Hyvä Dialyysi Ystävät

I was asked to write a letter to Finnish dialyzors to give them an idea of what it is like to use the NxStage System One home hemodialysis machine - which I use.  The letter is below.  When my friend Anu sent back the Finnish translation I used Google Translator to see what I said.  To my surprise libido translates to manhood.  So with my list of things I lost while on three times a week dialysis in clinic came the words, "menetin miehuus" - I lost my manhood.  I quickly read ahead to see where I say I gained it back.  To my surprise that part ended up on the editing floor.  Now when I go to Helsinki, people are going to see me and shake their heads saying, "Miesparka menetti miehuutensa. Niin surullista. Erityisesti hänen vaimonsa." Tranlation - "The poor fellow lost his manhood. So sad. Especially for his wife."

I emailed Anu and asked her if it wasn't too late to please insert a sentence saying that once on NxStage he regained all that he lost and then some.

I haven't heard back yet.

Dialyze for the Prize!

Erich

April 18, 2010

Hyvä Dialyysi Ystävät:

I am excited that you will soon be able to do short term daily dialysis using the NxStage System One.  This home dialysis machine changed my life.  Just last week my family and I came home from a ten day trip south to Florida for the warm beaches.  I easily packed up my eighty-pound System One and put it in the back of our car and off we went.  When I got to our hotel, NxStage had already delivered the bags of dialysate and the cartridges that I would need to dialyze. 

Having been on dialysis for ten years, starting when I was 36 years old, I really appreciate being able to do dialysis in my hotel room with my family.  Instead of spending four hours away from them hooked up with strangers in a clinic, I was driving a wave-runner a mile offshore with my children in search of porpoises – we found them too.  A month a ago I put my System One on a plane and flew to Seattle to speak at a dialysis conference.  Traveling is very enjoyable and easy using the System One.

I have been on all types of dialysis including using a traditional machine at home, peritoneal dialysis and three times a week hemodialysis in a clinic.  I have had two kidney transplants the first from my wife.  Unfortunately they each failed almost immediately due to my kidney disease.  For me dialysis is the true gift of life.  I adopted my newborn daughter while on dialysis and I am able to be a father to my now six year old daughter, Antonia and my ten year old son, Jacob and husband to my wife of twenty-two years, Andria because of dialysis.

But, I didn't do all that well on traditional hemodialysis.  I never felt close to what I felt like before the loss of my kidneys.  I was often tired and would crash after taking off four to five kilos.  I losed my libido.  While I was thankful to be alive, I knew there had to be something better.  I wanted to thrive.  I wanted the life I had before dialysis. 

Then one day while reading a nephrology magazine I saw an add for NxStage.  Before long I had my doctor enroll me in a training program.  After three weeks of training I was ready to come home.  I have to admit that learning to cannulate myself was the hardest part.  But I knew if I could get past the needle sticks I could go home and dialyze with my family.  It didn't take long before I was feeling better than I ever did on three times a week.  In fact, soon after I even found my libido.  I wrote a letter to NxStage suggesting that they should market the System One as better than Viagra.  

It may be hard to think of having to dialyze more than three times a week.  For me, short term daily dialysis entails six days a week at two and a half hours a week.  If you don't try it though you will never know what you are missing.  More frequent dialysis opened my life to a much more liberal diet and no fluid restrictions.  In fact, I'm drinking a Finlandia and tonic as I write this.  My anemia is better controlled and I am on only one small dose of hypertension medicine.  Dialyzing at home minimizes my exposure to infection.  I haven't been in a hospital the entire four years that I have been using the System One.  Most importantly, I am looking forward to a long life where one day a long time from now I will walk my daughter down the aisle on her wedding day.

I also look forward to one day flying to Helsinki and dialyzing in my hotel room with my NxStage System One and meeting some of you.

Lämpimästi, amerikkalaisen Dialyysi ystävälle,

Erich Ditschman

PS I really enjoyed watching Peetu Piiroinen's half pipe runs at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.