Mr. Kamal Shah
I am a 40 year guy staying in Hyderabad. I work full time, swim every morning, travel regularly and by the way, I am on dialysis!
I have been on dialysis for nineteen years now and I truly believe that dialysis is a small part of my life. It need not dictate what I do, every minute of my life. I don’t think about dialysis and my kidney disease most of the day.
There are many misconceptions about dialysis in India. People feel that someone on dialysis cannot live for more than a few months or at best, a few years. Nothing can be farther from the truth. I myself have been on dialysis for nineteen years and I know people who have been on dialysis for much longer, even in India.
These days, with quality dialysis and good, proactive care about their health, people can live normal lives on dialysis for decades.
Though kidney disease is a disease of the body, I believe that it affects the mind tremendously. That is why, it is important for us not to let this disease control our mind. We should always try to be cheerful and not think too much about dialysis. For this, working (part time or full time), traveling, exercising etc. can be tremendously helpful.
I have done hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, have undergone a transplant which did not work. I have had a lot of ups and downs in my life. I almost lost my life in the December 2004 tsunami that hit India. I was at a beach in Mahabalipuram and had a miraculous escape. After going through so much, I feel that my kidney disease has taught me so much. It has taught me to take life’s challenges head on and to never get defeated by anything.
I co-founded NephroPlus, currently India’s largest dialysis centre network in 2009. Our aim is to give our patients (whom we call ‘guests’) the best quality dialysis in a cheerful environment. I want every single person on dialysis in India to lead a normal life. I want them all to work, travel and have fun.
Despite being on dialysis, it is possible to do all this and more. All we need to do is to think that we can. YES, WE CAN!
19 years on dialysis in India. Since last 9 years on daily nocturnal home hemodialysis.
– Bachelor of Technology (Chemical Engineering) May, 1997.
– Developed software for the Macintosh and iPhone.
– Maintain a very widely read blog (http://www.kamaldshah.com) about his experiences with dialysis among other things.
– Co-founded a chain of dialysis centers called NephroPlus (http://www.nephroplus.com) which has 36 centers currently in different parts of the country.
– Maintain a widely read website – Dialysis in India (http://dialysis.org.in) that has information specific to dialysis patients in India.