For 62-year-old David, having his wife Paz, 67, in a dialysis center was not the ideal situation. “In center she looked bad and felt bad and I was getting frustrated with her health care,” remembers David. “Now that she’s on home dialysis, I’ve got my wife of 29 years back—everyone remarks on her beaming smile! I would highly recommend that everyone consider home dialysis.”

Kidney disease

In 2000, Paz, who has type 2 diabetes, was told that lab test results she had done at a checkup showed she was losing kidney function. When her kidney function reached 25% in 2002, Paz needed to start dialysis. “At the time, Paz and I talked to people at the center and the nurse showed us around,” recalls David. “Paz chose in-center hemodialysis over peritoneal dialysis, which seemed complicated and messy and I couldn’t really help her with that.”

For the next 7 years, David sat next to Paz at every treatment. “After I brought Paz home I would go to work—sometimes she’d need a wheelchair to get into the house from the car,” explains David. “I’d have to ask a neighbor to help me get her in. In-center hemodialysis was too hard on her and tore her body apart.”

Home hemodialysis option

Then, in 2007, the dialysis center announced that the NxStage system was available—Paz would be the first home hemodialysis patient at the center. “For in-center hemodialysis we had to get up at 3 a.m. to get ready, go to dialysis, and then sometimes we needed to wait before or after if the technician was busy,” says David. “Home hemodialysis sounded more convenient and would be better for Paz.”

David and Paz learned all they could about home hemodialysis by reading, watching videos, and doing online research. “We saw she’d feel better, it was easier on the body, and there were many medical benefits; we jumped on it!” says David.

They began to train for home hemodialysis, and David eagerly accepted the primary role in her 6-day-a-week treatments, explaining, “Paz doesn’t want to do a whole lot herself—she doesn’t feel comfortable. I do everything but take her blood pressure.” However, David doesn’t find his role to be a burden. “I can give her more personal care than they do in a center. We are spending more time together and our love has strengthened. Others may have a different outlook, but that’s our experience.”

Caregiver benefits

For David, home dialysis offers many other benefits for the caregiver, as well as for the person on dialysis. During Paz’s treatment, David keeps busy. “In between checks, I make dinner, maybe bake a sugar-free coffee cake,” explains David. “When she is off, we eat. I don’t have to get dressed up and go anywhere, I can be in shorts, a t-shirt, with a cup of coffee!”

Paz has more energy now, which benefits both herself and David. “For seven years, we haven’t really been doing anything—Paz was always too tired,” reports David. “Now, we go out to dinner with friends as a couple and it’s only a matter of time to get more comfortable and we’ll go on vacation.” Paz has also started doing things around the house, stating, “I feel like I have been asleep for the last two years, but now on home dialysis I have more energy, feel better, and am again gardening in my flower bed!”

The benefits of home dialysis have proven to be life changing for Paz and David. “After seven years on in-center hemodialysis, we have fallen in love with this home dialysis,” says David. “We haven’t run across anything we dislike and would recommend home dialysis for anybody who is physically able to do it!”