El Pasoan Who Works On Dialysis Machines Now Needs Them

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El Pasoan Who Works On Dialysis Machines Now Needs Them

Noreen Jaramillo/KFOX Morning News Anchor/Reporter
Posted: 9:10 am MDT May 29, 2009
Updated: 6:39 pm MDT May 29, 2009

EL PASO, Texas -- No one wants to get the diagnosis that their kidneys are failing, but for one El Paso man hearing that news was not only difficult, but even a little ironic.

He is Juan Pena, the chief equipment tech for the Fresenius Dialysis Centers located around El Paso. For the past 17 years he has worked hard to make sure the patients at the medical clinics get the best possible care from properly working equipment, including the dialysis machines, which he will now have to use.

"Now I am going through it, experiencing what patients experience," Pena said, adding that he went to the doctor because he started feeling tired and weak. and shortly after, heard the news. "That is when he told me I needed a kidney transplant."

Pena also knew the diagnosis made sense. There is a history of high blood pressure and diabetes in his family. He also knows those diseases are risk factors for developing kidney failure. "I had a hard time coming to dialysis because I have been working here for so long and I know the patients. It was something very awkward," said Pena.

He has been on dialysis for about two months. He goes to the dialysis center twice week as a patient. The rest of the time, it's back to being an employee working on the very machines that help keep him alive.

Pena, like many other El Pasoans receiving dialysis treatments, is now waiting for a kidney transplant. Pena's friends including many of his fellow employees have started to help raise money for his kidney transplant. If you want to help, go to www.comingtogetherforjuan.blogspot.com. If you want to learn more about dialysis go to www.ultracare-dialysis.com or call 1-866-4-DIALYSIS(1-866-434-2597).

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/19600250/detail.html