About My Life, My Dialysis Choice
What is this tool for?
You may be one of the tens of thousands of people each year who learn they will need dialysis. This is scary—but please don't panic! You can keep doing things that matter to you—IF you make a choice that is a good fit for your life. This tool will help you link your values to the options. You can see what might be the best fit(s) for you, then talk to your care team about what you want and why.
Who built the tool?
The non-profit Medical Education Institute, Inc. (MEI) built the tool. Our mission is to help people with chronic diseases learn to manage and improve their health. We believe that the best way to do well with kidney disease is to become your own expert: Stay positive. Learn all you can. Take an active role in your care. We know lots of people who did these things and have lived for decades after their kidneys failed—and lived well.
MEI staff and consultants who built My Life, My Dialysis Choice are:
- Dori Schatell, MS, MEI Executive Director
- John Agar, MD, dialysis-expert Nephrologist from Australia, and MEI consultant
- Beth Witten, MSW, ACSW, LSCSW, Renal Social Worker and MEI consultant
- Matt Bauer, MEI Web Developer
- Kristi Klicko, MEI Operations Director
The MEI team offers a special thank you to Dr. Robert and Mrs. Maureen Lockridge for their help reviewing this tool.
Where does the information come from?
Where we could, we used published research for each point in the tool. (For some points, such as travel, there are no studies. So, we used common sense and what consumers have told us.) The studies we used are cited in the book Dori Schatell and Dr. Agar wrote, called Help, I Need Dialysis!
We've also created a summary of the data sources for hospitalization days and 5-year survival.
What about transplant? Or no dialysis options?
Down the road, we'd like to add a section to the tool for transplant, and one for "Comfort Care" (no dialysis).
How can I support MEI’s work?
There are lots of ways you can help!
- Volunteer to help test this tool, work on future sections, or review materials
- Join our Facebook discussion group for Home Dialysis Central end
- Share your story and photo -Help inspire others!
- Buy a copy of Help, I Need Dialysis!
- Contact your local library and request Help, I Need Dialysis! Then the library will order a copy and more people can read it.
- Make a tax-deductible donation to MEI
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