Northwest Kidney Centers

Dad doesn’t miss a thing thanks to home dialysis

Home hemodialysis is a challenge. So is parenting a toddler. But Ryan Tibayan of suburban Seattle manages to combine the two roles – with not just one toddler, but twins who turned 1 in March 2019.

Ryan developed diabetes in his 20s and began dialysis with a NxStage machine two years ago, after he and his wife were trained at Northwest Kidney Centers in Seattle.

Ryan chose home dialysis after attending a class at Northwest Kidney Centers about the decisions surrounding treatment for chronic kidney failure.

Home hemo helps him balance the length and frequency of the treatments with his duties as a stay-at-home dad. His wife, Nicole, works as a retail store manager to support the family.

“I’m always home so it’s way better than having to leave my kids three days a week four hours at a time,” said Ryan, who was formerly employed as a computer assistant.

“Home treatment allows me to not miss anything in my kids’ life. It’s on my schedule so I can do dialysis whenever there’s time, like if they’re taking a nap.

“I feel like you don’t have to let kidney disease or dialysis run your life. You can lead a pretty normal life if you want to,” Ryan said.

“But you have to have a really strong support system to do that. My kids give me extra motivation to continue doing dialysis.”

Nicole became pregnant after the couple underwent in vitro fertilization. “We found out we were having twins at our first ultrasound. At first I was freaked out, but then I was ecstatic because I never thought we could have kids with my health problems,” Ryan said.

Ryan is on the kidney transplant list. He plans to be around to watch his children grow up.

Find more information from Northwest Kidney Centers about kidney disease prevention and treatment at www.nwkidney.org.

This article was posted on May 17th, 2019