Donnie Sensabaugh

Donnie Sensabaugh

For Hawkins County resident Donnie Sensabaugh, peritoneal dialysis (PD) has been preferred over in-clinic hemodialysis (ICHD) for treating his kidney disease.

Peritoneal dialysis allows a kidney patient to dialyze daily at home, whereas ICHD requires attending a dialysis clinic three to four times per week.

Mr. Sensabaugh recalls his diagnosis coming as a surprise, “I didn’t know I was having issues. I went to my normal yearly check up and the doctor said I was having issues with my kidneys.”

Not given any warning signs, Mr. Sensabaugh was diagnosed with end stage renal disease, otherwise known as stage 5 kidney disease.

“I was on regular dialysis for three months then was taken off.” Now on PD, Mr. Sensabaugh has had the opportunity to make the most out of his days, such as spending time with his family. Having two grandsons active in sports and theater, Mr. Sensabaugh and his wife are kept busy attending special events.

Understanding the consequences of skipping treatment, Mr. Sensabaugh dialyzes nightly.
“They gave me educational materials showing the pitfalls of missing dialysis. I don’t miss any unless [the machine] malfunctions – that’s only happened once.”

Earlier this year, Mr. Sensabaugh was woken up by his dialysis machine alerting him that there was an issue. “It quit working, the problem was in my stomach. The catheter had moved itself and was up against my intestines, blocking it. I had to go into surgery again for them to fix that.”

When asked if he was concerned about the surgery, Mr. Sensabaugh shared his confidence in a successful procedure, “I knew it was going to get fixed, he’s a good surgeon.”

Unwavering in his treatment, Mr. Sensabaugh makes visits to his nephrologist twice monthly. “He keeps telling me I’m his best patient. There’s usually not much wrong with me. My wife calls it a ‘report card.’ Every month, he says ‘it’s normal, it’s good.’”

Choosing PD has proven to be a great route for Mr. Sensabaugh. Knowing his machine “by heart,” he has become very comfortable dialyzing at home. “It’s not as scary as it sounds. I got used to hooking everything up and now it doesn’t take me that long to get hooked up. It’s not that bad.”

With family time, flexibility, and a positive outlook, Mr. Sensabaugh continues to remain hopeful.

“At this point, I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m doing just fine.”