Were I you, I'd learn (like fayerody taught so well) about dialysis and think of ways to make her long weekly appointments better. Get her books/magazines and maybe offer to drive her to her appointments/pick her up if you want to help?

I worked in a building that had a dialysis clinic and we got to know some of the more "colorful" patients as they waited for their rides in front of the building afterwards (a lot were on welfare and took special vans/taxi cabs). Were I you I'd get to talking to people around your mother; nurses, aides, other patients and their families, etc. and "get into" the experience that way. Dialysis can keep people alive indefinately, it's a "fix" for that problem but is very time consuming and can get complicated. I'd start with getting comfortable with dialysis and then that might help get me more comfortable with my mother again.