A Mother's Strength: Home and Work with Dialysis

As an in-demand nurse midwife at Cleveland Clinic and the mother of a soon-to-be teenager, Frances Jackson lives life on the go. When she’s not helping other moms who are starting their families, you’ll likely find her spending time with her own family and being involved in one of her daughter’s many after-school activities—like Girl Scouts, ballet, or theatre to name a few. There was a time, though, when Frances had to put her career and extracurricular motherly duties on hold.

In 2020, Frances visited the emergency room feeling ill, suspecting dehydration. She wasn’t surprised to hear the doctor confirm that she was dehydrated, but she didn’t expect to learn that it was a result of kidney failure and that she needed to be rushed to the intensive care unit right away. Doctors were unable to pinpoint the cause of her kidney failure, but thought it might’ve been due to a medication Frances had been taking.

Not knowing what would come next, Frances braced herself for the worst, but knew she would do her best to be resilient for her family.

For a moment, Frances’s life had come to a halt, but she was determined to take on whatever was necessary to get back to full health and continue doing the things she loved. Frances was especially concerned about the impact her new diagnosis would have on her daughter’s lifestyle and wanted to ensure that it would not be compromised in any way.

“Laying in that hospital bed, I remember thinking I wasn’t going home,” Frances recalls. “I remember talking to my daughter—who was 10 years old at the time—and telling her, ‘Mommy’s going to be gone for just a little while, but I’m strong and we’ll get through this.’”

When Frances eventually was ready to leave the hospital, she had a new part of her routine that she was determined to conquer—dialysis. She quickly integrated in-center dialysis treatment into her life, rearranging her work schedule around 3 weekly appointments. Despite the adjustment, she wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of following through on her commitments to her patients and staying involved in her daughter’s life—so she took advantage of the time she had in the center chair while receiving treatment.

“I was always working on something—like arranging prescriptions for my patients or setting up the Girl Scouts schedule,” Frances says. “One day, the physician walked up to me and told me they thought I’d make a great candidate for home hemodialysis (HD) as a mom and someone who wants to get back to their regular work routine.”

Initially, Frances was hesitant to commit to any home dialysis options, fearing the treatment steps may be too complicated for her to do independently. But she was intrigued at the prospect of a more convenient schedule and the potential for physical benefits.

Frances’s care team was persistent in its confidence that home HD would make a positive impact for her. After meeting with a nurse who showed her the NxStage dialysis machine and being introduced to another patient who’d found success with home HD, she felt comfortable enough to give it a chance.

Immediately, she recognized the added time she had back in her life and the extensive support team she had at her disposal.

“I really like home HD the best,” Frances shares. “It allows me to jump back into Girl Scouts and do other things like the moms organization I’m in, Jack and Jill of America, which is a program for African American moms with the goal to make sure our kids have a great childhood and have the resources to become future leaders. I don’t miss much of anything anymore honestly. I love that it gives you more freedom.”

Frances appreciates how her care team has empowered her to take back control of her care, and the continued support they provide to her and her family. “Every time I call, they answer,” Frances says. “Everything I’ve ever been promised has always happened quickly, be it from tech support or the nurses at the training center. I’m really thankful for the entire program, it’s really helped me.”

With greater flexibility and a new outlook on her dialysis care, Frances was relieved to be getting back to doing what she cared about most — supporting her family and her patients — at full capacity.

Since mastering home HD, Frances has begun the process of getting on a transplant list and is in the final stages of successfully doing so. A transplant isn’t the only thing she’s preparing for though—she’s also ready to treat herself to some much-deserved vacation time.

“My next goal this summer is to travel,” Frances says. “I love listening to a podcast for people on dialysis, and they recently spoke to a patient who traveled to Hawaii. I thought, if they can do Hawaii, I think I can do Myrtle Beach. I feel so confident taking my machine with me wherever I go, knowing my care team is going to ship me my bags and that they’ll be there on time. I think that’s so cool.”

Frances wants other dialysis patients to take their next steps head-on with a hopeful perspective. “You can still thrive and have a full life on dialysis,” she says “You don’t want to give up hope, and every single day you should wake up with new resolve that you’re going to make dialysis work for you. It’s just one part of a number of pieces keeping you healthy.”