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Dialysis patient pays it forward

Marilyn Depauw says the people who care for her during kidney dialysis have given her life, and she thanked them through Pay It Forward.

Marilyn Depauw says the people who care for her during kidney dialysis have given her life, and she thanked them through Pay It Forward.

Marilyn suffered from kidney failure and her health was failing fast when the doctor ordered her to dialysis.  The process involved long hours and many needles and tubes connecting the patient to a machine that removes blood, cleans it, and returns it to the patient. 

It can be exhausting and terrifying.

“I was at a point where I thought being dead would be easier,” Marilyn said.  “I would sit and just cry, just sit and cry like the biggest baby in the world.”

The nurses and techs at Quad City Kidney Center, in Geneseo, helped Marilyn turn her attitude around.

She says Michelle, SueAnn and Laurie helped make dialysis bearable.

“They'd come over, they'd hold your hand, they would let you know that what you are feeling is normal,” Marilyn said.

She wanted to find a special way to thank Michelle, SueAnn and Laurie – and she found it in the Pay It Forward program.

These special women say they are there because they care about their patients. 

“It’s kind of like our extended family.  We see our patients more than we see our family some weeks.”

Marilyn says because of their dedication, she will be forever grateful to the three women who returned to her what she almost lost forever. 

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