The most important consideration in dialysis treatment is not the medicine that you will need (perhaps this is secondary) nor the diet one should observed( least but still important). Obviously,it is the finances. What else do you expect? .Here in the Philippines, dialysis is expensive. Treatment costs of $59 does not include yet the erythropoietin injection that must be administered to regulate anemia, a related symptom of the disease.
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone that prevents anemia (low blood count) by helping you make red blood cells. Anemia causes fatigue and low energy levels. It occurs when there are not enough red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to supply all the body's needs.
On a different aspect, government funding is an alternative to diminishing financial resources. Some even say that this sickness is for the rich because its like spending $59 twice a week. Well you can imagine what you can do with that amount if you gather that within a year. So when time comes that my Philhealth coverage plan (a government health insurance who helps Filipino patients pay their hospital bills) got depleted, I will be in dire need of money. The first thing I will do (all by myself) is to ask my fellow patients and/or their guardians how they finance their dialysis treatment. One told me to go to a certain place and that I would need to bring some papers and requirements and to make sure to photocopy each. I did. I gathered all the requirements and went to the said place. But wait, it's still 7 in the morning and the waiting line compares to that of Great Wall of China.
I asked some people around and told me that they have been waiting since 4 in the morning. So that's it! Asking for government funding isn't easy at all. But what can I do, I need it. I still try my best to survive and I still want my sense of independence intact. So I woke up earlier the following day, made the line @ 3a.m . And its all worth it. They gave me P25,000 worth of dialysis package which is 10x dialysis treatment. Totally worth it for waiting in line for hours. Help is ubiquitous, but you really need to work for it and not expect for a miracle to happen.
This quote really inspires me. Do what you must do at the end,a reward is waiting for you
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