The Role Of A Caregiver While Managing CKD

If you're living with kidney disease like me and going through end stage renal failure, you'll know how important of a role a caregiver can be in your life. In the early stages of my disease, I would never have considered that I would need help from someone else just to help me live life a bit easier. Especially being in my 20's, the last thing I've wanted to do was ask help. I was suppose to be growing up and becoming all independent.

Luckily enough, Ive got a pretty cool mum. She is supportive, selfless and is willing to help me 24/7.

Where caregivers come in handy

Being able to acknowledge that you need a caregiver is a hard pill to swallow, as there is a part of me that thinks I am just being lazy but another part that is trying to remind my self I am currently trying to survive off 6% kidney function. It's completely understandable that maybe I'm not up for the task.

There are days I come home from work to tired to prepare my lunch for the next day. Being a mum, she can telepathically read that and offer to help. When I've had a bad appointments or even a bad day, she is willing to sit and listen to me cry or talk about it for how ever long that takes.

I had a couple months off work before starting dialysis and financially she supported me through it all. There are so many ways having a caregiver has supported me through out my journey with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

It's hard to accept that I need a caregiver sometimes

There are definitely days where my resistance to caregiving is high. All I want to be able to do, being 24, is support myself. When I got my Tenckhoff insertion (peritoneal catheter) surgery, my mobility was limited. I had my boyfriend under my left arm and mum under my right.

Yes, I am grateful. But that was overwhelming to require so much help it made me break down in tears seeing how much help I was needing. It was making me feel so guilty and hoping that one day I'd find a way to repay them.

What I've learned, is to accept the help when people offer, they normally are genuinely offering. Stop being polite. Typically when people offer to help it actually makes them feel good knowing they did something to help another person. But it's hard to let go of that independent mindset. I get it.

Having someone for support

Overall, having someone in your close proximity that you know you can rely on for support. Even if you have different people for different types of support (emotional, financial and dietary), it can lift a massive weight off your shoulders when dealing with CKD.

There are so many ways CKD can affect your daily life and having someone you can share that with and make you feel less alone can make all the difference.

In saying that I am going to give a shoutout to everyone that has helped my through my journey. My mum, boyfriend, dad, grandma, dads partner, friends, work, kidney community. Thank you all!!!