10 years for dialysis

By Lia Bichel
The Cranbourne resident, 65, has been using the dialysis unit since July 2005.
Mr Edwards remembered the day the doctor told him he would need dialysis for renal failure, brought on by type-two diabetes. He said though the dialysis was expected, hearing the news was still a scary experience.
“The doctor told me that one day down the track I will be on dialysis – then one day he said we had run out of track,” he said.
Mr Edwards received treatment at The Alfred hospital before he was able to get into the Cranbourne Dialysis Unit.
Two years ago, Mr Edwards suffered another blow when he was told he had prostate cancer, and said if it hadn’t been for the unit and the staff, he may not be alive.
“They were so accommodating and have been great to me,” he said. “They have offered me magnificent care.”
Mr Edwards spends about five hours, three days a week at the Cranbourne Dialysis Unit. He said he was given the option of self-administered dialysis at home, but felt safer going to the unit.
Mr Edwards said he was comfortable at the unit and has made friends with other patients.
“There are a few of us that go for dialysis, and we talk or watch television,” he said.
“Staff are trying to raise money to get more televisions for the patients.”
Mr Edwards also credited his wife Dianna for her support. She joined him to celebrate the unit’s 10th anniversary and even made the cake for the special event.