Hello from small town illinois..

[pato]

My name is Patrick. I'm a 37yr old Kenyan born guy currently living in south east Illinois approx 70miles from st.Louis. Been on in center hemo since January 2007 barely 4yrs after i immigrated to st.Louis, US. Life was good, i was doing my thing working my butt off and going to school fulltime chasing the American dream till my wife (gf at the time) took me to the ER on Christmas eve 2006  cos i was having severe headaches and nose bleeding. Uncontrolled bp that i wasn't aware of had damaged my kidneys. A case of unhealthy lifestyle choices that included a  poor diet, smoking (cigs)and drinking. I discovered this site around the same time as i was trying to learn more about esrd and dialysis but i never got to register as a member. Yep, took me almost 7yrs to do this. They say 'No hurry in Africa', well, old habits die hard. It's been a long tough road on dialysis with lots of ups and downs but hey I'm still here. I've been married to Her Highness Toni for 6yrs. She's my rock and without her i would be six feet under. We are starting training for home hemo on sept 17th and i can't wait. Thank you for accepting me into the group.

[Shaks24]

Welcome to IHD Patrick. I hope you make many friends here and get answers to any questions you may have. Sound like you have really been through it.

 

[MooseMom]

Seven years is better than not getting here at all, so welcome at long last!  Good luck with your home hemo training.  For many people, no other modality will do!  I'm glad you've joined IHD.