At the time, Sanjay was working as an electronic design engineer, and after he was told he needed to have a fistula fit, Sanjay was sacked from his job. Thereafter, Sanjay found that work was sparse. “No one wanted to employ me because of my health status, and the work I could find meant I had to dialyse at night to fit in with my schedule.” In addition to this gruelling cycle, Sanjay found the general experience of dialysis incredibly isolating. “At first I was really angry. Then I just wanted to protect my wife from what I was going through. I wanted to shield her from the ins and outs of my treatment, as well as not wanting her to see me as a patient.”
To make matters worse, the wait for a transplant is brutal. “The first time I was called in for a transplant, I was on the gurney, outside of the operating theatre, before being told that the kidney had not been harvested correctly. After an experience like that, you learn to manage your expectations. Even after I had my first transplant, I was in incredible amounts of pain and knew the kidney wasn’t right.”
Unfortunately, soon after starting his new role, his new kidney began to fail and once again, Sanjay had to return to dialysis. Only this time, instead of being let go from his work, Sanjay was given complete autonomy over his work schedule to fit with his dialysis. “Fresenius Medical Care could not have been more accommodating of my condition. I had to travel nationwide for my job at the time, and they allowed me to work three days a week locally so that I could service dialysis machines in the day, and then dialyse from home 2 ½ hours a night, 5 days a week.” Sanjay was able to perform so well with such freedom that he was promoted to Systems Technician whilst still dialysing. “Fresenius Medical Care gave me my life back by hiring me. With their support and faith, I was able to succeed in my career battling CKD”.
In 2017, Sanjay got the call any patient wishes to receive. There was a perfect kidney match waiting for him, and he swiftly received his second transplant.
Now, given his personal experience of CKD, Sanjay feels like he’s able to better connect with the patients he sees when servicing dialysis machines. Not only can he help with their care by ensuring their treatment is never disrupted, but he can also reassure them from his personal experience. “I can say with absolute confidence to patients that they’re receiving the best possible quality of care, using a superior technology, because I went through it myself.”
On reflection, Sanjay has some advice for renal patients. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’re isolated, the disease can get the best of you and affect you mentally as well as physically. Life isn’t over if you have CKD. You can beat it and there is so much you can still achieve,” he says, living his own advice.
After postponing having children due to his treatment, today Sanjay has a daughter and twin sons with his wife, and is looking forward to progressing even further within Fresenius Medical Care UK & Ireland.