She feels much better now, and this may last months or more if we're lucky. During a recent meeting of the board of directors at Tri-State Memorial Hospital in Clarkston, Rita Gregory, the supervisor, took us on a tour of our newly expanded Renal Dialysis Center. The patients sit in comfortable, plush recliner chairs and watch TV, read, enjoy the picture window view, or work on hobbies they may bring. An intravenous catheter connected to tubing carries blood from the patient to the dialysis machine, where it is cleansed, and then back to the patient through more tubing and a second catheter. The machine is about the size of a small refrigerator and stands on the floor next to the recliner.
Blood is pumped in the bottom end, through thousands of tiny little tubes, and out the top.
Then the dialysis fluid is returned to the machines to be used again. The fluid and all of the plumbing are completely sterile. Rita and her crew make sure they stay sterile. Rita introduced me to a pretty little lady sitting in one of the chairs reading a book. She seemed as relaxed as in her own home, except for the tubes connected to her arms, and she chatted amiably for several minutes.