began travelling to the hospital three times a week for treatment. Her diet also became very restricted. Eliminating canned and boxed food completely was a positive change, but it was expensive to buy the food she needed. That, combined with her travel expenses, medications, and significant decrease in income, meant that she soon began to struggle financially.

As a social worker who works with people living with kidney disease, I’ve worked with many patients in similar situations to Melinda’s. It’s very difficult for people to adjust to the emotional, physical, and financial ways that being on dialysis affects their lives. Although Melinda is currently on the transplant list, the devastating reality is that some people on dialysis will never qualify to receive a kidney transplant. Many patients will bear the financial burden for the rest of their lives.

I have developed so many close relationships with patients and their families over the last 12 years. Many have had to cut down on how much they work because of their dialysis treatment. Some, like Melinda, have even had to quit their jobs altogether, which leaves them anxious to find other types of income assistance.

On average, patients on dialysis are living well below Canada’s low-income cut off. For the general population, the number is 8-14%, but for people on kidney dialysis, it’s around 41%. Many struggle to access things that most of us take for granted like food, shelter, medications and clothing.

I’ve also had patients—including Melinda—who’ve had to go to the food bank for groceries, but because of restrictions to their diets such as reducing sodium and potassium, they’re not able to eat much of the food that is available there.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet many patients pre-dialysis and then continue as their social worker through hemodialysis, and afterwards when they receive a kidney transplant. To watch these journeys, and see them achieve important milestones, is remarkable!

I’ll close with Melinda’s own words of thanks: “I am very grateful to strangers for pulling together to help me and others. I hope they know how much their support is appreciated.”

Story update: Last October Melinda received her donor kidney, she said: “It was a real shock to get that call in the middle of the night, a true miracle. What excitement! It all went very fast, one day dialysis next day transplant.  My new kidney is working very well, and I feel great. God bless my donor and family.”