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    1. About Kidney Disease
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease
      3. Kidney Disease Stages
      4. What Is a Nephrologist?
      5. What to Expect with CKD
      6. Kidney Disease Management
      7. Understanding Acute Kidney Injury
      8. How Kidneys Work
      9. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
    2. Treatments
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Dialysis Basics
      3. Benefits of Home Dialysis
      4. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
      5. Home Hemodialysis
      6. Sign up to Talk to a Home Dialysis Expert
      7. In-Center Hemodialysis
      8. Transplant
      9. Insurance & Managing Costs
      10. Choosing Not to Treat
    3. Life On Dialysis
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
      3. Staying Engaged
      4. Staying Healthy
      5. Dialysis Travel Services and Information
      6. Tips for Loved Ones
      7. PatientHub
    4. Recipes & Nutrition
      1. OVERVIEW
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      3. Managing Your Diet
      4. Fluid Management on Dialysis
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    Find a Dialysis Center

    Find a Dialysis Center

    Find a Dialysis Center
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      1. About Kidney Disease
        1. Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease
          1. Symptoms
          2. Risk Factors
          3. Causes
          4. Diagnosis and Testing
          5. GFR Calculator
        2. Kidney Disease Stages
          1. Stage 1
          2. Stage 2
          3. Stage 3
          4. Stage 4
          5. Stage 5
        3. What Is a Nephrologist?
        4. What to Expect with CKD
        5. Kidney Disease Management
          1. Kidney Diet Basics
          2. CKD Medications
          3. Your Kidney Care Team
          4. Diabetes
          5. High Blood Pressure
        6. Understanding Acute Kidney Injury
          1. Acute Kidney Injury Treatment and Recovery
        7. How Kidneys Work
        8. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
      2. Treatments
        1. Dialysis Basics
          1. How Does a Hemodialysis Machine Work
          2. Starting Dialysis
          3. Types of Dialysis Access
          4. Your Care Plan
          5. Dialysis Medications
          6. Monitoring Your Lab Results
        2. Benefits of Home Dialysis
        3. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
          1. What to Expect
          2. Getting Prepared
          3. PD Access
          4. PD Training
          5. PD Monitoring
          6. Your Care Team
        4. Home Hemodialysis
          1. What to Expect
          2. Getting Prepared
          3. HD Training
          4. HD Monitoring
          5. Your Care Team
        5. Sign up to Talk to a Home Dialysis Expert
        6. In-Center Hemodialysis
          1. In-Center Treatment Options
          2. What to Expect
          3. Types of Vascular Access for Hemodialysis
          4. Your Care Team
          5. How to Choose a Center
        7. Transplant
          1. Finding a Kidney Donor
          2. Considering Kidney Donation
        8. Insurance & Managing Costs
          1. Understanding Medicare Coverage
          2. Understanding Medicare Advantage
          3. Understanding Employer Plans
        9. Choosing Not to Treat
      3. Life On Dialysis
        1. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
          1. Managing Your Emotions
          2. Talking About Dialysis
          3. Intimacy
          4. Body Image and Dialysis
          5. Building Your Dialysis Support Network
        2. Staying Engaged
          1. Tips for Working While on Dialysis
          2. In-Center Activities
          3. Hobbies
        3. Staying Healthy
          1. Managing Your Time on Dialysis
          2. Dialysis & Exercise
          3. Weight Management
          4. Avoiding Infection
          5. Managing Multiple Conditions
          6. Fighting the Flu
        4. Dialysis Travel Services and Information
        5. Tips for Loved Ones
          1. In-Center Hemodialysis
          2. At-Home Hemodialysis
          3. At-Home Peritoneal Dialysis
        6. PatientHub
      4. Recipes & Nutrition
        1. Recipes
        2. Managing Your Diet
          1. Eating Well on a CKD Diet
          2. Eating Well on a Dialysis Diet
          3. Salt and Kidney Disease
          4. Potassium and Kidney Disease
          5. Phosphorus and Kidney Disease
          6. Talking With Your Dietitian
        3. Fluid Management on Dialysis
        4. Dialysis Diet Planning
          1. Kidney-Friendly Shopping
          2. Eating Out
          3. Holiday Diet Tips
          4. A Chef’s Advice | Chef Aaron McCargo on Kidney Friendly Meals
        5. Cookbooks
      5. Thrive Central
        1. CKD
        2. Dialysis
        3. Diet & Nutrition
        4. Stories
        5. Wellness
        6. See All
      1. Home
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      3. Stories
      4. Embracing Home Hemodialysis as a Family
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      Embracing Home Hemodialysis as a Family

      John Horton and his daughter Amanda
      John Horton was enjoying a busy life as a husband, father, and full-time mortgage lender in the early 2000s, when he started to feel unwell. John had a history of high blood pressure, so when he started to feel worse, he talked to his doctor. His doctor told him that his kidneys were starting to fail, saying "When you're sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, you'll need dialysis." John and his family took the news in stride and decided immediately to do home hemodialysis.

      Training for home hemodialysis

      In 2002, John and his wife, Linda, were trained at their local Fresenius Kidney Care on the same type of hemodialysis machine that was used for in-center dialysis. Linda, a nurse, became John's care partner at home, while their 14-year-old daughter, Amanda, also paid close attention to her father's care. The clinic manager at the time used to joke that the couple became such experts at hemodialysis, "they could've gone to work for us on the clinic floor."

      Happily keeping up with life and treatment

      John loved the flexibility of being on home dialysis. He and his family traveled to their beach house, went with Amanda to speed-skating events, and continued with life as usual. John and Linda both still worked full time. John and his doctor worked together to determine a treatment plan that was right for him. He felt good—and treatment became a way of life. When the smaller, portable NxStage home hemodialysis machine became available, traveling and being on the go got even easier. "It was a blessing," he says.

      Impacting his daughter's future

      John's daughter, Amanda, grew up around her father's dialysis—watching him get set up for treatment, making sure he was comfortable, and, later, helping whenever she could. It was this positive experience that inspired her to pursue her nursing degree. She started working for Fresenius Kidney Care part-time when she was still in school and, when she graduated, became a full-time nurse at the center. In 2019, Amanda became a Fresenius Kidney Care clinic manager in Charlotte, NC.

      Transplant: a whole new chapter

      In 2006, John was matched with a deceased kidney donor after 4 years on home dialysis. He had a successful kidney transplant and has been doing well ever since. He takes care of himself, enjoys life as a retiree with Linda, and is thrilled to have 3 grandkids. He also couldn't be prouder of Amanda and her career path with Fresenius Kidney Care. "I just think it's super," John declares.


       March 2020

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