Patient Profile Article: David Rush, Home Dialysis Patient, Kidney Advocate

In addition to his kidney problems, David had high blood pressure and was overweight. Understanding the need to monitor his health, he agreed with his doctor and sat out that year, only to return to play football in 11th grade and part of his 12th grade year before suffering an injury that ended his football season. His dreams of playing football in college now shifted and became dreams of playing music and attending art school. He went on to attend the Art Institute of Atlanta after high school.

The college life coupled with moving out of state and away from his parents and doctors led David to develop poor health habits, including stopping the medication his kidney doctor had prescribed as he began to not feel well when taking it. Instead, he did what felt good and freeing. He enjoyed his years as a college student and made music. David graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta with ‘Best of Show’ honors. After college, he landed a good internship in his field. He worked there for a while, but eventually left when he saw other interns being promoted and he was left behind.

David eventually moved back home to New Jersey and reconnected with his longtime girlfriend, Mimi. Mimi was interning with a medical practice and convinced David to be her guinea pig for the day. She brought him into the office and did a full medical workup on him. Mimi noted that David’s blood pressure was very elevated. When the bloodwork results came in, Mimi called David to tell him the doctor she worked with said that he needed to go to the emergency room immediately. His creatinine levels were very high, which meant there was a problem with his kidneys. David was not expecting this news. He thought his kidney problems went away and did not realize that his possible CKD (chronic kidney disease) could progress into a bigger, more permanent issue. He agreed to go to the emergency room, where he was admitted and found out that his kidney issues had worsened. He had CKD and was finally diagnosed by his nephrologist with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS).

Normally happy and cheerful, depression set in as David feared his life and independence were over. He did not understand how this happened while he was still young and just starting out in life. He looked back and was disappointed in how little he felt he was able to accomplish before his chronic disease diagnosis.

David was working for Staples at the time delivering paper products, and his job was physically demanding. By the end of each day, he was exhausted, yet had no appetite, and food began to taste like metal. He would fall asleep mid-conversation, and one day, his sister found him passed out and was unable to wake him up. She brought him to the hospital and he was admitted. On March 16, 2007, at just 24 years old, David woke up in the hospital to see a catheter in his chest and a dialysis machine by his bedside. He was scared, terrified, and angry.

He remained in the hospital for six weeks because his creatinine levels were so high. He started hemodialysis three days a week for five hours each treatment. His mindset shifted to an unhealthy place, and he shares that he started to “write himself off.” When he got out of the hospital, he continued his hemodialysis in-center. Each day he went to dialysis, he would get a hospital bracelet with his name, the date, and other details. When David got home each day, he’d immediately take it off and throw it away. After weeks of dialysis sessions, David’s mom asked him what his plan was, but he did not have one. In response, she revealed that she had been saving every one of those hospital bracelets and made a chain with a poem for him. She read it to him. It was a poem that would lift David out of depression and inspire him to find out how to live again. The poem read:

After that day, something in David changed. He wanted to live. He got back into his music and cut his hair into a mohawk. David says he started his “rebellion stage.” He describes going hard into his music. He performed at hip-hop clubs, drank, and partied late into the night.

One day, the woman David routinely sat by at dialysis did not show up. David asked about her, and although the staff could not tell him what happened, they said enough that he knew she had died. This realization that the same could happen to him, coupled with his strong desire to rebel, changed his mentality.

He decided that ‘living’ didn’t mean he had to rebel. He chose to be a more positive patient and became compliant with his healthcare routine. From that moment on, David never missed a dialysis session and dove into learning more about dialysis and the machine that was keeping him alive. He asked questions and worked with his doctors. He also continued with his passion of making music.

David’s music career now started to take off. His mixtape fell into the hands of Miami rapper Pitbull. He started flying to Miami on the weekends between dialysis sessions to work with him. David was signed to Pitbull’s label, and the two collaborated on songs including “Go Girl” from his Boatlift album and his biggest hit to date, “Shooting Star.”

Pitbull asked David to go on a 45-city tour with him, where David would open the shows and perform some songs with Pitbull. David knew he wanted to do it, but was on dialysis and did not want his health to suffer, so he spoke to his manager and healthcare team.

David explains that when he went on dialysis, he was never told there were options. He calls it the “death, dumb, blind phase.” He said he just did what he was told and did not ask many questions. But now, he needed to be mobile. He soon learned about home dialysis options and knew that was the right dialysis option to transition to. David trained for six weeks on a home dialysis machine that would allow him to perform dialysis while traveling on tour. He worked with his manager to ship his dialysis boxes to each location where he would perform. First up was California–a long way from his home in New Jersey.

The tour had 45 stops in 52 nights. David never missed a show nor a dialysis session. He describes his schedule as:

Before leaving on tour, David proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Mimi, and the two planned to marry on July 10, 2010. On July 9, 2010, David received a call that a kidney match may be available from a deceased donor. David, Mimi, and David’s mother, Cindia, discussed it. Mimi was not upset about delaying the wedding for the surgery, but David ultimately decided that it did not feel right. He turned it down, and the two got married as planned. Later, he learned that the kidney was probably not the best match for him, but he was grateful he could make that decision.

Shortly after the wedding, David’s older brother Dwaine decided to get tested to be a kidney donor for David. He was a perfect match. The surgery took place on November 9, 2010. David said there were over 80 people in the waiting room. They were filming a documentary at the time, and the room was filled with film crew, friends, and fans. Watch the documentary episode RUSH[ED] EPISODE 4 “THE O.R.”at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8l9jwehKJs.

After surgery, David decided to go back to in-center hemodialysis. His home started to feel like a medical center and the boxes were taking up room that his two growing kids needed. But, when COVID-19 hit in 2020, his medical team spoke with him about returning to home dialysis. David was hesitant, but the medical team said the new home dialysis machine was easy to use. In October 2020, he decided to see a demo of the Outset’s Tablo home dialysis machine. He ended up switching to that machine and a dialysis schedule of four days a week for four hours a day. He also decided to work on his kidney-friendly diet and stopped eating meat. David says a plant-based diet is better for him because of dialysis and because he no longer has a gallbladder, but there’s no “one-size fits all” kidney-friendly diet, so be sure to consult with your healthcare team and a dietitian that specializes in kidney disease before making any changes.

Currently, David continues to make music, be the best dad and husband he can be, and continues with home dialysis. He is also a patient advocate and wants to be a voice for fellow patients and the kidney community. David emphasizes that you can still live on dialysis, and developed a new brand based on his mantra, “Wins Only,” which he says means that life is all “Wins,” even kidney disease. “You just have to look at it that way and adopt that thought,” David explains. He is looking to make his mark on the world in a positive way to support those with kidney diseases. Additionally, he is working on getting back on the kidney transplant list and remains optimistic until the timing is right for him to receive a new kidney.

Follow David on social media at: Twitter/Instagram - @davidrushonline.

This article was originally published in the May/June 2022 issue of aakpRENALIFE magazine.

Article written by Deborah Pelaez, aakpRENALIFE Independent Writer