Home dialysis machine allows Cleveland Browns fan freedom

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Home dialysis machines allow kidney disease patients freedom

Andrew Conte can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7835.

By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Harvey Wells plans to see every Cleveland Browns game this season.

Even more remarkably, he will undergo dialysis treatments as he travels to the games in a recreation vehicle. On Monday, he touted the freedom of a home dialysis machine after watching the Steelers whack the Browns at Heinz Field the day before.

"You really can live your life as you want to live it, and be as normal as you can be on dialysis," said Wells, 57, of Euless, Texas, who grew up in Ohio.

Wells collects a small stipend and some travel expenses from the manufacturer of his dialysis machine, NxStage, but he said the main message is that people with kidney disease need to understand their options.

Many patients choose dialysis treatments in a clinic because of convenience, but they also can give themselves dialysis at home or seek to undergo kidney transplant surgery, said Dr. Nabil Mikhael, medical director at two DaVita dialysis centers.

Ideally, patients with kidney disease will start pursuing a treatment option before they experience symptoms, he said, but that can be a hard sell.

"The idea is to try to convince someone who feels just fine that they need to start dialysis or get a transplant before they're symptomatic," he said.

Outreach programs are focused on informing patients about options as early as possible, said Deborah Hartman, regional vice president for the National Kidney Foundation.

"With the rising epidemic of kidney disease, we're appearing on the radar screen," Hartman said.

Wells first learned that his kidneys were losing function when he was 18 years old, and he received a transplanted kidney donated by his wife in 1998. When that organ failed, he spent about 18 months receiving treatments in a clinic before he started home dialysis.

Wells and two grandsons are traveling this fall to every Browns game. Wells hooks himself to the dialysis machine six days a week, and his grandsons keep up with their school work over the computer.

The biggest disappointment so far, he said, was watching the Browns win two weeks ago.

"We've seen six of (the games) now and they've all been awful," Wells said. "We were hoping for a winless season."

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