"Will be invaluable for cleansing impure blood"

Back in the day: "All the Blood In the Body Can Be Pumped Out and Cleaned of Disease Germs," The Day Book. (Chicago, Ill.), February 05, 1914, NOON EDITION, Image 12; Image provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL; digital image, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1914-02-05/ed-1/seq-12/>

"Kidney Dialysis. What is this the stone age?"

Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy (Star Trek)

Yes, we are in the stone age.  I hate dialysis.
I'm not alone.  There is a very active message board called "I Hate Dialysis."

Still, I appreciate living in a time and place where I can get dialysis.  I also appreciate the people who continue to work on the problem of kidney failure.

Dialysis is a very recent development::

"..in 1945, a 67-year-old comatose woman regained consciousness following 11 hours of hemodialysis with the dialyzer and lived for another seven years before dying from an unrelated condition. She was the first-ever patient successfully treated with dialysis."

Before I began peritoneal dialysis in 2014 I posted about a patient surviving on peritoneal dialysis 54 days after complete kidney failure.  I've survived on it for over 3 years so they have obviously made dramatic improvements on the procedure.

There is a dialysis museum in Seattle!

Every day we get closer to solving the kidney failure problem.  Screenshot from today of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Spending a Week at the Salt Lake City Family History Library While on Dialysis

Very cool setup.  The Salt Lake Plaza hotel is right next to the Salt Lake City Family History Library.

Family Tree Magazine/AncestorSeekers.com has sent out notices of their periodic Salt Lake City packages, and we are thinking of attending the April 2017 one:

The most popular genealogy research program in Salt Lake City, designed to maximize your chances of breaking down those brick walls and finding new information on your ancestors
A week at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, housing a staggering collection of genealogical records from all over the world. Over 1 billion names under one roof.
Help provided exclusively for our guests by Ancestor Seekers professionals at regular intervals. Our experts will help you find the records you need, thus providing a more productive and enjoyable experience
Ideal for both first time and previous visitors with all skill levels catered for. Places are limited in order to provide everyone the help needed
Six nights at the Plaza Hotel (next door to the Library) included in the price. Just arrange your travel to Salt Lake City and we take care of the rest
Free airport/hotel shuttle - Complimentary Wi-Fi Internet - Microwave & fridge in each room

Besides planning which people/lines we are going to focus on during this trip, I also have to plan for my daily peritoneal dialysis treatment away from home, which is scary but very doable.  This must be a common scenario for this hotel which specializes in genealogy packages, as genealogy is typically an older person's pursuit, and older people are more likely to have chronic health issues, like dialysis for kidney failure.

This trip will make me focus on shoring up what I know about my ancestors.  Like most genealogists I daily fight the urge to chase bright, shiny objects (like interesting collateral relations) in favor of reviewing and analyzing records I've already found for my direct ancestors.  I will be reviewing my direct ancestors using the tips given by Crista Cowan to break down brick walls.





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.