Nocturnal dialysis gave me back my life, St. John's man says

A St. John's man who had been unable to work because of a genetic disease that ravaged his kidneys says he has a new lease on life because of the dialysis equipment he hooks up each night before he sleeps.

"I've had people who met me, who hadn't seen me in a while, who looked at me and went, 'Wow'," Wallace Lane said in an interview. "They couldn't believe the difference."

Lane, who has since returned to his job with the province's tourism department, has a genetic disease called Alport Syndrome. It caused his kidneys to fail, requiring years of dialysis.

The rapid removal of fluid from hospital-based dialysis left him feeling chronically weak — so tired that he could not work.

"If I had to compare it to something, [and] a lot of drinkers probably know what I'm going to say, it's like a hangover," he said. "Like the worst hangover you've ever had."

Dialysis has become a political issue in Newfoundland and Labrador in recent weeks as patients and families have called for greater resources at smaller hospitals in the province.

But experts, as well as the Kidney Foundation of Canada, have been advocating for greater acceptance of home-based dialysis.

That can cause complications for some patients because of the time commitment that is required.

Only about 15 patients in the province currently use nocturnal dialysis, which is often called "dialysis while you sleep."

"You gotta sleep anyway, so you're not losing any daylight hours, for one. You feel a lot better, for two and the third thing, all round it's just better," said Lane, who has been cleaning his blood at night for about four years.

Dr. Brendan Barrett, who runs the provincial kidney program, is keen on the treatment.

"In some ways, the medical outcomes from that long, slow treatment seem to be better than the shorter, intermittent treatment we do in hospitals," Barrett said.

"It takes a little bit of education upfront to make people aware of what's possible and to get them over that first hurdle of saying, 'Well, I can't do that for myself'."