SENIORS THANKFUL DESPITE MALADY PAIR ENJOYING FULL LIFE DESPITE KIDNEY FAILURE.Byline: BETTIE RENCORET Senior columnist PALMDALE - Tom and Grace Lauer are thankful all year long that he is alive, but at Thanksgiving time they give special thanks. He is one of many people who regularly get hemodialysis at the Antelope Valley Dialysis Center. The procedure is not pleasant, and it leaves the patient weak, but most get used to it. ``It's not so bad when you consider the alternative,'' said Tom Lauer. He has been going through the routine regularly for nine years. ``You always hate to go get on,'' said Tom, ``but it makes you feel better, so you don't fight it.'' When a person's kidneys fail to do their job of removing impurities from the blood stream, dialysis becomes necessary to filter the blood. Tubes from the machine are hooked up with needles to an implanted shunt To divert, switch or bypass. under the skin. The patient's blood is siphoned through a cleansing fluid and recirculated back into his blood vessels Blood vessels Tubular channels for blood transport, of which there are three principal types: arteries, capillaries, and veins. Only the larger arteries and veins in the body bear distinct names. . Hooked-up patients must sit or lie down for three to four hours while the machine does the work the kidneys ought to do. Some read. Some nap. Each dialysis station has a television set with earphones. The machines are costly to operate. Because of legislation passed in the 1980s, the cost is borne by insurance and Medicare supplements. Kidney failure kidney failure or renal failure Partial or complete loss of kidney function. Acute failure causes reduced urine output and blood chemical imbalance, including uremia. Most patients recover within six weeks. is not limited to the elderly. Although the majority of the patients receiving treatment are senior citizens, many young people also have dialysis at the clinic. Many younger patients are on a waiting list for organ donors. The diabetics must wait longer since a diabetic is likely to need a transplant of a pancreas as well as a kidney. For elderly patients and others unlikely to qualify for transplant surgery, dialysis will be a lifetime necessity, but many find they can lead fairly normal lives. One patient has been on dialysis regularly for 15 years. The Lauers had enjoyed a cruise to Alaska for their 40th wedding anniversary. For their 50th in 1992, they cruised back to Alaska, and this time their family went along. ``Tom was on dialysis at the time,'' his wife said, ``but the Holland Cruise Line provided dialysis aboard ship for him during the 12 days we were gone, and we had a wonderful time.'' The two were married Aug. 22, 1942, in Villa Park, Ill., and settled in the Southland in 1956. They have three children who live in Southern California: Thomas W. Lauer, Placentia; Donna Grisham, Chatsworth; and Patricia Level, Canoga Park. Grace Lauer was strictly a homemaker when the children were small, but then she went to work as a teacher. She taught first grade at the West Valley Christian Academy in Winnetka for 24 years before she retired in 1982. Illness has stopped Tom Lauer's hunting, golfing and fishing trips, but he gets vicarious vicarious /vi·car·i·ous/ (vi-kar´e-us) 1. acting in the place of another or of something else. 2. occurring at an abnormal site. vi·car·i·ous adj. 1. enjoyment out of watching hunting, golfing and fishing shows on television. ``I used to have a 16 to 18 handicap on the golf course,'' he said, ``but now I'm a TV bug,'' said the painting technical supervisor, who worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. for more than 24 years - until he also retired in 1982. ``I read quite a bit, too, mostly things about human events.'' His wife also reads a lot - the newspaper, Christian magazines and the Bible. She attends the First Baptist Church First Baptist Church may refer to many churches: Canada
``I've become active in some of the women's groups,'' she said, ``Tom isn't able to go, but you can be sure I'll be attending services to say a special prayer of thanksgiving for both of us.'' Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster, Palmdale and South Valley have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk for a donation of $2. Monday: Braised braise tr.v. braised, brais·ing, brais·es To cook (meat or vegetables) by browning in fat, then simmering in a small quantity of liquid in a covered container. beef and noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. , green beans, marinated salad, strawberry ice cream. Tuesday: Chili egg puff, chili beans, spinach, coleslaw cole·slaw also cole slaw n. A salad of finely shredded raw cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots, dressed with mayonnaise or a vinaigrette. , peaches. Wednesday: Barbecued chicken, rice pilaf, Normandy vegetables, lettuce and tomato salad, cheese cake. Thursday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, cottage cheese cottage cheese a soft, uncured cheese made from soured skim milk; most of the lactose is removed with the whey. Used in low-residue diets for dogs and cats. , apple, banana. Friday: Baked fish fillet fillet /fil·let/ (fil´et) 1. a loop, as of cord or tape, for making traction on the fetus. 2. in the nervous system, a long band of nerve fibers. fil·let n. 1. , baked potatoes, parsley carrots, garden salad, lime gelatin gelatin or animal jelly, foodstuff obtained from connective tissue (found in hoofs, bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage) of vertebrate animals by the action of boiling water or dilute acid. , apple. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Tom Lauer enjoys some television while nurse Pat Carter checks on him during dialysis, above. He tries to live normally despite dialysis. Below, he and his wife, Grace, live with their mementos in the Antelope Valley Country Club Estates. Bettie Rencoret/Special to the Daily News |
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