Unusual ‘tour’ comes to West Seattle tomorrow: Home dialysis

(Photo courtesy Flash Media Services)
That’s Jim Smith, who lives in Indianola, on the Kitsap Peninsula, but is stopping here in West Seattle – not too far from home – tomorrow and Thursday, during his national road trip to “educate the public about home dialysis,” according to a media advisory we received today. Jim is a Northwest Kidney Centers patient, and he’ll be visiting the West Seattle Kidney Center at 4045 Delridge Way SW in his motor home, equipped with a home hemodialysis unit from NxStage. Spokesperson Cynthia Flash explains that you’ll be welcome to talk with him “while he dialyzes himself in the comfort of his motor home. Home hemodialysis allows patients to decide when and where to dialyze, and also allows them to dialyze more often during the week, which is better for their long-term health than the typical three-per-week schedule for patients going to dialysis centers.”

She says this technology isn’t new, but stil isn’t widely used, either, but can allow dialysis patients more freedom: “Jim is able to travel the world with his mobile dialysis machine. He went on a week-long Caribbean cruise with his wife Claire last year and he’s also traveled with the machine to Bermuda, Jamaica and Canada. Jim has even outfitted his motorcycle with a trailer to haul the dialysis machine!” She says Type II diabetes and high blood pressure led to Jim’s kidney failure four years ago, and he has been a dialysis patient since then. You are invited to visit him in the motor home outside the Kidney Center 2-6 pm both days, tomorrow and Thursday.

5 Replies to "Unusual 'tour' comes to West Seattle tomorrow: Home dialysis"

  • kumalavula September 13, 2011 (5:08 pm)

    this is a great opportunity for people to learn about the potential for dialysis instead of or as a precursor to transplantation. i have a hereditary kidney disease but nothing has manifested thus far in my life, thankfully. i know my options down the road and am not thrilled by either but am glad the ws blog posted this as it gives me (and others) the chance to talk to someone who’s made his decision and can give us a first hand account.

    thanks again for such comprehensive reporting. west seattle blog, you rock!

  • Cashmere September 13, 2011 (9:54 pm)

    Ditto above comment

  • JanS September 13, 2011 (11:26 pm)

    TR, he will also be there on Thursday from 2pm-6pm. Yes, it is definitely an opportunity to learn about hemodialysis. I have been going to the NWKC since the beginning of June, was recently put on the national transplant list. If you show up right at the beginning, at 2pm, you can see how one gets hooked up to the machine. Of course, the machine I’m on at the center is a lot bigger than his, but same principle. So, come on down…knowledge is a good thing :)

  • WSB September 13, 2011 (11:33 pm)

    It says that twice in the story. Wasn’t enough room in headline for both days :) Awesome awareness effort; I’m glad their publicist shared the news – TR

  • metrognome September 14, 2011 (1:09 am)

    people really need to be aware of this issue; incidence of kidney failure is projected to increase in a major way due to increased incidence of diabetes, high BP, etc. The UW TV channel had some pretty scary shows a few years ago about the cost to society of dialysis (incl, for example, transportation provided either through Medicaid or Metro’s Access Transportation. One of the dialysis center’s first calls on behalf of a new non-Medicaid patient is to Metro.) Home dialysis is one way to keep costs down, in part by keeping the patient healthier because the physically draining trip to/from a dialysis center is no longer needed. Unfortunately, the shows don’t appear to be available any more.

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