Life-Alysis
Kasia February 1st, 2008
Back in October I posted this:
Second, euphemisms reach new heights in lunacy: at Warren and Conner there is actually a “Life-alysis Center”. I ask you, how ignorant do you have to be to be frightened of the word “dialysis”?
Someone stumbled across that post (I say that because I rather doubt anyone is systematically reading my archives, but I could be wrong), and commented thus:
Using the term “life-alysis” isn’t so much of a euphemism as it is a state of mind. If you’ve ever actually experienced dialysis you would understand how exhausting, how frightening, how draining the whole thing can be. So some centres in the States have switched their names to Life-Alysis Centres in order to help patients change their thinking…because positive thinking is 90% of the battle in any illness.
Perhaps a little bit more understanding and empathy on your part is needed.
Fair enough. I will agree wholeheartedly with the last statement - it’s a rare person who couldn’t do with a bit more understanding and empathy. I’m certainly no exception.
The poster (Rachel) is correct in her assumption that I have never experienced dialysis, nor has anyone close to me, so I’m pretty ignorant of the toll it takes on one’s body or state of mind. What I was reacting to was the replacement of the Greek prefix “di-” with the word “life”, thinking that people were irrationally reacting to it and refusing to get life-sustaining treatment because they incorrectly associated it with the English word “die”. Considering that I saw this, the only case I had seen of a “life-alysis center”, in a city that has a something like 50% adult rate of functional illiteracy, I don’t think it was an unreasonable assumption on my part, but it may have been an incorrect one (I don’t know if that particular reason plays into centers’ decisions whether or not to rename).
I do know that psychology factors into ongoing medical treatments. I do not know whether there’s any benefit to changing the name to Life-alysis. It seems to me that I’m still too ignorant, and there are too many variables in place, for me to make an assessment. However, I appreciate Rachel’s explanation, and will certainly make an effort to improve in understanding and empathy.
UPDATE: A gentleman by the name of Bill Peckham has posted on the exchange, such as it is, between Rachel and myself, including a tactful correction of the actual etymology of the word. You can read it here.
Hmm… if we take the word apart (in a completely non-authoratative way, of course), then Dialysis could be seen as dia-lysis, or “die” - “lysis”.
And lysis is defined as:
ly·sis (lss)
n. pl. ly·ses (-sz)
The gradual subsiding of the symptoms of an acute disease; a form of the recovery process.
Okay, so you are lessening the symptoms of “die” or dying, by the process of dialysis which is removing toxins from the blood.
This is really cheap analysis of the word, but if you think about it like that, then dialysis makes tons more sense than life-alysis, since I want the “die” part to lessen, not the “life” part.
But, that’s just me.
Oops, please ignore my typos. I can spell…. Sometimes…. Really.
Oh, and one more comment, just because I am a punk. And please, this is not to beat up on Rachel, for I truly understand the point she is trying to make.
That said, “because positive thinking is 90% of the battle in any illness”:
On the podcast on hope, Father said that “positive thinking” and “wishful thinking” are futile, really. What you truly need to do is pray — and trust and hope (the correct definition of hope, not “positive thinking,” but a knowledge of (not knowledge about) God) in the Lord.
I understand the basic message of that quote; however, it could give someone the false impression that if they just thought positively enough, they could effect their own recovery — and it would be their action, and not God’s.
Perhaps a nitpicky point I’m trying to make, but I think the distinction is something worth considering.
If the point is merely to boost spirits, why don’t they just call them “Life Sustaining Centers” or “The Happy Happy Joy Joy Center for Clean Livers”??
The fact that they take the “di” part and change it to “life” is a direct reaction to the fact that “di” is pronounce “die” which means, in English, the exact opposite of what you are trying to accomplish through dialysis. This is like using “herstory” to talk about history of women. It’s a play on words.
Personally, I hate these plays on words. I think they are juvenile and ignorant and insulting to one’s intelligence. Perhaps some dialysis patients have their spirits boosted by calling that place where they receive treatment a life-alysis center, but I suspect most think it’s a stupid name. A patient’s spirits are boosted more by the attitude of the people who work in the center, the attitude of their family members and close friends, and the physical conditions of the center (clean, bright, colorful, interesting reading material, plesant music, etc) than by the actual name of the center.
My grandmother had to do dialysis for years. I am wholly empathetic to the suffering of those who choose to prolong their life with this vital procedure. They can call it whatever they choose, but shouldn’t be shocked that others snicker at their silly choice.
“If you’ve ever actually experienced dialysis you would understand how exhausting, how frightening, how draining the whole thing can be.”
Well, then, let me just say that Life-alysis is a stupid thing to put on a building. Good Lord, what’s next: change “funeral home” to “sad-eral home”? Because if you’ve actually experienced a funeral of someone you love, you’d understand it’s not FUN.
Don’t get me wrong. “Life-alysis” is a great term for renal patients to use. But the procedure is “dialysis”.
I think the etymology is not dia-lysis rather from it is from the Greek διάλυσις, dialusis (dissolution), from διά, dia (through) λυσις, lusis (loosening). The term dialysis predates the modern medical process (developed in the 1940s) to Thomas Graham of Glasgow, who first presented the principles of solute transport across a semipermeable membrane in 1854. But to your basic point: the psychological impact from changing the name of a dialysis unit to Life Alysis I agree; I’d say the bigger lexicon fish to fry would be changing the Medicare designation from End Stage Renal Disease to stage 5 chronic kidney disease. Same goes to the term kidney failure. Who wants to be considered an end stage failure?
So much of this has to do with what our Holy Father talks about in Spe Salvi; we cannot educate ourselves or improve ourselves out of the reality of suffering, death or evil itself. Today, people have bought the notion that science can fix all of that, and positive thinking will make us….live eternally? It is in many ways immature, but more dangerously, it is unrealistic, relativistic and all a lie. We will all suffer, we will all commit some evil and we will all die, dialysis or no dialysis. We should learn to make death a friend, as we live in the hope of eternal life with our Lord and Creator. When the highest goal for a large portion of the population is to be entertained 24/7, this discussion becomes difficult to engage.
Kasia–your post came up in a google search when I was actually looking for pictures of a Life-alysis T-shirt to show to another friend. I understand your perspective–I’m not a big fan of politically correct speech and euphemisms myself–and appreciate your follow-up.
I totally agree with what Jaibee said in regards to prayer and having faith in God.
I also agree that dialysis is the correct term. For those of us on dialysis we see “Life-alysis” as a joke term. It’s not something we take all that seriously…although yeah, apparently some clinics in the States have chosen to do so. A friend’s clinic in California actually gives out “Life-alysis” T-shirts to its patients–and those of us who have seen them, want one. Not because it’s going to send some kind of new message, but because it’s funny.
And it shows that we do value our lives. At least, that’s how I see it and friends of mine who are also on dialysis see it.