Dialysis Your Way: How To Actively Participate In Your Dialysis Treatment To Maintain Your Well-Being (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781546970699)

Antonio Richardson lived on hemodialysis performed three times weekly in an outpatient dialysis facility for 7 years from 2004 to 2011. With no formal medical background, he was able to gradually learn how to play an active role in his hemodialysis treatments. Antonio learned from his experiences and working with his dialysis technician, nurse and kidney doctor, was able to tailor his treatments to the limits of his body. In this easy to read book, he shares a wealth of knowledge acquired over those 7 years in hopes that it will benefit others on hemodialysis through safer treatment sessions and preventing avoidable crisis and/or unnecessary complications. In 2011 Antonio received a kidney transplant. He currently volunteers regularly to provide 1-2 hour talks on the lessons he learned while on hemodialysis and through the kidney transplant process. These talks are given at various hospitals as part of Aloha Kidney, a statewide nephrologist-led Kidney Disease Education program in Hawai'i. It is his wish to help others with chronic kidney disease who may choose hemodialysis as a life prolonging process so they may minimize risk and maximize the quality of their lives through sharing knowledge.