Northwest Kidney Centers

PD allows Dave to keep going with activities he loves

PD allows Dave to keep going with activities he loves

Boeing operations manager Dave Skelton has always loved living on the edge. He's enjoyed extreme sports such as snowmobiling and mountain biking. He's always been the type of guy to take care of himself, so when his kidneys started failing without any apparent reason last year, forcing him to go on dialysis, it was a humbling experience.

He turned to Seattle-based Northwest Kidney Centers for treatment, and eventually chose home dialysis, as 17 percent of the nonprofit's patients do—a rate that's twice the national average.

"Northwest Kidney Centers takes care of me," Dave said. "I've never been the type to need any help, but anything I need, from advice, supplies, vacation equipment, they're there. I couldn't imagine dialysis without Northwest Kidney Centers. They are the conduit between me and the medical community. It would be tough to manage everything that Northwest Kidney Centers does for me, and work at the same time.

"Northwest Kidney Centers makes my life possible."

These days, he doesn't participate in extreme sports any more due to the risk, but he refuses to let kidney disease slow him down. Giving himself peritoneal dialysis treatments at home, Dave still enjoys riding his Harley around and traveling to new destinations in his RV.

"I'm not snowmobiling anymore. I'm not working out anymore. I've lost a lot of muscle mass, but other than that, I'm still the same old guy."

Though his activities are less daring, his approach to life is still the same: "I try to go through each day with a positive attitude. Today could be my last day. I am going to do the best I can."

For more about Northwest Kidney Centers' inspiring community of patients and staff, visit www.facesofnwkidney.org.

This article was posted on November 1st, 2013