When my kidney issues started in 2009, I was fortunate enough to receive a donor kidney from my mother, which lasted until 2017. Unfortunately, new medications caused that kidney to fail and ultimately forced me to go on dialysis.
Since starting dialysis I’ve worked with a great team at my local clinic that truly cares about me and even helps to coordinate dialysis treatments for me with other clinics when I travel for work.
I’ve noticed recently, though, that I’ve had to play a bigger part in coordinating my own care when I see doctors outside of my clinic. Occasionally, I’ve caught inaccurate dosage amounts and had to request that doctors call my nephrologist to make sure their treatments won’t cause additional problems due to my dialysis.
However, a new bill that Congress is working on could help. The BETTER Kidney Care Act would make it easier for all of a dialysis patient’s doctors to work together on treatments, cutting down on some of the issues I’ve already faced.
I’m hoping that U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos and the other members of Congress from Illinois and Iowa realize how much this would help dialysis patients and work to support this bill.
Michael Nicholas
