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Every Other Day: A Husband and Wife Journey To Fight Renal Disease

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Every Other Day: A Husband and Wife Journey To Fight Renal Disease www.herviewfromhome.com
My husband, Rode Lewis, is a working cowboy. We, along with our daughters, live on a cattle ranch. Every day we get up to do our part in providing the food for the people in this country. My husband gets up every other day and goes to kidney dialysis. You see, he has end stage renal disease and has been on dialysis since 2008. His alarm wakes him at 2:20 a.m., every other day, so he can make the hour and a half drive to the clinic for his lifesaving kidney dialysis treatments. After a four hour treatment, he is released to make the hour and a half drive home. Every other day.
 
It seems like a lot but my husband selflessly provides for our family, despite his condition. He works full time on this ranch, doing things from shoeing horses and roping to feeding cattle and more. His dedication to us, to his three girls, is awe inspiring to me. I find myself always striving to be what he proves himself to be every single day.
 
So many things can stand in our way but one thing Rode does not let stand in his way is his kidney failure. He has taken what could seem like a death sentence and made so much more of it. He does not give up hope.
 
We are embarking on a brand new journey in our walk with kidney disease: home dialysis. We are planning to erect a home dialysis facility for Rode so he can have that 20 hours a week back. So we can have him back. Home dialysis is a way to find freedom from something that has seemed to be his prison for long. Our daughters have never known a life where their daddy did not have to leave for dialysis. With a home dialysis facility, they would be a part of our routine. 
 
As soon as we have our facility up, we can begin the training on how to administer his treatments. Once on home dialysis, my husband will be able to work all day, every day. Our treatments can be when they are convenient for us. 
 
Some amazing friends of ours produced a very powerful video about Rode and his life…it’s about six minutes worth of your time and I hope you find inspiration in his story. I know I do!
 
 

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Taj Lewis profile image Articles by Taj Lewis

Taj Lewis

My name is Taj Lewis and I am a stay at home mom from Alpine, Texas. I live on a working cattle ranch with my husband and two daughters (8 and 6). I am writing to share my husbands story. He is such as inspiration to me and it is my goal to share his story and inspire others to never give up.

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