Home Dialysis Helps Make Retirement Dreams a Reality

Melva LeFave and her husband Steve had big plans for retirement. Travel. Camping. Fishing. Time together on the acreage they love, where deer roam freely and new fawns appear every spring. Then, in 2021, Melva was diagnosed with kidney disease and told she needed to start dialysis. Suddenly, those plans felt out of reach.

"We had planned to do all this stuff when we retired, and then I wind up on dialysis five times a week!" says Melva.

When Melva’s care team told them about the freedom and flexibility of home hemodialysis, they were curious—and a little nervous. Steve would be Melva's care partner, but he had a hard time with needles.

Their dialysis center sent the couple home with a sponge to practice on so Steve could build his confidence before the real thing. Their home therapy nurse, Joan Schneider, was with them everystep of the way.

Before long, Steve was a pro. "I got used to it—it was no problem," Steve says with a laugh.

Once Melva and Steve got the hang of home dialysis, everything changed. They worked with their doctor and care team to find a treatment plan that best fit their schedule.

"It just made life a whole lot easier and simpler for us," Melva says.

And those retirement dreams? They came back too. Joan encouraged Melva to bring her cycler along on camping trips. Before long, Melva and Steve were heading out for a week or two at a time, cycler and fishing gear packed in the truck. They even took a week-long cruise to Alaska—cycler and all.

After talking with her care team, Melva learned she might be a candidate for a kidney transplant. Getting on the transplant list meant meeting some important health goals first—losing weight and building up to walking 30 minutes a day. Joan says she was truly impressed by how determined they were to reach their goal.

Then, a year after Melva was placed on the list, she got her kidney—the day before Thanksgiving.