I’ve lived with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) since I was 9. ESRD is permanent kidney failure. Dialysis, a process that filters your blood when your kidneys no longer can, is what keeps me alive. I’ve spent over 20 years on dialysis, and I now do treatments at home several times a week. I worked most of my adult life, taking advantage of reliable private insurance from my employers for my costly treatments. That coverage helped me stay independent and maintain my health. But I recently became quite ill and had to stop working. My only option to supplement Medicare [...]

As a caregiver for my late father-in-law on dialysis – the only treatment for kidney failure outside of a transplant – I saw firsthand how taxing kidney disease can be. My wife, a nurse, handled his home dialysis treatments day after day. I helped wherever I could – driving him to appointments, shaving him when he could no longer manage, and offering the emotional support both he and my wife needed. Dialysis didn’t just affect him. It shaped our entire family’s life. We gave everything to help him stay home, stay comfortable, and maintain his dignity. Thankfully, he had sufficient [...]

To the Editor: Discovering I had End-Stage Renal Disease, or kidney failure, was one of the most shocking days of my life. I was a high school wrestler and felt healthy. I had recently become a proud godfather, cheering on my niece at her volleyball and softball games. I never thought I would have to confront a chronic condition. I wouldn’t be alive today without dialysis, a treatment that filters my blood several times a week. Dialysis is exhausting, but the financial burden can be just as draining. I’m fortunate to work for a company that allows me to adjust [...]

I have end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure. My journey began after a serious accident at age 12 caused my kidneys to fail. My mother selflessly donated one of her kidneys, which lasted about eight years. At 20, my body began rejecting the transplant, and I had to start dialysis—a taxing but life-saving treatment done three times a week to filter the blood. The transition was overwhelming. I often rode a bus to San Francisco at 6 a.m. and returned home at midnight. Like many others, I had to adjust to a difficult new normal. After 16 years on [...]