Couple show you can live with dialysis

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Garland couple show you can live with dialysis

Family can keenly relate to message of National Kidney Month

09:37 AM CST on Sunday, March 2, 2008

By ANNETTE NEVINS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

As a truck driver, John Rowe of Garland spent much of his time on the road and didn't have a lot of time to see a doctor.

But when his feet began to swell, he found out that his kidneys were failing. He needs regular dialysis to clean out his organs.

Five years ago, Mr. Rowe enrolled in a program that allowed him to continue his travels. He connects himself to a machine that cleans his kidneys every night as he sleeps.

Mr. Rowe, 42, knows all too well the effect kidney disease can have on a family.

His wife, Lisa, 45, had kidney failure caused by 32 years of diabetes she says was triggered by a virus. She suffered many infections during two years of dialysis and in 1999, she received a kidney transplant.

Keeping the kidneys healthy to prevent the need for dialysis or a transplant is a message the National Kidney Foundation wants to get out during March, National Kidney Month.

Foundation officials say 26 million American adults – a 30 percent jump in 10 years – suffer from chronic kidney disease.

That number, about 13 percent of the U.S. population, is likely to rise unless Americans get serious about prevention. Diabetes, high blood pressure and family history are the leading factors in kidney failure. Particularly at risk are African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and American Indians.

To mark World Kidney Day, March 13, the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas is offering free screenings for at-risk adults from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 15 at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church, 1821 W. Camp Wisdom Road in Dallas.

Mr. Rowe says he wishes he had found out sooner about the genetic disease that attacked his liver, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, which causes scarring and hardening of the tiny blood vessels within the kidney.

It took him many visits to different doctors before he was diagnosed. Doctors recommend a transplant, he says, but dialysis is working well for now.

"There is hope in dialysis and transplants, but I'd rather have healthy kidneys," he said.

He was laid off from his job in January and now stays home to care for twins John and Ashley. His wife works as an assistant manager of a convenience store. They rely on insurance and Medicare.

"Seeing mom and dad dealing with dialysis machines and medicines, our kids think that's normal," Mrs. Rowe said. "But we always stress to our children the importance of eating right and exercising to stay healthy."

While no one wants dialysis, the clinics are always full, said Debbie Toney, a nurse and clinical manager of peritoneal dialysis services at one of the 30 Dallas area locations of the Fresenius Medical Care Clinic – where Mr. Rowe gets monthly checkups.

"You can live a normal life with dialysis; it's not a death sentence," Ms. Toney says.

Annette Nevins is a freelance writer in Plano.

jmnevins@msn.com

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