• Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Point Cook Star

By Mara Pattison-Sowden

9th March 2010 11:05:27 AM

 Purchase this photo from Star Photos

Clean machine … Jean Nibloe at Werribee Mercy on the dialysis machine. 43838

---

JEAN Nibloe reclines in the armchair with a magazine and a cup of tea, ready to nod off to sleep for the afternoon.

The nurse in Werribee Mercy Hospital’s renal unit has recorded her weight and swabbed her skin, ready to connect the needle into her arm.

Mrs Nibloe and five other patients are on dialysis machines, which clean the blood by flushing toxins out of the body, because their own kidneys don’t work.

Mrs Nibloe suffered from hypertension, or high blood pressure, caused by the stress of looking after ill family members while working – “it just took its toll,” she said.

“I started losing weight and was on dialysis within three months.”

Patients stay on dialysis their whole life unless they are able to have a kidney transplant, and Mrs Nibloe is on the waiting list for one.

“You live and hope, and now we have a next step,” she said.

John Debrevi, who has polycystic kidneys and has spent 10 years on dialysis, said it was important to stay mentally fit and chat with the other patients.

“If we converse and talk about our side effects and diets etcetera, then we can help each other,” he said.

Mr Debrevi connects himself to the dialysis machine, allowing him to feel the needle go in correctly.

“When you’re on the machine you lose control of your life but this is something we can have some control over,” he said.

Last week Star reported on new research showing the western suburbs as having the highest number of people with diabetes.

Dr Craig Nelson, Head of Nephrology at Western Health, said diabetes was a major cause of kidney failure, and the western suburbs had a high burden of the disease – almost 50 per cent of chronic kidney disease patients had diabetes.

“A lot of people die from problems related to kidney disease and those who reach dialysis are a minority,” Dr Nelson said.

He said kidney disease is a silent killer because the symptoms show when the body begins to fail.

Dr Nelson is encouraging anyone with diabetes, over the age of 55 or suffering hypertension to have a kidney health check on World Kidney Day this Thursday.

---

Popular Stories