A vent or rant about a family member with kidney disease due to mismanaged diabetes

Hey Light Lizard,

I just have to say something here which may have nothing to do with your situation. Your post was the first I found on CZ and I am fresh from a visit with a severely ill family member.

I have a sister who recently started dialysis due to mismanaged diabetes. She also has become legally blind and is suffering from a poorly set broken foot making her ability to walk more difficult. Despite being in such poor health, she continues to burn the candle at both ends - staying up until one or two in the morning even though she has to wake up for dialysis at five AM, exposes herself to fumes from paint (she is an artist) as well as unattended gas leaks from the stove (she seemed offended that I should mention it to her) and perfumes from conventional laundry soap (even though it is hard on her already overworked glands).

My sister still eats salted treats even though her body retains water. She was drinking unfiltered water until I got her a new cartridge for a defunct filter though she could have purchased one. She is living the lifestyle she had which lead hevr to this terrible point in her life and honestly, I find it difficult to feel sympathy after what I have seen. What do folks who severely neglect themselves expect? That staying alive is going to still be comfortable and easy when the host has and is actively subjecting it to abuse?

It is like she is a drug addict when it is self abuse and neglect in the form of immediate gratification that is the fix. Tweet