Eric already dealt with one major health crisis: AML leukemia at age of 12. Now in remission, Eric has kidney failure and is on home hemodialysis (HD). He advises, "If you want to get more out of life, home programs are the way to go!"

Diagnosis and treatment

In 2000, Eric went for a physical to become a truck driver. Tests found protein in his urine, and his blood pressure was high. "When I had cancer, my blood pressure was high. In fact, I went on blood pressure pills at 17," he reports. "I started seeing a nephrologist for a few years who watched my labs, helped me watch my diet, and put me on prednisone."

Eric was stable for several years. Then, in 2007, his protein went up again and he needed dialysis. "They were pushing peritoneal dialysis (PD), but a tech warned me against it due to the risk of infections," says Eric. "So I started in-center HD in January of 2008." Eric found the center very depressing. "I was 29, and there were so many old, sickly people in the center," he says. "It's not that I ever felt bad on in-center HD like some people do. It's just that home dialysis is less depressing and more convenient."

The switch to home HD

Jokingly, Eric began to ask the staff if he could "take one of these machines home with me!" As he soon learned through online research, he could! "I found the DaVita website and did some research," he recalls. "I spoke to my nurse, who looked into it and said she'd call someone she knew did home HD in Hammond, IN."

Six months after he started in-center HD, Eric and his wife began training for home. "It took 3 weeks," he said. "Lynn, the nurse, came to my house the first time to make sure it was going okay." Eric now does home HD 6 days a week, for 2 hours and 22 minutes, plus set up and tear down—roughly 3 hours total. "I'm an independent person and my wife works full-time," shares Eric. "Doing HD at home is so much easier because I can get on if she's busy. She only has to help me if I'm feeling really bad, because I like to do 100% of it on my own."

At first, Eric was afraid that he would infiltrate a needle, but he overcame that with training. "It wasn't a needle fear issue, I was just afraid of infiltrating," he explains. "But the Buttonhole is like an earring track and it's all about the right angle and practice."

Freedoms and benefits

For Eric, the benefits of home HD are many. "I'm young, and married with two kids," explains Eric. "In-center HD was too hard to schedule around my busy life. I work as a DJ in a night club, play baseball with my son, and like to ride my 4-wheeler." Eric also finds that scheduling a weekend getaway or vacation with his family is also much simpler. "It's nice—they have premixed bags and I can do my HD in the hotel room instead of waiting to see if a clinic can fit me in," he explains. "If we're gone for 4 or more days, DaVita will send the supplies to my destination."

In Eric's opinion there are only two negatives about home HD. "For one thing, you have to have willpower to do it. Sometimes you don't feel like getting on the machine, and you have to! Also, we have a small home and my wife's not happy that I took over one closet with supplies!"

The future

Eric plans to become a dialysis patient care tech. "I really want to do it, but not to work in a clinic. I want to help promote home HD in centers," he relays. "For anyone who is active or doesn't want to quit their job, home dialysis is great. You can live life like a normal, healthy person."