It is a strange thing to aim for death 10 years into the future, but less so when you read the average dialysis patient lives 5-10 years. 5 or 10 years - pick your poison, as I will be shortly. Death at 50 sounds much more pleasant than death at 45. If I am to die younger than I'd like due to my failing kidneys, I'd like to spite God just a little longer than 5 years. Let's make it 10.
That's why I'm quitting smoking. Dialysis is hard on the heart, they say. The most common cause of death on dialysis is hyperkalemia, a heart attack brought on due to fatally high potassium levels. It's not the dialysis that will kill you, it's your weakened and overtaxed heart. A heart I've ravaged throughout the years, both physically and emotionally.
So let's give ourselves a running chance at 10 years by giving up the cigarettes. What's the worst that can happen, if the alternative is death anyways?
