Dialysis and me
Twelve years ago, my kidneys were so bad, I was told by a nephrologist that I should be on a transplant list. As it turned out, I had ten years to get ready.
In Conversation Series
Janet Wright with Dr. Gavril Hercz As a nephrologist and psychotherapist, I believe it is important to shed more light on the emotional impact of chronic illness, like polycystic kidney disease (PKD), on patients and families. Last year, during the “In Conversation Series”, we shared the 2018 Toronto PKD scientific conference video, in which Ms. [...]
Year 2019 in a nutshell
As we approach the year-end, Team Psychonephrology would like to thank you all for your continuous support and encouragement throughout our journey together. We would like to recap some of the topics that received the widest viewership. At the beginning of this year, we started a new blog series, “in conversation series”, where the patients [...]
Psychonephrology receiving wider focus
We are glad to share with you that Psychonephrology was recently featured in a podcast titled “Psychonephrology: A Psychodynamic Perspective in the Dialysis Unit”
The Trauma of Dialysis Initiation
We are happy to announce that Dr. Gavril Hercz’s article is published, in the Perspective section of JASN October 2017 28: 2835-2837. The link for the article can be found here. http://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/28/10/2835 "The trauma of dialysis initiation" discusses at length the psychosocial impact of serious medical illness, such as kidney disease, which affects not only [...]
8 books to help your child deal with death
Death can be a difficult subject and most of us feel uncomfortable talking about it. Death, however, does not differentiate, being an inevitable outcome for all of us. Personal meanings of death can vary, though. Through the ages, for most of us, the best way to deal with it was with denial. Maybe this is the reason that most [...]
Book Review: “Moonface” – By Angela Balcita
Inspirational and humorous There are many books and articles that deal with people living with kidney disease. Our current review is a different genre of book, a memoir of a lady who had three kidney transplants. Angela Balcita, the recipient and the author of this book, shares her inspiring story. Angela calls herself and her [...]
“Until Further Notice, I am Alive”- by Tom Lubbock
Until Further Notice, I Am Alive by Tom Lubbock A few weeks ago, Sifted Sand published a review of The Iceberg by Marion Coutts, a book detailing her husband’s terminal illness and how their lives changed after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This week, we review the second half of the story, written [...]
Upcoming Book Review: “Until Further Notice, I Am Alive”
Can terminal illness mar your passion for life? No one plans his day as if he will die tomorrow. But what if you are aware that you don’t have much time left? Will your remaining life change forever? Will you retain your zeal for life? When you are given only a year or two to [...]
Struggles – Resiliency – Advocacy
Living day-to-day with dialysis creates a “new normal”, coloured by intense experiences of isolation, depression, and anger. Angela L. Davis started on thrice weekly hemodialysis in January 2008. In her eloquent post, Ms. Davis discusses her struggles with isolation brought on by the loss of friends and the body changes associated with illness. She also [...]