This Kidney Health Awareness Month, the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is hoping to spread the word about home dialysis and its impact on quality of life.
Turning on a hemodialysis machine inside their bedroom has become a regular nightly routine for Bonnie Field and her husband.
She was diagnosed with kidney failure 20 years ago.
“They tried a number of medications and treatments, but things progressed to the point where I needed either dialysis or a transplant,” explained Field, a patient in the Regional Renal Program at LHSC.
Field ended up getting a living kidney from her youngest daughter, but sadly, lost it within 24-hours due to a blood clot in the kidney.
“I had to eventually have my precious kidney that I had just received, I had to have it removed. And that started my journey with dialysis,” said Field.
She began in-center dialysis treatment for six months – three days a week, for four-hour treatments.
“As I stabilized, my doctor asked me if I would be interested in doing home dialysis, and we jumped at the chance,” said Field.
Field eventually received another kidney from a diseased donor, but it only survived for a year. She said she has now come to terms with being on dialysis for the rest of her life – however, she said home dialysis has made a massive difference for her quality of life.
“It is so freeing, and it’s made me feel so much better,” explained Field.
“When I was in-center, I would get cramps in my legs. I would come home with a headache and go right to bed; I did not feel well.”
Former CTV News Journalist, Cristina Howorun, can relate to Field’s story. She too has had a living donor kidney transplant, but unfortunately after five years, it failed last year, after she contracted COVID-19.
She’s now back on at-home hemodialysis.
“I hook these all up to the machines, and this is kind of how I live now,” said Howorun, as she showed her blood cords that are a permanent part of her body.
“I am lucky that I’m able to do this at home. And if I had to go in-center, I wouldn’t be able to continue working.”
Howorun, a full-time journalist in Toronto, said her immediate family has been ruled out as a match, she’s now putting out a plea for a living donor with type O blood.
“I’m on borrowed time right now, and that’s the reality, and I really do want to keep living,” she said.
LHSC said they: “Can’t provide an exact cost comparison between in-clinic and home hemodialysis treatments, the health human resources savings are in excess of 30 per cent when patients take part in at-home treatments. The cost of home hemodialysis equipment in Canada may vary from province to province, ranging in price from $15,000 to $30,000, sourced through funding by the Ontario Renal Network.”
