Fresenius - Tim Atkins Profile

FEBRUARY 2021

Philanthropist, avid traveler, and world record holder champions freedom of home dialysis

FRESENIUS KIDNEY CARE

Tim Atkins is a busy man. At age 61, he keeps the same hectic schedule he has maintained for decades. He’s an international radio broadcaster on stations in South Africa and the Bahamas, a globetrotting mission worker, and a sponsor of children in developing countries, where he visits regularly. He works with Compassion International, attending concerts and setting up booths to encourage others to help children—all the while finding time to volunteer across the U.S. on behalf of the homeless and give motivational speeches to people battling addiction. And at every stop, Atkins travels with one important item - the home dialysis machine that sustains his life. When Atkins was a teenager, his kidneys failed without explanation. After two failed kidney transplants, Atkins joined the more than two million people who receive regular dialysis treatments.

Dialysis essentially takes the place of kidney functions, filtering the blood and ridding the body of unwanted toxins, waste products, and excess fluids. For people choosing care at an outpatient center, it can require a life-altering commitment to dietary restrictions and three separate visits to a clinic every week, each session lasting approximately four hours. Or at least that used to be the case. In 2007, Atkins’s multidisciplinary team at Fresenius Kidney Care informed him of home dialysis treatment options. At the time, Atkins was living and receiving his treatment in the Virgin Islands, where he would be the first patient to try home dialysis. His Fresenius Kidney Care team provided him with the necessary resources, education, and support to make the transition home, allowing him to feel confident in adapting to this form of treatment. Instead of just a few days a week, he performs more frequent dialysis at home, more closely mimicking the function of a kidney. Now, whether at home or on the road between speaking engagements or community service projects, home dialysis provides Atkins greater freedom and flexibility. He even earned a Guinness Book of World Records certificate for the longest time on kidney dialysis. Atkins adds, “No matter what the ups and downs are, I’ve put my armor on, I’m ready for the battle, whatever that battle is. Home dialysis helps me to stay ready and remain as healthy as possible.”

Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease

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Chronic kidney disease affects about 37 million people in the U.S., causing more deaths than breast or prostate cancer. Approximately one in three American adults are at risk for the disease, which is usually caused by diabetes or high blood pressure. It is typically treated either with a kidney transplant or through dialysis.

APPROXIMATELY ONE IN THREE AMERICAN ADULTS ARE AT A RISK FOR CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects about 37 million people in the U.S., causing more deaths than breast or prostate cancer. Approximately one in three American adults are at risk for the condition, which is most often caused by diabetes or high blood pressure. When the condition advances to kidney failure, sometimes silently and without warning, a transplant or dialysis are common options for treatment. For home dialysis, treatment options include either peritoneal dialysis (PD) or home hemodialysis (HHD). Both options offer easy-to-use, portable machines that provide flexibility and increased quality of life. Peritoneal dialysis filters the blood naturally, using the lining of the abdomen, otherwise known as the peritoneum. There are no needles used in PD, and patients may be able to better preserve some residual kidney function. Many do this treatment while sleeping. In some instances, PD can even be done without a machine by manual fluid exchanges. Home hemodialysis filters the blood through a dialyzer or “artificial kidney,” using a solution called dialysate to remove unwanted substances.

The two most common types of home dialysis offered by Fresenius Kidney Care (FKC) are home peritoneal dialysis (HPD) and home hemodialysis (HHD). Peritoneal dialysis filters the blood naturally, using the lining of the abdomen, otherwise known as the peritoneum. There are no needles used in HPD, and patients may be able to preserve some residual kidney function. Home hemodialysis filters the blood through a dialysis machine, using a solution called dialysate to remove unwanted substances. With HHD, the patient or their care partner will insert the needles, which many people prefer.

And, of course, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is an obvious advantage to patients with kidney failure being able to shelter in place while undergoing dialysis treatments, especially considering that patients living with any stage of CKD face a higher risk of complications from the virus.

Which type of home treatment is right for you may depend on your daily schedule, travel preferences, work commitments, your doctor’s recommendations, and lifestyle, but both offer distinct benefits, including:

The flexibility to schedule treatments around your personal and professional schedule Fewer dietary restrictions Fewer medications Fewer trips to the dialysis center The ability to administer your treatment without assistance The ability to maintain the social and work life you love

Which Treatment Is Right For You?

Which type of home treatment is right for you may depend on your daily schedule, travel preferences, work commitments, and lifestyle, but both offer distinct benefits, including:

Looking to the Future

Atkins is certainly being more careful nowadays, but the pandemic has not kept him from his social work, his community service projects, or his mission to be a vocal advocate for fellow patients with kidney failure. “The virus has affected a lot of these activities and events, but I try and do as much as I can online and virtually,” Atkins shared when discussing his plans for continuing his advocacy and philanthropic efforts. As people living with CKD or End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) navigate their own journeys, Atkins’s encouraging story and message of hope helps guide others toward their own fulfillment. After more than four decades of living with kidney failure, Atkins is walking proof that people living with kidney disease can still have a high quality of life. With the help of home dialysis, people living with kidney failure can have the independent life they’ve always dreamed of.

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