Maaya Makes a Connection with Nx2me Connected Health®
In 2014, Maaya tragically lost both her husband and her kidney function. It was a difficult period in her life that required many adjustments. Some, like starting in-center hemodialysis (ICHD) – meant becoming more reliant on her doctors, care team, and a machine. Other changes meant taking control of her life and health through improving her diet and exploring her dialysis options. But one recent shift has helped Maaya feel more independent while also improving communication and coordination with her home nurse. It happened when she added Nx2me Connected Health to her home hemodialysis (HHD) therapy regimen.
A Challenging Kind of Normal
Prior to his passing, Maaya relied on her husband Arthur for many things, including advice on her health. It was he, in fact, who insisted she go to the hospital to find out why she felt sick all the time. The answer Maaya got was CKD, which was difficult, but manageable. But after her decline to end stage renal disease (ESRD) Maaya would have to start in-center hemodialysis, which she found hard to accept.
“I knew it was going to be hard when my kidneys failed, but it was super hard going through this life change without my partner,” Maaya recalls. ”I think the first few days after they told me, I was just in shock. I wasn’t really in a good place.”
Although she started eating healthier – cutting out almost anything with preservatives, caffeine, or added sugar – Maaya admits that in many ways she was not an ideal patient.
“At the beginning I just didn’t want to be there, says Maaya. “I felt like I wasn’t living. Being on a schedule that was not of my making was really, really hard.”
Heading for Home with a NxStage® system
After three years of ICHD, Maaya was ready for a change. She says she felt tired after treatments and would often not feel back to normal for 24 hours. She also wanted more control over her therapy. Though her ultimate goal was transplantation, Maaya knew it could be years before she found a donor and wanted to try a different dialysis option in the meantime. Maaya did her research and got referrals for both peritoneal dialysis (PD) and home hemodialysis (HHD). She chose HHD and says the moment she met her new nurse she was convinced it was the right decision for her.
“She was amazing,” Maaya remembers. “I knew that she was going be kind, and patient with me, and I just knew that if I started this journey with her it was going to be a great one. It’s been great so far. She has helped me so much.”
Maaya enjoyed training for HHD and says she noticed an immediate difference in how she felt after starting more frequent therapy. She has more energy, practices yoga and meditation, and enjoys gardening, painting, and other hobbies. She recently started working again, and volunteers as a motivational speaker for school children in her spare time. Maaya has also begun traveling more, bringing her NxStage system with her to destinations such as Florida, Dallas, Las Vegas, and others. Currently, she plans to visit Jamaica and Hawaii in 2022.
Taking the Next Step with Nx2me
As far as she has come, Maaya still looks for ways to improve her health and wellbeing. One of the more recent changes she made was utilizing Nx2me. Nx2me is an easy-to-use iPad application that helps NxStage HHD patients connect with their clinicians, track treatment information, and is designed to make dialysis easier to manage.
“I’m a person who likes to look at my health history,” says Maaya. “Nx2me keeps a record of all my treatments so I can look back and see what was different on a certain day. That’s important to me.”
Using wireless internet and Bluetooth technology, Nx2me records blood pressure, weight, temperature, treatment information, medications taken, and more. Maaya’s information goes from the Nx2me app to the Nx2me Clinician Portal, the system nurses and doctors use to view data and help manage dialysis for their NxStage HHD patients.
“It makes things easier because you don’t have paper flow sheets all over the place,” Maaya explains. “You don’t really think about it, but it has made me more accountable because I have to make sure the information is accurate before sending it through the iPad.”
Not only can Maaya and her nurse keep track of her records and progress, Nx2me also allows the two of them to communicate through phone calls, video chats, and notes in the system.
“The communication is great, says Maaya. “Using the portal, my nurse can see my information any time, and if she sees something that doesn’t look right, she might say ‘Maaya, what’s going on here? It looks like your weight is up.’ She doesn’t have to wait for flow sheets, and she might catch something even before I do. She’s able to watch my health better.”
“The communication is great, says Maaya. “Using the portal, my nurse can see my information any time, and if she sees something that doesn’t look right, she might say ‘Maaya, what’s going on here? It looks like your weight is up.’ She doesn’t have to wait for flow sheets, and she might catch something even before I do. She’s able to watch my health better.”
“Sometimes technology can seem intimidating, but when the nurse taught me how to use it, I said ‘Oh that’s it? This is easy!” recalls Maaya. “If someone was nervous to try it, I’d tell them that my experience with Nx2me has been great. It makes managing dialysis easier by keeping all your information in one spot. You can have all your flowsheets in one place and see the history of your treatments. It’s all right there at your fingertips.”
Home hemodialysis with NxStage systems involves risks, and you may not experience the potential benefits of such therapy. NxStage systems require a prescription for use. If your doctor prescribes more frequent therapy, your vascular access is exposed to more frequent use which may lead to access related complications, including infection of the site.
Maaya is a NxStage Patient Advocate
