She was asleep when I walked into the hospital room, so I gently stroked the back of the hand resting on top of her other one on top of the faded blue cotton blanket. She opened her eyes immediately and wide to look at me.
The very old woman and her almost old daughter returned to clinic. I knew the very old woman had recently been in the hospital twice over the course of a week.
Mr. R wheeled Mr. J into the exam room 90 minutes late. Since patients often wait an hour or more to see us here in the county clinics, it was not an issue for me. But there was an air about Mr. R that let me know I was in for a special encounter.
Nearly 2 years ago, as my desire to move from whine to action with regard to how we care for patients with end-stage kidney disease grew, I joined the American Society of Nephrology’s (ASN) Dialysis Advisory Group (DAG). This was very much a calculated action.