My hemodialysis training has come to a conclusion. Like anything special, it has its bittersweetness. My four co-trainees and I will now continue with our respective journeys. We'll probably see each other again a few more times, and then that's it. We still have the wonders of e-mail and texting, but there's nothing like pure, personal interaction.

I learned a lot from these younger people, my co-trainees and the training staff, and I would like to think they learned something as well from this old fogey.

I shall miss our dialysis patients, the sweet ones and the grumpy ones; the philosophical ones and the resigned ones. They all make me grateful that I still have my good health, and they inspire me to keep it.