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Peter Quaife - Rock Star from the Kinks Peter Quaife, a former member of the popular British rock group “The
Kinks,” who began hemodialysis in 1998. To pass the time, Peter began drawing
cartoons about what went on at his dialysis clinic. A collection of his cartoons
was recently published under the title “The Lighter Side of Dialysis.”
Welcome to KidneyTalk!
On this week’s show, Lori Hartwell and Stephen Furst talk about creative ways to
pass the time while on hemodialysis. Their guest is Peter Quaife (pictured when
performing with The Kinks in the 1960s), a former member of the British rock
group The Kinks who is now on hemodialysis.
With songs such as “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All of the Night,” and
“Lola,” The Kinks were part of the “British Invasion” that swept America in the
1960s. Their songs raced to the top of the pop music charts, second only to
those of The Beatles. (We apologize to those listeners who are too young to
remember these groups, but take it from us, they were huge!)
Peter gave up the rock & roll lifestyle in the late '60s to pursue other
endeavors including painting, writing, and--after moving to Canada in
1981--drawing political cartoons. To pass the time while on hemodialysis, which
he began in 1998, Peter began drawing cartoons about what went on at his
dialysis clinic. At the urging of the clinic’s patients and staff, a collection
of his cartoons was published under the title “The Lighter Side of Dialysis.”
“One thing we all three seem to have in common,” says Stephen, “is keeping a
good, optimistic view of life” in spite of chronic kidney disease.
Peter agrees: “It’s necessary. It’s really, really necessary. I try to find that
I’ve got something to do every day. You know, that I can wake up in the morning
and say, ‘Ah, I’ve got this to do.’”
“The only thing you can control in life is your attitude,” adds Lori.
“I think it’s all a case of attitude with dialysis,” says Peter. “It really is.”
Peter’s inspiration for “The Lighter Side of Dialysis” was easy: he just looked
around his dialysis clinic. Among his cartoons, his personal favorite depicts a
nurse, in the middle of the night in a graveyard, digging. The caption reads:
“Listen, when we say every second day, we mean every second day!” Explains
Peter: “Because I found that that really was their attitude” with regard to
dialysis. “It really didn’t matter what problems you were having. You know,
‘Every second day!’” and that was it.
Lori, Stephen, and Peter advise listeners not to dwell on the fact that they
need dialysis, and to stay clear of that line of thinking. An easy way to do so
is by productively occupying your time while in the dialysis facility. They
recommend doing work- or school-related activities, writing letters or making
entries in a diary, playing board games with fellow patients, surfing the
Internet, watching videos, or listening to music. Lori describes herself as a
“crafts addict” and recommends making something while on dialysis in order to
put your time to good use.
If you’ve come up with a unique way to put your dialysis time to good use, or if
you’ve seen someone else doing something out of the ordinary, send KidneyTalk!
an e-mail at info@rsnhope.org,
or leave us a voicemail toll-free at (866) 379-HOPE (4673). The top suggestions
will be read on an upcoming show.
A sampling of cartoons from “The Lighter Side of Dialysis (Volume 1)” can be
found on the Renal Support Network website, www.RSNhope.org. To order Peter’s book, just follow the link or visit
www.lightersideofdialysis.com.
You can also order by calling Jazz Communications at (866) 239-3279.
