A couple of heart attacks, a heart transplant and two failed kidneys haven't slowed down 67-year-old Walt. In 1997, Walt suffered a devastating heart attack. Doctors were surprised he survived and told him that he needed a heart transplant. Walt received his heart transplant soon after and knew that the medications he took as a result could cause him to lose his kidney function one day.
After his kidneys failed in January of 2010, Walt started dialyzing at a local dialysis center three times a week for a few hours each session. "The in-center dialysis routine didn't work for me," says Walt, who is a business owner, running his own pest control company in Florida, and an avid boater. "I wanted the freedom to make my own schedule," he says. "And I missed the energy I had before starting dialysis." After a few months receiving in-center dialysis, one of Walt's nurses told him about the NxStage System One.
Walt knew that home hemodialysis was the right option for him. Walt is very active, spending his weekends on the water in his boat. Though he considered peritoneal dialysis, a catheter-based technique that uses the patient's own abdominal membrane, or peritoneum-rather than an external device-as a filter for extracting fluids and toxins from the blood, he was worried about the risk of infections with the treatment. "The NxStage System One was the option that best fit my lifestyle," says Walt. Walt and his wife soon completed training to use the machine and Walt began dialyzing at home in August 2010.
Today, Walt makes his own schedule. He works five days a week at his pest control company and heads out to sea on his 45-foot Sea Ray almost every weekend. Since starting daily, more frequent home hemodialysis with the NxStage System One, Walt feels more energetic and no longer experiences fatigue after dialysis as he did with three-times-weekly treatment, and has more time and freedom to enjoy his hobbies and his family. In March of 2010, Walt and his wife set sail for Sarasota from Cape Coral and took the NxStage System One along with them. The approximately 160-mile round trip went so well that Walt and his wife are setting sail again - this time to the Florida Keys.
"The NxStage System One has given me the freedom to live my life the way I want to live it." says Walt.
