RV traveler demonstrates NxStage home dialysis

Harvey Wells said he looked forward to life without dialysis after he received a kidney transplant.

But in 2006, eight years after Wells’ transplant, the Texas resident had to go back on dialysis.

Wells suffers from focal segmental glomerrulosclerosis, a disease that damages the kidney’s filtering system.

“Transplants are not a cure for kidney disease. It’s just another way of treating it,” Wells said.

Wells resumed dialysis at a treatment center and in March 2007 he transitioned from traditional dialysis to home dialysis.

Wells uses the NxStage System.

“What I really wanted was to just be in the comfort of my own home,” Wells said.

Traditional treatment requires patients to visit a dialysis center three days a week for three to four hours each session. Treatment through the NxStage System allows patients to receive dialysis six days a week, with two- to three-hour treatments.

Wells said his quality of life has improved since he began therapy with NxStage.

“Once I was on it I realized the daily therapy is what makes you feel better,” Wells said. “There’s no magic or secret to it, it’s just the frequency of the therapy.”

Wells spread the word about NxStage with an RV tour. He traveled 3,700 miles and visited 11 states.

Wells said the trip enabled him to spread the word about home dialysis and spend quality time with his grandchildren.

Wells stopped by Kansas City’s Renal Advantage Inc. in December.

“My main message is that this therapy is available and it’s not as complicated or as difficult as you may perceive,” Wells said.

Renal Advantage Inc. Home Dialysis Coordinator Tracy Zeligman, RN, said patients who came to Wells’ mobile open house showed an interest in home treatment.

“It certainly has opened a lot of conversation about it,” Zeligman said. “Our patients who were younger and wanting to get more information about it came out.”

Home dialysis requires the patient to learn to hook themselves up to the machine. Wells said initially he feared this process but now does it with ease.

“Of all the things I was concerned about that should have been my least,” Wells said. “I tell people I could do it blindfolded.”

Not all dialysis patients can receive treatment at home. Zeligman said home dialysis requires the patient to have a partner with them during treatment in case an emergency occurs. Patients must also meet certain health requirements to qualify for home dialysis. Those who are good candidates undergo six weeks of training before they begin home therapy.

“Once training is completed we transition them from the clinic to home,” Zeligman said. “They are taught to be completely independent. Basically (they) become a dialysis technician.”

Zeligman said patients who have transitioned to home dialysis give positive feedback about the treatment.

“The comparison is so dramatic they feel like they have been given a new lease on life,” Zeligman said. “They can feel the difference within the first few days of training.”

For more information about the NxStage System, visit www.nxstage.com.

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