Appraising and monitoring a life on dialysis

I feel that the adaptation theories proposed by Nerenz and Leventhal (1983) and by Taylor (1983), although offering insights into how chronically sick individuals may interpret and manage their illness, do not capture completely the complexities of how D.R. has successfully learned over the years to live with renal disease and dialysis. I find it interesting that Lazarus and Folkman's theory of stress, adaptation and coping, which is based more on the belief that everyone experiences stress every day and, thereby, does not single out chronically ill people as being different, has more to offer in interpreting D.R.'s own perceptions on how he monitors his health than the illness-based models of Nerenz/Leventhal and Taylor. After eight years of continuous appraisal and reappraisal, D.R. has taught himself, through his own perceptions and interactions with those close to him, how he can live successfully with renal failure. The recording of his insights has helped me appreciate more deeply what an endless challenge a life lived on dialysis is.