Going Home – Staying Home: What You Need To Know About Your Treatment Options

If your kidneys have failed, do you have all of the information you need to make the best choices for your life? One in 7 people have some degree of kidney failure, and many do not realize it, since there are often no symptoms until dialysis is needed. That is NOT the time to be making life-altering decisions, when you are physically and emotionally compromised. But there is hope.

In keeping with our mission, to inform, inspire, and advocate for an extraordinary quality of life for the home dialysis community, Home Dialyzors United (HDU) is launching a series of educational meet-ups designed for CKD patients, dialyzors, and renal professionals—presented and developed by dialyzors.

The first meet-up of 2019 will be this Saturday, on April 27 2019 at the Courtyard Marriott in Glen Allen, VA near Richmond. Other Going Home-Staying Home^© meet-ups are planned for later this year in Chicago, Dallas, and Seattle to reach patients in their own communities, in an informal setting conducive to learning. HDU is pairing top professionals in PD, HHD, and Transplant services in the Richmond VA area with patient advocates from around the country, to meet in a relaxed atmosphere.

HDU believes that an educated patient is a healthy patient, and therefore we have collaborated with the ESRD Network 5, NxStage, VCU, and UVA, as well as our own Dori Schatell and the Medical Education Institute. Going Home-Staying Home will help those at all levels of a CKD/ESRD journey sort out what matters most, and learn how to achieve the best quality of life possible.

Join us at 8:30-9 am for coffee and a continental breakfast with the speakers and host, HDU. At 9am, Dori will start off the conversation by encouraging patients to explore their values and try out the My Life, My Dialysis Choice tool. Learning what matters to you will help you determine which treatment modalities have the best chance to provide you with the quality of life you seek.

Then, a team of medical professionals and patient advocates from NxStage, UVA, and VCU will help attendees explore options for peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis, and/or transplant. Get to know real people who have already travelled the home dialysis journey and are living meaningful lives full of adventure, work, and travel. Gain an understanding of all the treatment options, and which may work NOW, and understand that during the journey, these options can and will change, as life goals change.

From 12:15 to 1:15 a complimentary buffet lunch will be offered, during a Take Back Your Life Fireside Chat. Patient Advocates who have walked the road you are facing will be more than happy to share their experiences and look forward to addressing your questions. Check out the HDU Faces of Home Dialysis slide show of real dialyzors in real life. If you are not comfortable asking questions in front of others, feel free to speak to anyone, one-on-one. Questions need to be asked, and answered, no matter what they are.

After lunch, starting at 1:30, learn about transplants from the Transplant Outreach team of professionals from VCU and from their patients who have received a transplant. Learn what you might expect.

Still have questions? Stick around after the last session ends at 2:30 for an opportunity to visit with the patient support group to share ideas, stories and meet new friends. End Stage Renal Disease Network 5, HDU, VCU, UVA and NxStage will be there to answer questions and provide information. Speak to others who have already been through what you are going through, and learn from their journeys.

Going Home-Staying Home isn’t just a meeting for patients, any dialysis clinician—especially those who are going from in-center to a home training program, will benefit as well. HDU believes that there is no place for “one-size-fits-all” in dialysis. Come and learn how to customize treatments for the best quality of life.

Take home a free gift bag filled with information and goodies. This is one event that can change your life for the better and help you take back the control and quality of life you are used to:

• Learn how to make the best choices and use online tools to help you decide what fits your lifestyle to give you the most freedom.

• If you are a busy, on the go type, nocturnal home hemodialysis may be best.

• If you enjoy a leisurely 3-hour nap in the afternoon, short daily may be the way for you.

• See first-hand how real dialyzors have coped with supplies and not turning their homes into hospitals.

• What are some of the cutting-edge technologies available for transplants today?

• How do you deal with your medications post-transplant?

You will find the answers to your questions here from people who prescribe these treatments and those who perform them in the comfort of their own homes.

Space is limited! Going Home-Staying Home is free, but register by noon tomorrow (Friday, April 26) so we can be sure to have enough food for everyone.