Spouse/Partner doing Home Hemo-Dialysis

[motreasures]

Hi All!

I've been lurking for a while...thought I would join in on the conversations. 

I am the spouse of a wonderful man who has ESRD.  We do Home Hemo-Dialysis and I consisder myself to be his partner in keeping him as healthy as he can be so his quality of life is the best it can be.  We recently learned that he has a mass on his left kidney and the whole kidney needs to be removed.  It's scheduled for the beginning of February.  We won't know if the mass is cancerous until a few days after his kidney is removed.  Nor will we know if it has spread to other parts of his body until then.  We're hoping for the best case scenario; it's either benign or a cyst, then he remains on the transplant list.

I'm hoping to learn from other's experiences.

Mo

[MooseMom]

Mo,   I can't imagine the worry you two must be feeling.  Cancer on top of ESRD would be a difficult thing to cope with, and I am hoping that is not the final diagnosis.  Most growths are benign, so I have a lot of hope for you.  Please do let us know what happens, OK?

It's great that you are doing home hemo with your husband; it will keep him much healthier than if he was on inclinic hemo.  I know it must be hard work.  Once I start dialysis, my husband is going to train with me to do home hemo, too.  We know it will be a challenge but we take great comfort in hearing stories like yours of other couples who have managed it.  I really look forward to hearing more about your experiences.  For how long has your spouse been on dialysis?  Is he doing as well as you both hoped?

Welcome to IHD!  So very glad you've joined!

[Poppylicious]

  Mo!

[Rerun]

Hi Mo and welcome to IHD.  I'll be praying that the mass is not cancerous.  I'm so glad you found us.  This site is great!!

Rerun, Moderator    

[Desert Dancer]

Hi, Mo and  to IHD! How are you and your husband liking home hemo?

Fingers crossed for you here that the mass is just a cyst! 

[1sickbob]

Hi Mo...back in 1999 the doctors thought I had kidney cancer as all my tests came back as would someone with kidney cancer.  They then decided to wait, and my numbers got better.  A year later they once again were bad, and they thought they had missed their window of opportunity to get the kidney out before it spread.  I had the kidney removed, it looked nothing like a kidney when they got it out and there was a huge hematoma on it and everythign was benign.  But since it was not functioning any longer, they did the right thing to get rid of it.
My other kidney lasted 10 years after this as we watched it slowly deteriorate.  Thankful the time we did get however..now its COME ON TRANSPLANT!  hahh

Bob

[Rerun]

 

[motreasures]

Hi All! 

I've been AWOL for a bit...life stuff and getting ready for my Hubbie's upcoming surgery.

Thanks so much for the welcomes!  It's great to come to a friendly place where people understand what we're going thru. 

Bob, thanks for the encouraging news.  We hope for the best but as you undoubtedly know, it's those dark moments when you worry about the worst...seeing your post help me get back on the hopeful track.    Here's hoping you get a transplant soon!   

Desert Dancer & MooseMom, we started home hemo this last September after 10 months of Darrell traveling over an hour away for treatments 3x a week.  We knew before he ever started dialysis that we wanted to do home hemo, but the closest clinic to offer the training is 2.5 hours away and they were just beginning so we had to wait for an opening to train as they were training one couple a month.  I must say, as the "care-giver," it's more work than I thought it would be initially.  However, I'm still glad we're doing it at home.  There are some adjustments to life as we knew it in terms of doing dialysis 6 days a week (though we probably do it closer to 5 days) versus the longer 3 days in clinic treatments.  Also, for us, it's still about 4 hours of total time from gathering supplies, priming, getting on the machine, then getting off treatment and waiting for his buttonholes to clot & cleanup.  I wouldn't change whether we did it at home or not...I just wish we weren't told it would be 2-2.5 hours.  I believe you can prepare yourself for anything as long as you have all the information.  Silly me.

I wish I had known about this forum before we started...I think I would have been less panicky every time the alarm went off in the first three weeks of dialysis at home.  LOL   We are by no means complacent during the setup and treatment, but much more calm & confident in handling any issues/alarms that come up.  And if for some reason, the treatment seems to be jinxed with some issue after another...we've learned to do a rinse back and shut it down and start fresh the next day rather than get frustrated with each other and the machine.  There's so much more I could write, but my guess is that somewhere here, others have been very thorough in their feedback.  I'll be happy to add to the content.

Rerun, thanks for the prayers & bump 

Hi Poppy!

I look forward to hanging out some, here.  And I'll definitely keep you posted. 

Have an awesome day, All!
Mo

[rsudock]

welcome Mo!!!!

[Cordelia]

Hello and 

[rocker]

Lots of home hemo partners here...