Who said dialysis patients cannot play a sport? Given good quality dialysis, dialysis patients can do everything that people with healthy kidneys do – work, play, travel, exercise and have fun.
NephroPlus, India’s largest dialysis centre network, a company I co-founded, organizes an Olympiad every two years where dialysis patients from all over the country are invited to participate in sporting events like Badminton, Cycling, Cricket, Table Tennis, Marathon etc. Gold, silver and bronze medals are given to the toppers in each discipline.
The fourth edition of this unique event was held by NephroPlus in New Delhi on the 5th of March. The event was attended by about 500 patients and their family members. The theme of the event was “Will to Win”.
The Commonwealth Games Stadium wore a festive look that Sunday with patients trooping in from morning excited to show off their sporting abilities. Many of them had been practicing for weeks leading up to the event. Sunday was when they would prove to the world – and indeed themselves – that they had the Will to Win. Dialysis would not pull them down and constrain them.
They fiercely competed with one another to win albeit with an undercurrent of bonhomie realizing that they were all fighting the same larger battle.
At the end of the day, they went home thoroughly satisfied. Even though all may not have won a medal, they were each a winner. For the first time for many, this event showed that they could do things they never thought they could. From here on, they would not let dialysis come in the way of their dreams.
Here are some pictures from the event.
For more information about the event, please visit:
