Maima's HDF Story: More Energy and Time With Her Daughter

Ask Maima Koffa what keeps her going, and she'll tell you about her daughter, Truly. "Truly is my world," she says. "My reason to not give up. Truly is my everything."

Shortly after Truly was born, Maima's life took an unexpected turn. She began feeling sick. She was vomiting, her feet became swollen, and her symptoms continued to get worse. That's when she learned she had stage 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD).

"That was just a breaking moment for me," she says. Starting in-center hemodialysis wasn't the future she had imagined, but she knew it was the treatment she needed. "I started dialysis against my will," Maima says. "It was that or I wouldn't be here."

Although dialysis was keeping her alive, it was also hard on her body. "I would just be up all night, and I can't sleep because I'm in so much pain," Maima remembers. She also struggled emotionally as her hair began falling out from treatment. "I was so depressed," she says. "That just took me into a whole darker place."

When Maima talked to her care team, they told her they would soon be offering HDF, an advanced form of in-center dialysis. "They said, 'We've got good news coming for you. We're bringing a new machine. It's a little bit easier on the body,'" she recalls. When Maima started HDF she instantly felt a change.

Her care team noticed the difference, too. Andrea Olson, RN, charge nurse, says on in-center hemodialysis, Maima often experienced cramping at the end of treatment. "We would have to stop removing fluid from her and give her some saline so she would feel better. I have not noticed that one time since she started HDF," Andrea says.

Her nephrologist, Orvin Visaya, MD, says he saw immediate benefits in Maima's quality of life. "She told me that she didn't realize how poorly she felt," he says. "HDF has given her time back with her daughter."

Now, Maima can spend more time doing the things she loves with Truly. "I have a lot more energy now. I haven't been in the hospital. I haven't been sick. I haven't been feeling nauseated. Even my mood, I'm happy. I'm laughing," says Maima, smiling.

"I just got the, 'Mommy, you're the best mommy in the world,'" says Maima. Those moments are exactly what she's been fighting for. "I just want to be well," she says. "I want to be well for my daughter. When I see Truly on the playground, I'm happy that I can give her that life."

Maima hopes her daughter grows up knowing that no matter what challenges life brings, they're worth fighting through. "I'm the type of parent that I don't use words. I use action," she says. "I want my daughter to know that her mom has a fighting spirit so that no matter what life gives her, she has to fight through it. And so that's why I fight."