The Raw Truth from a Home Hemodialysis Warrior
By: David Rush, Tablo Home Dialysis Patient
Summary
Inspiring recording artist, music producer, stay-at-home-dad and patient advocate, David Rush, describes how his life and dreams were redirected by chronic kidney disease, and his personal and powerful takeaway message for others.
One big thing that people need to understand about patients like me is that we had lives, and dreams, before dialysis. When kidney failure suddenly enters the picture, it crushes every dream that we had. Our lives, and the most precious commodity that we all have—time—are taken over. I thought I had lost everything. But life has a way of directing you toward your true calling, and since I’ve been treating at home with Tablo, I’ve been able to build new dreams. Here I offer my raw truth—both the good and the bad—about life as an end-stage kidney disease patient.
My journey started in high school, when protein was found in my urine during a regular football physical. I had no clue what that meant, but they said it was an early sign of kidney disease. Then in college, when I was 24 and busy working on my video production and music career, another check-up found that my blood pressure was off-the-charts high, and my creatinine was an 8. But, I felt fine. I didn’t understand what any of that meant, but I had to drop everything and go to the hospital. That’s when my kidney disease became a harsh reality.
The doctors said that I was in stage 3 acute kidney failure, I had irreversible FSGS, and needed to see a nephrologist. I didn’t understand a word they were saying. I need to see a what?
Then they tell me, if I don’t start dialysis in the next year, I may not live to see 25.
I’m sorry, what was that?? I haven’t even lived life yet, I don’t own a house or a car, I was still figuring it all out. My cell phone was still under my mom’s name. I haven’t dropped a number one album, or gone on tour.
So now I was sick, and this dialysis word keeps coming up. I was depressed, this was not supposed to happen to ME. No one tells you about kidney disease risks when you’re young.
I worked at a vicious pace that year, at an office supply store during the day, at the club doing my music every night. I knew that dialysis was headed my way. That’s where my name David “Rush” comes from. I don’t know how long I have, so I work fast and hard, always planning for tomorrow.
My Crash and Other Defining Moments
Then, I ended up back in the hospital, and once again my blood pressure was sky high. I remember waking up in a gown with IVs in my arm. Everything was a blur, I was so full of toxins. I couldn’t tell you my name, and don’t remember who I talked to or what we talked about. All I knew was I didn’t want to be there.
And I had a terrible pain in my chest. I tried to sit up but couldn’t, something was connected to me. I looked over, and there it was: a monstrous dialysis machine. Welcome to my first day of dialysis: March 6, 2008. I was terrified. My life was over. What am I supposed to do now?
I ended up spending six weeks in the hospital, with a creatinine of 16. (Remember that levels of 1.4 and below are in normal range.) Then I got an AV fistula in my arm.
After getting out of the hospital, I kept working on my music in the clubs, and going for in-center dialysis for five hours, three days a week. Five hours. You could fly to LA from New Jersey. That’s a part-time job. It took a toll on me.
Because of my dialysis, I was losing time. The minutes that you have in your day to do the things you need to do for yourself, your family, your work, that some might take for granted. I was losing time, and that’s the raw truth.
Then, as I was on the transplant waitlist, I came close to receiving a deceased-donor kidney the day before my high school sweetheart and I got married. That fell through, but we discovered that my brother was a perfect match. He and I went through transplant surgery on November 9, 2010.
Soon after, something incredible happened that my doctors told me might not be possible: my wife got pregnant. We had our son, followed 11 months later by our daughter. There I was with a family, a working kidney, I’m not on dialysis, life was good!
Then, in late 2017, I started getting sick again. I lost the kidney my brother had given me. In 2019, I had my native kidney removed, and they found out it was cancerous. Now I had no kidneys at all.
A New Life at Home
Once again, I was on dialysis. I started doing my treatments at home with the NxStage system, but it wasn’t easy. I felt like a huge burden to my family, I had taken over our lives, and our home. There were over 50 boxes of supplies to store, which accounted for one whole room of our house. Prior to treatment five days a week I would have to make a six-hour batch of dialysate. It was overwhelming, so in early 2020, I went back in-center.
Then, my nephrologist said that a new device, Tablo, had just been FDA-cleared for use for home dialysis. Honestly, I didn’t want to hear about it, and assumed the worst—a house full of boxes, a complicated new system to learn. But I decided to have an open mind. He told me that the supplies were minimal, and I didn’t need to batch anymore. I did a demo and was intrigued by the technology, the animation and step-by-step directions on the touchscreen. The ease of use helped me move quickly through my treatment, and I found that I felt better afterward. Wait, I said to myself, this machine can give me time. Around this same time, COVID was hitting. I definitely didn’t want to go back in-center, so I decided to go home with Tablo. I started treatments in October 2020.
The difference I see with Tablo versus other hemodialysis machines is that you can tell that it was made by a company and team that really wants to understand the patient, our needs and our life, instead of acting like they know everything already about what we want. They want us to get back to doing the things we love, and designed intuitive technology to support that.
Since starting Tablo, I’ve been blessed to be able to build a life around what matters most: my family, my music career, my advocacy work. Also, I’m off my blood pressure medication. Treating on my own schedule has enabled me to stay positive, and be there for my wife and kids. I’m also encouraging and educating other patients going through dialysis, or people at high risk of kidney disease, through various advocacy efforts, my social media and my music. I’m dedicated to making my mark as an inspiring voice for the kidney disease community through my #WinsOnly positive mental attitude—a mantra that was a precious gift from my mother.
To my fellow CKD warriors: Every morning, take a look at your attitude, and your gratitude. Love that person you see in the mirror. Every day is another chance to #WIN. Be assured that your best life is ahead of you!
Watch my “Journey Home” video here, and follow me on Instagram and Twitter to learn more about my story—share your CKD journey to help drive the conversation. Also, check out my new Rules To WIN By inspirational speaking project on all streaming platforms.
