‘Home dialysis has given me control over my life’

An Ashford dad who has suffered kidney problems for more than two decades said he was looking forward to Christmas at home, thanks to home dialysis.

Ken Johns, 60, from Kennington, was first diagnosed with cancer in one of his kidneys in 2007 but had suffered with kidney stones since 1994.

The retired oil-industry worker had a kidney removed after his first cancer diagnosis, but seven years later the disease appeared in his second kidney, which also had to be taken out.

The dad-of-two, who has spent most of his working life in Asia, has been receiving kidney dialysis since 2005 but because the cancers meant a transplant was never a straightforward option and he is not on the waiting list.

He was finally referred to East Kent Hospitals by his GP when he made a permanent return to the UK in 2015.

Mr Johns, who lives with his wife, Maggie, explained: “In February, I received one-to-one training twice a week at the homedialysis unit in Canterbury.

“I also continued with my regu- lar dialysis three times a week at the William Harvey.

“It was amazing when I was told that I could have home dialysis. The plumber came in several weeks before the machine was delivered and set up the water system.

“After the machine arrived, the water quality was checked by the renal technicians, and by that time Maggie and I were fully trained.”

Mr Johns said he valued the freedom and flexibility that home dialysis offered.

He added: “It’s great. I can choose when I want to do it. Sometimes it’s in the morning or early evening.”

His self-dialysis regime is three and a half hours per session and 13.5 hours a week, and the couple have converted one small room in their house to accommodate the machine.

He said: “I can just get on with life – as long as there’s a bit of forward planning. But I must admit, I couldn’t do it without Maggie – it’s a team job.

“I still have to go to see a specialist once every three months, and once every six months a technician carries out a service on the dialysis machine.

“But I feel in control, and I’m feeling good.”

‘I can just get on with life – as long as there’s a bit of forward planning’

Ken Johns with his wife, Maggie, and his home-dialysis machine